Increasing Your Options

Grow your study options by accessing course materials in different ways.

Here are four ways you can get access to materials and videos in Canvas to help you study:

1. Turn on the underline function in your Account Settings – so you don’t miss any linked files or external website links. Go to the bottom of the Settings page to Feature Options and ‘Underline links’ to click on ‘Enable.’ Then the links in all your courses will show up better by being underlined.

2. If captions aren’t turned on with Panopto videos in a course, you can ask your instructor or TA to turn on the captions that are automatically created for the videos. (Live captions in Zoom are also available to be turned on by your prof before a Zoom session.) Captions can help everybody in the course to catch the important details of what is said in Zoom or in a Panopto lecture video.

3. The Immersive Reader function in Canvas can read aloud embedded content on pages, assignments, the Home Page and the Syllabus page to you, translate it to another language and read it out, enlarge and/or change spacing or colours of font and background. See our previous post for more info about this option.

4. You can view your course material offline (pages, assignments, discussion topics, or quizzes) by downloading content and viewing it through an e-reader on your device – or by printing it. You might want a hard copy to cut down your screen time, make notes/highlight pages, or get around a unreliable internet connection.

To do this, your professor needs to turn on the ePub exporting feature with a couple of clicks (instructions for them here) and then you can generate and download the ePub file by following this instructions: How do I view course content offline as an ePub file?

Thank you to Julie Mayer from the Distance Education Unit for these tips about a downloaded ePub course.

More study tips:

 

We acknowledge that the University of Saskatchewan’s main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respect to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another.

For more support options with Canvas, see the USask Student Canvas page.

 

 

 

Goodbye Blackboard!

Plus tips for Accessing Files and Folders, and about Storage Quotas in Canvas 

Blackboard Heart, Photo by Mark de Jong, Unsplash

 

Brette D. W. Kristoff, Graduate Student, Communications Specialist, GMCTL   March 10th, 2021

 

 Out with the old, in with the new, as they say… Blackboard will no longer be accessible for USask students after August 30, 2021.  

 

 

 

 

Here are a few things you should know: 

Get your materials out of Blackboard!

As USask transitions from Blackboard to Canvas, you’ll want to download and save any material you have generated from your Blackboard courses.  

On August 30, 2021, the transition of USask’s learning management system, from Blackboard to Canvas, will be complete and Blackboard will no longer be available.

Please keep these important details in mind:  

  • The material you created for and in your classes are owned by you.  
  • The material your professors composed or created remain their intellectual property. See the student information about copyright page for details.  

Course materials will remain in Canvas for up to four years after the class ends.

Accessing Files, Folders, and Cloud Storage in Canvas 

  • Canvas Student User Files and Storage
    • By default, each Canvas Student User (that means you!) has 50 MB of ‘cloud’ storage space in Canvas. 
    • User Files include uploaded assignment submissions, conversations, saved photos, and more. 
    • Only you can access and view your user Files. 
    • See Canvas File Quotas for info about how your quota gets used up.

How do I access my materials and files in Canvas?  There are a few ways to access your course and group files.

Option 1: From the Global Navigation in Canvas, open your user Account [1] to find your Files: 

  • Open the Files tab [2]. Here you will find subfolders organized by Course, Group, and category (uploaded assignments, conversation attachments, etc.)

Option 2: Course and group files may also be accessible via the Course Navigation menu, if the instructor has made the Files tab visible.

  • From your Course Navigation menu, click the Files tab. Course Files will contain all uploaded content for that course.
  • Locate the All My Files link (located at the bottom of your course files page) to access your other user Files.

 

  • Create, reorder, and  rename folders to organize your files. Unused or old Folders can be deleted but all files within that folder will also be deleted.
  • Download your files to save a permanent copy to your desktop or hard-drive for future use.
  • See more details about organizing files here.

Option 3: If your course requires group work, each Canvas Group has 50 MB of storage space.

  • Similarly, Groups have their own Files folder easily accessed from the Group Homepage. 
  • All content published and uploaded within a Group can be viewed by all group members (and instructors). 

 

Files Storage:

  • Files submitted for assignments cannot be deleted but other materials can be. (Deleting unused files from previous courses will help to free-up storage).
  • Files and your course materials be accessible in Canvas for up to four years.

Accessing Panopto Lecture Capture

  • Panopto is the official USask video platform for lecture capture, instructional videos, and more. 
    • Panopto Recordings will have their own folder in your course menu.
  • Videos can be viewed and uploaded through Canvas.
    • Install the Panopto software from an eligible Web browser to record, edit, and upload your own video content. 
    • See Panopto for Students for info about recording and uploading from a mobile device.

What’s been your biggest adjustment in transitioning to remote learning?

For more support options with Canvas, see the USask Student Canvas page.

We acknowledge that the University of Saskatchewan’s main campus is situated on Treaty 6, traditional Nehiyaw territory, and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respect to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another. 

 

Getting Help with Canvas

Photo by Jessica Lewis from Pexels

Brette D. W. Kristoff, Graduate Student – Communications Specialist, GMCTL, 

November 16, 2020

Find out how to access USask IT Support and helpful Canvas resources below! 

Canvas Help Options

From your Global Navigation Menu, open the Help tab.

Here you’ll find a whole list of helpful resources for Canvas:

    • Browse the Canvas Guides for instructional videos on common Canvas questions. Access the Canvas Student Guides for detailed answers to your questions.
    • Use the Ask Your Instructor a Question feature if you have a specific question related to your course syllabus, assignments, or grades. Select the course in the drop down menu to message your instructor directly through Canvas. Easy!
      • Tip! Asking your instructors should be the last step after you review the course Syllabus and Discussion boards, where many FAQs may already be addressed. 
      • Remember to always include a formal greeting/goodbye!  

USask Help with Canvas

  • For help to access your courses’ Panopto videos, try these instructions. If you still have Panopto issues, contact itsupport@usask.ca. Panopto is a separate video platform from Canvas and so the best option is USask support. For questions about WebEx or MEETS, itsupport@usask.ca is also your best option.
  • For answers to common questions, see Canvas Student FAQs written by IT Support Services.
  • The USask Students Canvas page has answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions.

We acknowledge that the University of Saskatchewan’s main campus is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respect to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another.

For more detail about Canvas, see the USask Student Canvas page.