Remote Teaching Using Canvas
Your FCLT team has created videos, templates and resources to get you started with Remote Teaching. In order to create quality resources for as many professors as possible, our small team's ability to provide direct individualized assistance is limited. Use the Get Help from a Faculty Mentor button below to fill out a form for individualized help and a professor with experience related to your question will get in touch with you.
In the event of an emergency or campus closure, it is important that Mt. SAC faculty continue to provide a high quality educational experience for its students. Below are some steps that Mt. SAC faculty can take to ensure the continuity of instruction during an emergency or campus closure.
Health Alert Page See the Mt. SAC Health Alert page for the latest updates on Covid-19 and Mt. SAC response.
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- Readying to Go Remote
Getting Started
Here are a few useful things to know about using our LMS, Canvas:
- all faculty, staff, students, and managers have accounts in Canvas
- all spring 2020 courses automatically have course shells that can be used in Canvas.
If you have never accessed Canvas, this video shows you how:
Requesting a Canvas Sandbox
A sandbox is an empty course shell that has no students enrolled in it. It does not expire. Sandboxes are useful when you want to
- practice using tools
- try out functionality
- share materials with other professors
- set up a course before the active course shells have been released for a future term
- set up a a template
- preview materials from the Commons (a library of shared materials you can use)
Click the link below to request one. Please allow 12-24 hours for your request to be processed.
Get Started with the Remote Teaching Canvas Template
So now that you know how to access Canvas and have a sandbox or 2 to work with, what do you do next? The next video shows you how to access the Remote Instruction Canvas template in the Commons and use it to set up any of your Mt. SAC courses. This template contains a document called Convert Your Course to Canvas that walks you through a sequence of useful steps for setting up courses in Canvas.
- Communicating with your Students
It is important to communicate you plans to your students. Like you, students are receiving official communications and messages from other professors, so take a moment and organize your message in a way that helps students get the most important takeaways. Here's an example:
Student Message ExampleGreetings:
My name is [your name] and I am your professor for [name of class]. This class begins on [date] and will take place [online? in the class? both?]. You can now access the course to review and download a copy of the syllabus from Canvas.
Once class begins, it is important that you log in during the first week of class and complete the course activities to remain enrolled in the class. Please note that there are multiple resources to support you in Canvas.
- The Mountie Student Hub can be accessed from the gray global navigation bar or from your dashboard. This resource contains guides to help you use Canvas, info on distance learning, and links to many student services including counseling, tutoring, and online access to the library.
- Questions or concerns about COVID-19 or about resuming classes online? You can find resources to help and inform students at mtsac.edu/health.
- You can contact me if you have concerns about equipment, internet access, or other questions about this transition.
- If you need to request accommodations, please go to the ACCESS website soon to give the ACCESS staff and I the best opportunity to arrange content that meets your needs.
Until you are notified otherwise, please do not come to Mt. SAC campus. Following guidelines to stay home, especially if you do not feel well. Practice good hygiene: wash your hands thoroughly. Avoid touching your face. Maintain a reasonable distance from others. Thanks, and I look forward to seeing all online soon!
Students are probably receiving lots of messages, and everyone is experiencing some uncertainty and changes to routines. If you use Announcements in Canvas and turn on the option to see announcements at the top of the page, it can help students find relevant information for our class when they look in your class in Canvas.
Post current conditions on one prominent location in Canvas, so that your students can find changed information such as due dates, how they are going to submit assignments, and where to find virtual conference meetings. Be clear if there will be any synchronous time (meeting online together at a specific time).
Another way to stay organized and track student questions is to create an "Ask a Question" discussion in your course in Canvas. Students can then post their question rather than emailing you directly. You or other students can then answer the question in the forum, thereby, allowing all students in the course to view the answer.
Tutorials:
Remember: Canvas does not send out messages until a course is published!
- Resources on Canvas and Remote Teaching
This collaborative Google Doc for Teaching at Mt. SAC in Times of Disruption was started by the FCLT and includes crowdsourced information that you can learn from or contribute to related to converting your courses for remote instruction. It has a lot of very useful and dynamic information!
- Mt. SAC FAQ on Remote Temporary Instruction
- Canvas Community page has added sections on Contingency planning.
- Contributors from other schools within the Canvas Community have created a page about moving a course from on ground to online
- @ONE: Preparing to Teach in an Emergency
- See our Learning Canvas page for existing training, guides and resources to learn how to use the LMS
- NEED CAPTIONS? Mt. SAC offers free captioning of videos for any college employee using video as a part of work for the college. make you're request here Video Captioning Services You can also find the Captioning request form under the Help button in Canvas.
Commons Templates
Teachers can click on the Commons in Canvas to see a shared repository of information. We have added a course template that you can use to start. You can apply this template to any of your courses, but it is recommended to first apply it to a Canvas sandbox, which is a Canvas course with no enrollment attached. If you don't have a sandbox you can request one. Watch the video below to learn how to access the Remote Instruction Course template in Canvas.
Local Guides and Resources in Canvas
- Mt. SAC Faculty Center in Canvas
- Request a Canvas Sandbox
- Faculty Accessibility Center in Canvas
- UDOIT Accessibility Checker in Canvas
- Using the Proctoring Software in Canvas
- Listening and Speaking in Canvas (Coming soon!)
- @ONE online self-paced Intro to Canvas
- Example Course in Canvas-coming soon
- Formatting a Word doc for Respondus
- FCLT uses Respondus for importing a quiz or exam into Canvas
- Email fclt@mtsac.edu with your properly formatted Word file. Include your course CRN in your email. We will complete your request as soon as possible.
- We are working on getting Respondus licenses for departments since our small FCLT team is overloaded.
- Workshops, Recordings, & Videos to Learn Canvas & Other Tools
Workshops
On the Mt. SAC POD Connect Calendar, you can find many local and external workshops on topics related to managing your course in Canvas, using conferencing tools, and other topics on effective online teaching and available tools at Mt. SAC. POD also offers free self-paced online training options on may online teaching topics from LinkedIn/Lynda and Skillsoft. Skim or complete these trainings at your convenience.
FCLT Workshop Recordings
Workshops in the following topics were offered by Mt. SAC FCLT during the transition period to remote teaching in March 2020 Watch or rewatch them in POD Connect, where your activities can be tracked and given appropriate credit, where applicable.
Please look for content from these recordings in POD Connect starting Friday May 15, 2020
- Basics For Remote Instruction in Canvas
- ConferZoom in Canvas for Remote Instruction
- Assignments & Grading in Canvas
- Quizzing & Proctoring in Canvas
Other Useful Videos
- FCLT Youtube Channel Playlists (click on Playlists tab):
- CCC Accessibility Center: Canvas Accessibility Best Practices in Canvas videos
- CVC-OEI Vision Rsource Center (this is POD's new POD Connect system)
- Working Remotely
- Teaching Online this offers a curated path of online trainings and LinkedIn/Lynda courses to help you with many online teaching topics including Canvas and Zoom.
- Canvas Vimeo Videos
- Byte-sized Canvas
- Resources for Managing Stress
Managing Stress
If you need some support from the stress, please remember that the college has EASE available to call for all employees and their families. This is a call-in phone line offering counseling services to let you talk to a friendly someone in these times of stress.
Humor Break
Need a break? Check out the latest comic relieve on our Pinterest page: Humor for Teaching During Covid-19 . Have something funny to add: click here to add something on the Pinterest board.
- Readying to Go Remote
Student Resources
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- Canvas Resources for Students
Mountie Student Hub in Canvas
The Mountie Student Hub is a new resource to connect students with the information and Mt. SAC services they need from where they are: in Canvas! In the Hub you will find:
- Useful Canvas info for students
- What to know about taking online courses at Mt. SAC
- Links to many helpful campus services & resources for students
- Videos about cool locations and people at Mt. SAC
- Connections to Mt. SAC news and social media
Join the Mountie Student Hub in Canvas
Canvas Student Support Center
The Canvas Student Support Center is a course shell in Canvas that Mt. SAC students can self-enroll into, where they can get support on learning how to use Canvas. In addition to static resources in this shell, Mt. SAC students can also receive support from our Mt. SAC Canvasadors, student employees whose job is to support other students in the use of Canvas at Mt. SAC
- Canvas Resources for Students
