Use a LTI to Seamlessly Upload Videos

Canvas continually works to update the user experience within Canvas and while we don't always see these features, we wanted to point out one you might consider implementing in your Canvas course.

In Canvas LIT stands for Learning Tool Interoperability.  These are external tools which have been designed to operate within Canvas.  The LTIs create functionality which enable a more streamline user experience.  You can read in more depth about LIT's here.

Here is how to link a YouTube video using the LTI tool.

Step 1: Open your Canvas Course and click on 'Settings'

Step 2: Click the 'Apps' tab

Step 3: Add a new app by clicking the 'View the App Configuration' button

Step 4: Scroll down to view a selection of apps and choose one to install

Step 5: Add the tool

Step 6: The app will appear in your list of External Apps

Step 7: When you add content to your module, select 'External Tool' and choose which tool you desire [in this example we chose YouTube] 

Step 8: Select a resource to link from your External Tool

Step 9: The chosen URL will appear in the URL window, along with the Page Name [which you can modify] and then click 'Add Item'

Then within the Module content will appear, in this instance the video. This streamlines your uploading process and allows for the content [video in this example] to open directly inside Canvas.

The details for these new features have been sourced from Canvas’ User Guides.  Please feel free to contact me (mwiseman@baypath.edu) for any questions you may have about using Canvas for your Bay Path class.

Exciting New Canvas Features!

As you may well know, Canvas runs on a 3-week update cycle... while many of these updates are "behind the scenes", the improvement is continuous!  This past weekend, Canvas put some helpful updates in place that should make your LMS experience even more enjoyable:

File Previewer (Scribd) Update
A new HTML5-based Scribd viewer in Canvas has been implemented. Formerly based in flash, the new viewer should improve overall performance in Scribd and will display HTML content, File previews, and SpeedGrader previews. Viewer controls are now located at the bottom of the Scribd window and include an updated full-screen option.

Gradebook Notes Column

Instructors can use a Notes column in their Gradebook to keep track of extra information in their course.  This feature was the second-most-requested feature by Canvas users!  To use this feature, select "Show Notes Column" from the Gradebook settings menu and click into the field for the student you'd like to work with!

There are also a few more updates that the most-Canvas among us will be interested in... if you count yourself as one of us, take a look at this video highlighting the most recent release:

02.08.14 - New Feature Screencast from Instructure on Vimeo.

The details for these new features have been sourced from Canvas’ User Guides and Product Release Notes.  Please feel free to contact me (ptestori@baypath.edu) for any questions you may have about using Canvas for your Bay Path class.

Encourage Robust Online Discussions

Student discussion forums are a core element of your online course.  To enable a robust online asynchronous conversation, we recommend you "Allow threaded replies" when developing your discussions [as shown below] so students can interject their responses to each other at each step of the conversation.

Create a Discussion

Create your discussion by utilizing the following options:

1. Enter your topic title in the topic title field. 
2. Use the Rich Content Editor to format your content. 
3. Create a threaded replies by clicking on the Allow threaded replies checkbox. 
4. Save your Discussion.

View Threaded Discussions

By implementing Threaded Discussions you will see when a student replies to another student's reply. A blue dot [1] indicates a new reply, and a white dot [2] indicates an unread reply. Click the Gear icon [3] to select one of the following options in the drop-down menu:

• Click the Go To Topic link to return to discussion post or comment you replied to. 
• Click the Edit the reply link to edit your response. 
• Click the Delete the reply link to delete your response. 
• Note: Graded discussions will also include an Open in SpeedGrader link to grade the discussion replies.

View Collapsed Replies

By hovering over the reply, you can collapse all replies [1] and expand all replies [2] to make the Discussion easier to manage. Or you can collapse and expand a single thread by hovering over the thread [3]. Click the Reply link to reply to the main discussion [4]. You can also reply to any other post in the thread by clicking the reply arrow.


The details for these features have been sourced from Canvas’ User Guides. Please feel free to contact us (online@baypath.edu) for any questions you may have about using Canvas for your Bay Path class.

Viewing Embedded Media in your Canvas Classroom

Are you seeing media pop-up alerts when using Canvas? This may have something to do with your web browser settings. Canvas works with most web browsers; it works especially well with Chorme or Firefox. If you find that your are not able to view embedded media or web pages, if you are seeing pop-up alerts, or if you are attempting to use the media comments within your Canvas course and having troubles, you may need to do one of two things:

• switch the browser you are using -or-

• make some modifications to your browser security policy-as shown below.

Pop-up indications, while annoying, mean you may need to adjust your privacy settings.

Some embedded media may be viewed by your browser as "unsafe" or "unauthenticated". You might also need to make the following adjustments in your browser to view the media:

Chrome Security:

Google Chrome verifies that the website content you view is transmitted securely. If you visit a page in your Canvas course that is linked to insecure content, Chrome will display a shield icon in the browser address bar. You can choose to override the security restriction and display the content anyway by:

1. clicking the shield icon and then
2. clicking the Load unsafe script button.

Chrome Media Permissions:

Chrome has its own media permission within the browser. To use your computer camera and microphone within any Canvas feature, you might have to approve two permissions:

1. Allow access to Canvas via Adobe Flash Player Settings [1]. This prompt appears in the center of the video and audio pop-up windows, or the center of the browser if you are accessing Conversations.
2. Allow access to Canvas via Chrome's media permission settings [2]. This prompt appears just below the address bar. Click the Allow button.

Firefox Security:

Firefox verifies that the website content you view is transmitted securely. If you visit a page in your Canvas course that is linked to insecure content, Firefox will display a shield icon in the browser bar [1]. You can choose to override the security restriction and display the content anyway by clicking the shield icon, clicking the Keep Blocking drop-down menu [2], and selecting the Disable Protection on This Page option [3].

While they may be cumbersome at times, these browser settings are in place to protect your computer. By making these adjustments above, you will be able to select which sites are allowed to display content that is deemed "unauthenticated".

The details for understanding how Canvas works with different browsers have been sourced from Canvas' User Guides. Please feel free to contact Online Learning online@baypath.edu or call 413.565.6880 for any questions you may have about using Canvas for your Bay Path class.

Canvas course list unmanageable?

Now that we've been using Canvas for a couple years, chances are that you may have a rather long list of courses in your Canvas "My Courses" list.  You may have worked on past search committees, been part of a departmental group, or had a course development site created to allow you build course content outside of a "live" Canvas classroom. These Canvas sites may still be listed and may be making it hard to find your current courses quickly in the menu. Did you know that Canvas gives you some easy ways to manage your course list so that you only see the courses you want to see in your Courses menu?

When you hover your mouse pointer over the Courses menu at the top of the screen in Canvas, your My Courses list appears.  Note that there are a couple options here.  At the bottom of the list in the lower right is a "View all courses" link.  If you click on that link, you'll see a list of all the courses you have access to in Canvas, including course sites from previous semesters and any future courses that are in the system. They will be grouped with section headings - My Courses for current courses, Past Enrollments for past courses, and Future Enrollments for upcoming (unpublished) courses.  This link gives you access to see any of the courses you have had access to at any time since we started using Canvas.

Because you can go back and view all your courses through the "View all courses" area, it's a good idea to customize your My Courses list under the Courses menu so you only see the courses you need to access during a particular session or semester.  When viewing your My Courses list, click on "Customize" in the upper right and you'll see a list appear on the right (shown below).  You can check or uncheck them to select what appears in your My Courses list.  If you have access to a Canvas course that has been created for other purposes, such as a search committee or other group, you can uncheck those when they are no longer needed.  This gives you full control over what appears in your Courses menu, so you can set it up however you'd like and still be able to access any other courses through the "View all courses" link when you need them.