Beginning of Semester Reminders – Spring 2025
Greetings Faculty and Staff,
We hope you had an amazing winter break! Below are some reminders that will help get your semester off to a smooth start. For questions, email [email protected].
Canvas Login
Login to Canvas using the Canvas Login Portal page at http://go.vcu.edu/canvas.
Copy a Canvas Course
Course copying is the fastest way to transfer content from one course to another in bulk. This can be performed by anyone listed in the Canvas course with the role of ‘Teacher’. Please be aware that you can only copy content to an existing course, not a new course. For more information, visit the Copy a Course page or watch the Importing Course Content in Canvas video.
Note: All Canvas 3rd Party Tools have unique functionality; course copy behavior may vary.
If you are copying a course with embedded VoiceThreads, those entries should duplicate seamlessly. If you do run into trouble, email [email protected].
Course or Section Cross-Listing
Learning Systems has developed a custom merge tool to simplify course management for instructors offering multiple sections of the same course. The tool enhances student clarity by providing a clear, custom name for the merged parent course.
Visit the Cross-Listing Course Sections page or watch the Cross-Listing in Canvas video for things you need to know before cross-listing, cross-listing instructions, including “How to Perform a Custom Cross-List (Merge) of your Courses,” best practices, and FERPA Compliance.
Do not manually enroll students in courses; doing so may result in your student(s) being unenrolled each time the automated system enrollment file runs, potentially causing a loss of student activity in your course.
Publishing and Unpublishing Courses
A course will be visible to students once 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.
Canvas 3rd Party Tools
Canvas 3rd Party Tool changes have recently been completed in advance of the Spring 2025 semester. A timeline, deadlines, and a list of all in-progress requests can be found on the Request a Canvas 3rd Party Tool page, as well as, with what is needed from the requestor, the vendor, and more.
Visit Canvas 3rd Party Tools to learn more about these tools and see a list of those already installed.
Note: The Canvas 3rd Party Tool Request Form, including both the requester and vendor sections, must be completed 6 weeks before the upcoming change window.
In case you missed it…
- Farewell Lon-Capa
This semester, Spring 2025, is the last opportunity to use Lon-Capa.- Decommissioning Date: July 1, 2025 (Note: Course creation requests will not be accepted after the Spring 2025 semester)
- Reason for Change: Insurmountable usage, support, and, most importantly, security issues
- New System: We are excited to announce that Möbius will replace Lon-Capa.
- Register for the Möbius Question and Feedback sessions at training.vcu.edu (keyword: mobius)
Next Meeting – January 8th @ 11am - Before each meeting, enter questions or feedback via the Möbius Questions and Feedback Form.
- If you cannot attend, we encourage you to watch the recording to hear the answer to your question(s).
- Register for the Möbius Question and Feedback sessions at training.vcu.edu (keyword: mobius)
Spring 2025 Training Opportunities
Upcoming Training Opportunities
For upcoming training hosted by Learning Systems, you can register at www.training.vcu.edu. (Keyword: Canvas, Kaltura, or Mobius)
Individual or Group Faculty Training
Faculty can request individual or group/departmental training by clicking on the “Request a Virtual Training Session” button from 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).
For pedagogical guidance, instructors are encouraged to reach out to Academic Affairs.
Training Recordings
We hope that you were able to participate in the training opportunities previously offered. If 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 the Academic Affairs instructional design team.
Visit the Learning Systems Academy for a library of short videos on topics ranging from beginner Canvas to using Kaltura.
Academic Integrity Concerns
In the case that a faculty member requests a Course Access Report or other Canvas administrator-level report to address a suspected academic misconduct issue, the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity (SCAI) has provided the following guidance:
The VCU Honor System & Standards of Academic Conduct states that Faculty “must report suspected violations to SCAI as provided in the policy.” (III.2) To initiate this report for use in an academic integrity violation, we would need to receive the request from VCU Student Conduct & Academic Integrity. You can report this suspicion of an honor violation to SCAI using the Honor System and Standards of Academic Conduct Reporting Form.
Requests for administrator-level reports will come directly from the SCAI office.
For all other guidelines and procedures, please see http://go.vcu.edu/lsprocedures.
We Appreciate Your Feedback
As always, we welcome and appreciate your feedback; it is valuable to our team’s continued success. Please take a moment to fill out this short 4-question survey whenever you are assisted by anyone in any capacity on the Learning Systems team – Learning Systems Support Survey. Additionally, if you would just like to give us general feedback on any of the systems we support, the training we provide, suggestions, our website, etc. please email [email protected].
For any information regarding our team, what we do, what we support, and how to get support, visit the Learning Systems website or email [email protected].
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Academic Technologies Website
Here you can find an overview of Academic Technologies, as well as, information about the support and other instructional technologies offered to faculty by our team using the Instructional Technologies Toolkit.
Categories Beginning of Semester, Canvas, Faculty, LonCapa, Möbius, Online Teaching and Development, Staff, Teaching with Technology, Workshops and Training