End of Semester Reminders – Fall 2023
| Spring 2024 Course Shells | Training Opportunities |
| Just-in Time Support | Fall 2023 Updates (In Case You Missed it) |
| Final Grades | Join the Möbius Pilot Today! |
| Carrying Over Incompletes | Feedback |
Greetings VCU Faculty,
We hope everyone has had a successful Fall semester. Below you will find some items to consider while closing out your course before winter break.
Spring 2024 Course Shells Now Available
Course shells for the Spring 2024 semesters are now available to instructors within Canvas. As a reminder, a course will not be visible to students until it has been published by the instructor. Publishing a course means it is available to students and can now be accessed from their Canvas dashboard. Here, you can find more information on how to Publish and Unpublish a Canvas Course.
Just-In-Time Support
In need of support to complete your end-of-semester checklist? We’re here to help. For an overview of available support resources for Canvas and Kaltura, please see the “Help & Resources” tab located on the Learning Systems website. The Troubleshooting page specifically will provide you with a list “Fisrt Check” items and details that need to be provided when entering a help request.
Final Grades
Final grades are due by noon on December 20, 2023 via Faculty eServices, not Canvas. For more information visit the Faculty Grade Entry page.
Carrying Over Incompletes to the Next Semester
The last day for grades of incomplete to be converted from the Fall 2023 semester is May 4, 2024. See the Academic Calendar for details.
If you have students who are finishing out the course with an ‘incomplete’, there are specific steps the instructor needs to take before the term concludes on January 18, 2024, at which point, you will only be able to access the course in Read-Only mode.
For step by step instructions, visit the Incompletes within Canvas page or contact lsrequest@vcu.edu.
Training Opportunities
Upcoming Opportunities – For upcoming training, you can register at www.training.vcu.edu (Keyword: Canvas or Kaltura.)
Individual or Group Training
Request individual or group/departmental training from the Learning Systems team using the “Request a Virtual Training Session” button located on the Learning Systems website. This training is intended for faculty who want to learn how to use the instructional tools supported by Learning Systems (i.e. Canvas and Kaltura).
Asynchronous Training
Surviving in Canvas Mini-Courses – Academic Technologies and VCU Online has collaborated on a series of asynchronous (self-paced) courses designed for beginner to intermediate experienced users.
Training Recordings – We hope that you were able to participate in this fall’s offered training opportunities; but if you were not, you can catch up via the recorded training sessions largely led by Learning Systems’ Learning Support Specialist, Jon Reed and some in partnership with a VCU Online instructional designer.
Visit the Learning Systems Academy for a library of short videos on topics ranging from beginner Canvas to using Kaltura.
Fall 2023: Updates
In case you missed it…
- Ellucian ILP
Beginning this semester, Spring 2024, VCU is introducing the Ellucian Intelligent Learning Platform (ILP) to seamlessly integrate its SIS (Banner) with Canvas, making real-time updates for course data and student information possible.
Key benefits include real-time updates, a more accurate representation of inactive students, and streamlined secondary instructor listings.
However, with this integration, instructors won’t be able to change course names in Canvas, and the format for course names and unique course IDs will shift to “CRN.TERM.”
This change is expected to enhance efficiency and data consistency for VCU. See the Revolutionizing Course Management: Ellucian ILP Meets Canvas blog for more information. - 3rd Party Tool Removals
In 2020, the Learning Systems team transferred several Third Party Tools from Blackboard to Canvas at VCU to ensure continuity during a transitional phase. Tool integrations have now been re-evaluated based on specific criteria, including institutional agreements, IT Governance reviews, and support contacts.
As a result, the following account level tools will be removed from Canvas on May 20, 2024:
BigBlueButton, Evolve Link, Macmillan Learning, MyBusinessCourse, Packback, TurningPoint Registration, Vista Higher Learning, and WileyPLUS.
Instructors can integrate specific tools into their courses by obtaining tool credentials. Course-level tools remain configurable at the discretion of faculty or staff. The Learning Systems team discourages the use of the EduApp Center for tool integration.
For more information and inquiries about this change, visit https://go.vcu.edu/canvas-tools or contact LSrequest@vcu.edu.
- New VoiceThread
VoiceThread has upgraded their platform making it simpler, more accessible, and more powerful. Users have the option to opt in (and opt out if you change your mine) whenever you are ready. For more information, visit the New VoiceThread tab on our Learning Systems website, including a blog and video tutorial. - New Quizzes
For the time being, there is no depreciation date for Classic Quizzes; however, Instructure is working towards making sure New Quizzes has all of the same features and more. As a resource, a Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes Comparison Chart has been provided, as well as, the New Quizzes Migration – Question Banks to Item Banks step by step guide for instructors. - Canvas Collaborations
Collaboration Services, Stone Frangowlakis, has put together some documentation on How to Create & Use Collaborations in Canvas. We hope this will make collaboration with your students more manageable. - Pronouns in Canvas
In November 2023, the Learning Systems team added additional personal pronoun options for the VCU community to use within Canvas. Options available are consistent with those within eServices. For more information, please see: “How do I select personal pronouns in my user account as a student?” and “How do I select personal pronouns in my user account as an instructor?”
Join VCU’s Möbius Pilot Today!
We just ended our 1st semester of the Möbius pilot, by DigitalEd, and we encourage you to try it today. The pilot began at the beginning of the Fall 2023 semester and is scheduled to last through the Spring 2024 semester.
Möbius, a cloud-based learning platform designed to create and deploy STEM course materials for all modalities, is only available via the Canvas integration and open for use to all faculty, staff, and students. For additional information, including demos, continuous learning//training, onboarding and support, visit the go.vcu.edu/mobius page. We hope you will join us!
If you are already participating in the pilot and find that you need assistance, be sure to email support@digitaled.com.
We Appreciate your Feedback
As usual, we welcome and appreciate your feedback at lsfeedback@vcu.edu; it is a valuable resource to our team’s continued success.
Categories Canvas, End of Semester, Faculty, Online Teaching and Development, Quizzes/Assessments, Staff, Teaching with Technology, VoiceThread, Workshops and Training