Academic Technology Center Newsletter - Spring 2022
Department(s):
Academic Technology CenterD-Term is quickly approaching! Before you know it, the trees will be budding, daffodils will be popping up, and the fountain will be running once again. The Academic Technology Center is here to help facilitate delivery of academic content on-campus or remotely. If you have any questions about using the instructional technology tools available at WPI, check out our upcoming office hours and workshops, or send us an email!
Summary
What’s New?
Upcoming Workshops & Office Hours
Canvas Updates, Requests & Support
Zoom Web Conferencing
Video Publishing, Storage, & Sharing
Classroom Engagement & Research Survey Tools
Contact Us & Hours
What’s New?
Gradescope
Gradescope is now available to use in Canvas! Gradescope supports online assignments, paper-based assignments, assignments combining online and in-class, and cuts down grading time for science, math, and programming assignments. You can find more information about remote assessment in this FAQ Guide.
Getting Started with Gradescope
If you don't yet have a Gradescope account, you can create one on their homepage. We recommend using these short videos and the searchable Help Center as you get started.
Gradescope Workshops and WPI Learning Community
The Gradescope team hosts weekly workshops on Thursdays at 12pm Eastern. A workshop is a great way to get a quick walkthrough of the platform and learn how to get the most out of Gradescope.
The Technology for Teaching and Learning team set up a Teams Learning Community for those interested in using Gradescope. You can join the team to learn more and to access documentation on Gradescope directly in our Team notebook.
Perusall
Perusall is a tool integrated into Canvas that facilitates student engagement with reading assignments through social annotation and reflection. Interested in learning more? Check out this overview of Perusall. Have you tried Perusall in your class? Let us know what you think!
Incorporating Course Flexibility in D-Term
Still thinking about your course and how you can support your students who might need more flexibility in D-Term? Wondering about “blended,” “flipped” or other teaching approaches? We’re here to help!
Check out this infographic overview and consider consulting with one of our Instructional Designers to help identify what asynchronous and synchronous teaching and learning activities you might consider incorporating into your course using either Echo360 or Zoom.
Feel free to reach out anytime to schedule a consultation with the Technology for Teaching and Learning team at atc-ttl@wpi.edu.
Canvas Updates
New Gradebook Filters
Instructors will be able to select conditions to create new Gradebook filters and save filters for future use. The following conditions can be used to create filters: Assignment Group, Module, Section, Student Group, Submission, Start Date, End Date.
Equation Editor Update (Coming 3/19/22)
The Math Equation Editor in Canvas will be updated to provide a better experience when using mobile devices.
E-Term courses are now available!
E-Term courses available in Workday are now posted in Canvas. If you do not see your course on your Dashboard, check in Courses > All Courses and then click the “star” icon to favorite it. If you see a course on Workday but not in Canvas, please reach out to us at canvashelp@wpi.edu.
Upcoming Workshops & Office Hours
Canvas
Need a quick refresher on Canvas basics? Want to do a deep dive into a specific Canvas tool? Book a 30 minute online chat with Lindsey Van Gieson (lftapper@wpi.edu) that fits your schedule to talk about anything Canvas.
Zoom
Zoom-compatible hardware is available in all classrooms on campus, so you can reach your students remotely from any computer you’d like. If you’d like to learn more about Zoom or have any questions, stop by during our digital Zoom Office Hours being offered during the following times:
Zoom Office Hours
Friday, March 11th
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Zoom Office Hours
Monday, March 14th
1:00pm – 3:00pm
For basic Zoom training and other topics, check out our videos on Zoom.
You can also email Jolene Cotnoir (jcotnoir@wpi.edu) to schedule a one-on-one training session that fits your schedule.
Echo360
Echo360 is the lecture capture system used in classrooms at WPI. To understand how it works, please attend one of the following workshops:
Echo360 - Basics
10:00am - Tuesday, March 8
10:00am - Thursday, March 10
9am - Friday, March 11
Any specific questions about Echo360 or special training requests? Email Sophie at sburke@wpi.edu.
Unity Hall AV Training
Join ATC TTL staff on Thursday March 10th for AV training in one of the new classrooms in our newest academic building. Stop by one of the 5th floor classrooms any time between 1pm-3pm. Pre-registration not required.
To learn more about the AV in these new classrooms, visit Using the Classroom AV in Unity Hall in the Hub.
Instructional Design
Open office hours on Mondays 3-4pm, Wednesdays 9-10am, and Fridays 11:30am-12:30pm using this Zoom: https://wpi.zoom.us/j/393623552
Poll Everywhere, Qualtrics, and Gradescope
If you would like to meet for 30 minutes with Mike Hamilton (mjham@wpi.edu) via Zoom for a consult or training on Poll Everywhere, Gradescope, or Qualtrics you can book online or email Mike.
On Demand and Micro-Trainings
We’ve recorded and collected our best workshops, and other “micro-training” sessions where you can learn a topic on Canvas, Echo360, or Zoom in 10 minutes or less!
On Demand Trainings - Full 45-minute training session recordings
Micro-Trainings – individual Canvas, Echo360, Zoom topics, learn in 10 minutes or less
Don’t see a micro or regular training session that you are looking for? Contact us at atc-ttl@wpi.edu to schedule a 1-on-1 session that works with your schedule.
Canvas Requests, Tech Support & Reporting Issues
Canvas is WPI's official course website system to deploy learning materials, assessments, discussions, and grades. If you have a course that exists in Workday, a site will be generated automatically for you within Canvas.
Need changes to your site? Use our form for all Canvas modification requests: https://www.wpi.edu/+canvasrequest
Need to give a waitlisted student access to your Canvas site before they are officially added to your WorkDay roster? Please follow these instructions to add the student using the “Manually Added Student” role in Canvas.
Got a Canvas question or need to report an issue? We’re here to help!
Weekdays 8-5, our team is answering questions at canvashelp@wpi.edu.
We also have 24/7 tech support for Faculty and TAs, just click on “Help” in the left-hand menu of Canvas to call, chat, or email Canvas.
Did you know...
we have a Canvas blog sharing Canvas updates and tips and tricks?
Web Conferencing
Zoom is WPI’s web conferencing tool accessible from https://wpi.zoom.us.
In addition to screen sharing, video, and audio, Zoom has a robust suite of collaboration tools to allow you to engage with your class in-person and online simultaneously.
Echo360 and Canvas allow automatic deployment of classroom lecture videos and Zoom recordings into your Canvas site!
To learn more about using Zoom to engage with your students, check out the workshops above, or contact Jolene Cotnoir at jcotnoir@wpi.edu.
Video Publishing & Sharing Options
Recording Your Lectures with Zoom & Echo360
ATC will be implementing lecture capture enabled by default for all D-term classes, for classes categorized with the “lecture” instructional format in WorkDay, in rooms with the appropriate technology.
Faculty may opt-out at their discretion if in their judgment the class is not suitable for lecture capture. To opt-out, please complete this opt-out request form. ATC will process your request within one business day.
All classrooms have podium gooseneck microphones. Please stand as close to them as possible to ensure high-quality audio is recorded.
Microphone Requests
If you would like to request a wireless lavaliere microphone, please fill out this request form and the ATC will prepare one for you and follow-up via email when it is ready to be picked up.
Echo360 vs. Zoom from the Classroom
Each classroom at WPI is now equipped with Echo360 Lecture Capture thanks to our amazing AV Services team. But is Echo360 the tool you need? How does it differ from Zoom? Do I have to be in a classroom to record? Start here with our Recording Lectures FAQ post and this comparison chart.
Even if you record using Zoom in a classroom, you can still use Echo360 by setting up an automatic connection between your Zoom recordings and Echo360. This connection enables your Zoom recordings to be stored in your Echo360 library on a more permanent basis than is currently possible with Zoom, as Zoom recordings are deleted after 100 days.
Lecture Capture-Zoom Integration
Learn how to set up the automatic ingest of your Zoom cloud recordings in this Echo360-Zoom Connection blog post.
Request Echo360 Lecture Capture
To request Echo360 lecture capture, please fill out the form here: http://www.wpi.edu/+echorequest
Storing Videos & Lectures
Are you maxing out your Canvas storage? Learn more about options for streaming your lectures and uploading video or other media that connect into Canvas for a seamless experience for you and your students.
Please Note: Ensemble Video is no longer supported at WPI. Ensemble video content will still be playable from Ensemble until the end of the 2021/22 academic year. The next phase of the migration process involves porting Ensemble video files to Echo360.
In the meantime, if you want to get started learning about Echo360, check out the resources here or email atc-ttl@wpi.edu.
For more information or to schedule training on Echo360, contact atc-ttl@wpi.edu.
Classroom Engagement & Research Survey Tools
Poll Everywhere is a web-based polling solution where students use their phone, tablets, and laptops to answer questions used for lecture engagement. You can even use it in Zoom! If you do not currently have access to Poll Everywhere, please use the Polling Request form.
A couple quick poll everywhere reminders for existing users:
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Instructions for your students if you are connecting to Canvas
Will your students be creating surveys and collecting data?
WPI has a site license for the fully featured Qualtrics suite. No need to use "free" online services for your surveys!
Interested in enhancing your online class discussions?
WPI has a free license to use FlipGrid, which allows for video discussion boards that can be enabled directly within Canvas. Learn more about FlipGrid.
Contact Us
Got a question or a problem? E-mail atc-ttl@wpi.edu and we'll be happy to help find a solution!
The Technology for Teaching and Learning team is available M-F, 8am-5pm.
Please check out our other resources
Canvas Blog - Get important Canvas updates, new features, and help resources
TTL Blog - Academic technology resources, workshops, and discover new tech tools
Follow us on Twitter: @atc_ttl
Check out the ATC’s Accessibility & UDL in Canvas site for more ways to make your course site & videos accessible to all users.