Your monthly instructional technology updates
Ten Tips for Supporting "Online" Students
Suddenly, you have become a Distance Education instructor!
I understand the challenges that you may be facing. You may feel that you have to learn a technology in a hurry, and you aren’t sure about how to do it. Everything is confusing at first, I know, and the learning curve looks more like a mountain right now. Like many of you, I learned to use ConferZoom on March 16th. I had planned to learn how to use it next year! After a few stumbles, I have gotten more comfortable with it, but I am still learning. It takes practice. The more I do it, the easier it gets. I’m sure you’ll get more comfortable with the new technology as you go, too.
My students don’t seem to mind that I’m learning right along with them. In fact, I find them to be quite supportive of my lack of perfection. That’s good! They are learning, too, and they are stressed by the current world situation. Some of the stressors for our students right now include the following:
- Lack of knowledge about how to access technology
- Slow internet
- Loss of jobs/income
- Disruption in daily routine
- Child care
- Isolation
For students who didn’t expect to be taking college classes via Canvas or ConferZoom, I offer a few tips for you. These are things that you can do to support student success and may help students manage their stress.
- Encourage students to schedule their time and have a quiet place to work
- Post Canvas Announcements and/or use the Canvas Inbox to email students regularly to let them know what is happening in the class. They’ll want to know that you are doing well, too!
- Record short (20-minute) mini lectures using ConferZoom and link the recording and audio transcript in a Canvas assignment or quiz that requires recall of lecture material and/or synthesis of concepts.
- Arrange for students to practice taking quizzes and use multiple short Canvas quizzes to promote recall of information.
- Arrange for students to practice submitting assignments and use the Canvas assignment feature allowing multiple methods of online submission.
- Schedule ConferZoom student hour appointments from within Canvas. Set a variety of appointment blocks that are convenient for you.
- Install an ungraded discussion board in Canvas and ask your students to share tips with each other about how to be successful with our temporary alternate forms of instruction.
- Use the Canvas Collaborations feature to encourage the development of online community.
- Consider allowing students to work on course assignments ahead of schedule.
- Maintain your academic expectations.
Support for Maintaining Instructional Continuity
The District is maintaining a web page with resources for you to help you in this temporary situation. The web page is updated regularly.
We are offering drop-in hours to assist you with moving content online (FLEX Approved):
(Deborah will hold her drop-in hours during Spring Break.) Please use the far right links to enter the ConferZoom Rooms.
Wednesdays - Deborah
Thursdays - Deborah
Fridays - Deborah
Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays - Natascha
Need a different time?
Email Dr. Chtena or Dr. Nolan to set-up an online appointment.
Options for Moving Content Online
Beginning March 14th, I have offered a workshop providing an overview of some options available to you to move your course out of the face-to-face classroom. The content of that workshop is available on Canvas.
Canvas as an Alternative Mode of Teaching
You all have Canvas accounts and Canvas shells for all your classes. Log in to MyGiant and click on Canvas to find your classes. Your students are already enrolled.
Some recommendations for using Canvas and a way to request a Canvas course template is available to you.
Canvas Conferences
Canvas has a web conferencing tool. It’s called Conferences.
You have to enable the Conferences link on your Canvas course navigation menu (settings>navigation).
The Canvas Conferences tool uses an application called BigBlueButton which enables the same type of remote video conferencing interaction as ConferZoom, but you do not need a BigBlueButton account to use it.
Canvas and Mobile Access
Many students are using mobile devices (phones or tablets) to do work in their Canvas classes. There have been instances where students have had difficulty submitting work or taking quizzes in Canvas when using their mobile devices. The Educational Technology Committee (ETC) explored the mobile Canvas experience this semester to try to find out if there was something that could be done to help prevent the difficulties students were having. ETC members were enrolled in a Canvas “sandbox” as students. They used their mobile devices to learn more about the mobile interface. After a month of exploration, ETC is recommending that you inform your students to use a browser instead of downloading and installing the Canvas app.
What browsers are supported in Canvas?
Chrome 79 and 80
Firefox 72 and 73 (Extended Releases are not supported*)
Edge 79 and 80
Safari 12 and 13 (Macintosh only)
Call Canvas directly for technical support. Someone is available 24/7/365.
The teacher support line is: 833-221-7459
The student support line is: 877-894-3392
Faculty can learn more about using Canvas by working with Deborah, the "Canvas Coach." Please contact Deborah by submitting this form or click the button to the right.
Office 365 - Alternate Form of Instruction
All instructors and students have access to Microsoft Office 365. There are ways to use the Office 365 applications to share content with students, do web conferences, and set up collaborations. Some additional information about using Office 365 is available to you on a Canvas “course.
ConferZoom
ConferZoom is a service offered by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office. ConferZoom allows you to engage in real-time video conferences with your students and record your lectures for remote viewing.
You may already be familiar with Zoom and have a personal Zoom.us account. ConferZoom is different from the parent company, Zoom. As a COS instructor, you can get a free Conferzoom account at ConferZoom.org using your COS email address. It may take a couple of days to have your account created, but after you sign up, come back the next day and try the password recovery option. You may be able to sign in.
Please do not attempt to use Zoom.us except to download the Zoom app to your desktop. The meeting interface conducted through the app will differ from the meeting as held through the web portal.
With your ConferZoom account, you can schedule online meetings through the ConferZoom portal (conferzoom.org). You can send meeting invitations to your students. Students don’t need accounts to be able to join your meeting. You can enable the ConferZoom integration in Canvas to schedule meetings, instead of going to the ConferZoom.org web portal. If you use ConferZoom through Canvas, students just click the “Join” button to enter the meeting.
