Reminders and Collaboration Tools

Do you like to be reminded about upcoming activities and tasks? Want to collaborate with your fellow faculty or staff members to track progress? 

Most importantly: Can you, as a faculty or staff member, use reminders and collaboration tools in your daily workflow?

There are a lot of apps and websites out there looking to help you track your time, and, just like members of your family, they all have their pros and cons. Let’s take a quick look at a few of them (be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom through all three sections!):

First, we’ll look at the default apps that most everyone has access to by using any modern phone or computer.

Reminders

Got an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple computer? If so, then you already have Reminders. It syncs with iCloud so all your stuff is one step away from completion.

Cost: Free

More information: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4970

Google Calendar 

Using your BPU Google account, you can find tasks in Google Calendar by clicking on the triangle on the far-right edge of your screen. It syncs with your Google account, so any connected device will have your tasks.

Cost: Free

More Information: https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/144246?hl=en

Windows Calendar 

The default calendar on Windows (Windows phone 7 or 8, Windows 7 or 8 for desktop) allows you to create tasks or activities from your events by a selection tool within the event.

Cost: Free

More Information: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/email-and-calendar/calendar-tasks

Now that we’ve seen some basic task management apps, let’s do a deeper dive into the app world and see some of the other things out there. These are more robust apps, created by independent developers focusing on creating a unique user experience.

Things 

My current go-to for managing projects, Siri-integration (for when those reminders strike you in the middle of I-91), quick entry, hosted cloud support, and the ability to send URLs via a bookmark. The biggest drawback - Price. The second biggest drawback - Lack of updates.

Cost: Things for Mac - $49, Things for iPhone - $9.99, Things for iPad - $19.99

More information: http://culturedcode.com

Clear 

A really clean interface, very user friendly. Incredibly simple. This is more of a straight to do list than a task manager. But if you’re looking for quick and dirty, this is the way to do it.

Cost: Clear for OS X - $9.99, Clear for iOS - $4.99

More Information: http://realmacsoftware.com/clear/

Evernote 

Admittedly, I love Evernote for it’s ability to digitally hoard my stuff. But with the newest update, I can add reminders to my notes. If you’re using the service already, this is a great feature. If not, I’ll detail it later in another post about it’s usage and how it’s saved me quite a few times.

Cost: Free with the Premium subscription running $49/yr

More Information: http://www.evernote.com

Lastly, let’s take a look at three services that promote and deeply integrate collaboration. 

ToDoist 

Quite possibly the most robust on this list in that it covers all major platforms (both mobile and desktop), major browsers and has Gmail integration. 

Cost: Free, though premium features like Reminders and Keywords will cost you $29/yr

More information: https://en.todoist.com

Producteev 

Built around collaboration, this app allows for a lot of transparency around audit trails and notifications for web, OS X, iOS and Android. At first glance it can seem overwhelming, but the scope and breadth of it’s features greatly outweigh even the most clunky of interfaces.

Cost: Free with optional yearly subscription for $99/yr

More information: https://producteev.com

Wunderlist 

Available for all major platforms (except Windows Phone), this app has a cleaner interface than most on the list. The learning curve is also less steep. However, because of the baked-in collaboration features and ability to publish lists for those without Wunderlist it can help you keep your courses transparent to those outside of BPU (i.e. parents).

Cost: Free with optional $4.99/month pro account

More information: https://www.wunderlist.com

Any questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Chris Gaudreau

Learning Technologist

Center for Online & Digital Learning

cgaudreau@baypath.edu

413-565-1057

Oh, Hello - An Introduction to the Campus Community

Oh, hello.

As the newest member of the Center for Online & Digital Learning, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to everyone.

I've been working in education (formally) as a substitute teacher in the Longmeadow Public Schools and (informally) with Apple, Inc. since 2007. With Apple, I lead the training and technical support for retail stores in Holyoke, MA and Farmington, CT. A few years ago, I began working towards my Master's degree in Learning, Media and Technology at the University of Massachusetts. I also hold degrees from Springfield Technical Community College and Elms College.

My passion for education is one that has only grown in recent years, and I really enjoy enriching lives through the constantly advancing tools we have at our disposal.

Outside of work, I've been playing drums for twenty years and show no signs of slowing down as I'm regularly playing with one or two bands at a time. My current group, Crowrider, plays our own blend of self-branded BBQ Rock. It's an infusion of fuzzy, 70s-orientated riff rock with some sweet grooves and three-part harmonies and is without a doubt the most fun I've ever had behind the kit. My girlfriend and I live in Springfield with our three cats and an increasing need for more space. Media and food wise, I'm a big fan of Battlestar Galactica, Batman video games, and burritos.

I am very excited to start putting a lot of what I've learned (and am still learning) into practice here at Bay Path and helping to enrich lives every step of the way. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me for anything you need!

Working with the ALLI students during my first week (thanks to Peter for the photo)

Chris Gaudreau

Learning Technologist

Center for Online & Digital Learning
Division of Research & Academic Resources
(413) 565-1057 | cgaudreau@baypath.edu

#1 Tip When Using Canvas

The #1 Tip When Using Canvas: ta da, the Help button!

It's amazing and always there... it is in the upper right hand corner of your screen and by clicking on it you will be transferred to a world of Canvas Guides complete with step-by-step instructions and many videos.

Once you click the Help Button, you will be prompted to Search a variety of Help options.  

Click on Search the Canvas Guides

Click Canvas Instructor Guide 

you may scroll and select from a large variety of topics
OR
'search' the guide for your issue!

If you prefer learning from videos, please click here. Then, select from this list of video instructions.
As always we are here to assist you, so don't hesitate to call, email or drop by to visit.
We always enjoy helping and sharing our knowledge about Canvas.

The details for these new features have been sourced from Canvas’ User Guides and Product Release Notes. If you have any specific question we would be happy to speak with you directly, please call 413-565-6880 or email us at online@baypath.edu.

Weighting Assignments in Draft State

In Draft State Weighting Assignments works ever so slightly different. Fear not! Canvas is very intuitive and soon those who weight their Assignments will be zipping along in Draft State.

Here are some simple steps.  Read all the details here too.

Open Assignments

In Course Navigation, click the Assignments link.

View Assignments Index Page

The Assignments Index page is designed with global settings at the top of the page [1], followed by the Assignment groups [2]. Individual assignments are nested within each Assignment group [3].

View Assignment Global Settings

Global settings include searching for assignments [1], adding a new assignment group [2], and adding a new assignment [3]. To weight assignment groups, click the Settings icon [4].

View Assignment Groups

Assignment Groups house the assignments within each group. Groups can be expanded and collapsed by clicking the arrow next to the group name.

Manage Assignment Group Settings

The icons and links to the right of the assignment group control the entire assignment group.

If assignment groups have been weighted, Canvas will display the weighted percentage of the total assignment score [1]. Additionally, if rules are assigned to the group, Canvas will show the number of rules; hover over the link to view the rules [2]. You can add a new assignment to the group with the Add icon [3], and in the Settings drop-down menu, you can edit, delete, or move the assignment group [4].

 Manage Individual Assignments

For each individual assignment, you can use the settings drop-down menu to edit, delete, or move the assignment.

View Module Association

If an assignment is associated with a module, the module name will appear on the individual line item of the assignment.

View Status of All Assignments

On the Assignments Index page, you can view the status of each assignment. Green cloud icons with a white checkmark [1] indicate the assignment is published. Solid gray cloud icons [2] indicate unpublished assignments. You can change the status of an assignment by toggling the published and unpublished icons.

Publish an Assignment

To publish an assignment, click the assignment’s unpublished icon. The hover text will confirm you want to publish the assignment.

Unpublish an Assignment

To unpublish an assignment, hover over the assignment's published icon and view its status. If the assignment can be unpublished, the hover text will confirm you want to unpublish the assignment, and the icon will change from gray to red [1]. Click the icon to confirm.

Assignments with student submissions cannot be unpublished, and the hover text will notify you accordingly [2].

View Status within an Individual Assignment

Within individual assignments, the assignment status is shown next to the assignment name.

Publish an Assignment

To publish an assignment, click the assignment’s Publish button. The button will change from gray to green.  

Unpublish an Assignment

To unpublish an assignment, hover over the published button for the assignment and view its status. If the assignment can be unpublished, the hover text will confirm you want to unpublish the assignment, and the button will change from gray to red [1]. Click the button to confirm.

Assignments with student submissions cannot be unpublished. The the hover text will notify you accordingly [2].

Assignments Student View

Students cannot see any of the actions involved with Draft State, such as published and unpublished icons and setting icons. Students will only see published assignments, which are posted in gray text.

The details for these new features have been sourced from Canvas’ User Guides and Product Release Notes. If you have any specific question we would be happy to speak with you directly, please call 413-565-6880 or email us at online@baypath.edu.

S.O.S. = Save Our Syllabus

If you are tired of reminding your students to, "Read your syllabus for that information," you might be interested in how one faculty decided to incorporate her syllabus into a learning resource....and saved her syllabus.

Joanne Marciano Crossman, EdD. professor of Education at Saint Leo University in Florida, always provides her syllabus to her students.  Yet she was bewildered by the fact her students still didn't seem to actually 'read the syllabus'.

Joanne has come up with a few strategies. While Joanne teaches Face-to-Face courses, her techniques can easily be adapted for online delivery.

• As you probably do, Joanne includes an index of recommended website resources in her syllabi.  She was finding [as you might] that many of these pertinent resources were ignored.  So, Joanne correlates several website resources into each class.  You might consider adding your website resources into your Weekly Overviews.  

• this might be a link to a website that gives an overview of the week's content or a link to interactive tools relevant to your course.  Just add the website links to serve as resources so students don't just "Google" information and use the top ranking website.

• You might want to refer to your syllabus when describing an Assignment and refer to learning activities and objectives, listed in your syllabus. 

• If you list any rubrics in your syllabus, add them into Canvas.  This not only offers your students a graphic representation of your expectations, it will help you when grading assignments etc.

• This last tip is one of my own.  You might also want to add a little 'Quiz' into your Introductory Module, with all questions leading your students back to the syllabus for answers.  It can even be 'Open Syllabus'.  Anything to get them to read this important document.

If you would like to read more from Joanne, please take a look at her June 9, 2014 article in Faculty Focus, Using Your Syllabus as a Learning Resource.

If you have any specific question we would be happy to speak with you directly, please call 413-565-6880 or email us at online@baypath.edu