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Elaborations on Canvas collaborations
The transition to remote learning has been in progress for almost a year now, with many instructors grabbing the Canvas bull by the horns and learning how to use the different Canvas tools to provide their students with the best learning experience possible. With what feels like the whole world working remotely right now, collaborating with peers and colleagues is a necessary skill that we can help students develop and refine. Learning to work collaboratively is important because it not only helps to prepare students for careers but it elegantly highlights that it is often easier to succeed at tasks when working in a team. Canvas gives you the ability…
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Using MEETS in Canvas
By Roberta Campbell-Chudoba When we listened to students in facilitated focus groups this fall about their remote learning experiences, they said it would be helpful to have a central place to meet virtually with their instructors, eliminating the need to search for meeting links and access different platforms. Your integrated Webex room in MEETS provides a consistent and easily accessible space for hosting virtual classes, office hours, and individual student appointments. Students know where to meet and do not need a special link to join the session. However, the space serves more than just utilitarian purposes. Coming together with students in MEETS also provides what many students are hungering for…
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Contract Cheating is Riskier than Students Think
“Contract cheating occurs when a student procures a third party (who knows about and benefits from the transaction) to produce academic work (that is usually, but not always assessable work) that the student then submits to an educational institution as if it were their own” (Ellis, Zucker & Randall (2018) p. 1). Academic misconduct of any kind is a risk for students. Use of third–party sites for copying or outsourcing their work will likely be understood as academic misconduct for the most part by students. Interactions can start out as access to learning resources or tutoring help and become group-sourcing of answers and become outright collusion. Some sites even reward students for…
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Instructor Strategies to Mitigate Contract Cheating
“Contract cheating occurs when a student procures a third party (who knows about and benefits from the transaction) to produce academic work (that is usually, but not always assessable work) that the student then submits to an educational institution as if it were their own” (Ellis, Zucker & Randall (2018) p. 1). There is no silver bullet solution for the problem of contract cheating. It is multi-faceted, and calls for multiple mitigation strategies. Assessment design No assessment is “cheat-proof” but assessment design is widely regarded as an important strategy. What makes sense or is possible in one course, may not fit for another course. Instructors considering assessment options can: Find…
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What is contract cheating?
“Contract cheating occurs when a student procures a third party (who knows about and benefits from the transaction) to produce academic work (that is usually, but not always assessable work) that the student then submits to an educational institution as if it were their own” (Ellis, Zucker & Randall (2018) p. 1). Contract cheating is an increasing concern. Research indicates contract cheating incidence is on the rise and is an international issue (Newton, 2018) . This form of cheating has been getting more attention in the last decade, and more recently, during remote teaching and learning under COVID 19 restrictions. Fairness of assessment systems and evidence of student learning are…
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What can I do using the Canvas mobile app?
The Canvas Teacher mobile app provides quick access to grading, communicating, and updating your course. It delivers added convenience with day-to-day tasks once your core course structure is set up. That’s the philosophy behind the app and it helps us meet the USask Learning Technology Ecosystem Principle of our courses being efficient and easy to use (get the app here: Apple iOS, Android). What typical course tasks work well on the app? Communicating with students (Inbox and announcements) Reading and replying to full-class discussions Editing assignment and quiz details, including due dates Editing pages Providing annotations; text, audio, or video comments; and grades on assignments This works especially well if…
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Office hours in Canvas
Office hours are important because they allow our student to connect with us and ask questions, but they can be time consuming to set up in a remote environment. Using Meets in Canvas, you can quickly and simply set up remote meeting times as “office hours” so your students can sign up for a time to meet with you. You’ll want to do it this way instead of some outside tool because: You can set a block of time, and divide it into any length of appointments You can auto schedule short breaks between appointments You can push one set of office hours to all your classes, so student from…
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Ready to Talk to Students About Suspected Academic Misconduct?
When you suspect academic misconduct in your course, it’s common to feel frustrated. Some educators feel insulted or angry. Some blame themselves. Some people have a mix of all of this. Regardless, if you suspect a student has engaged in academic misconduct it is important to talk to them about it. The points below are offered to help you think through your approach, so that you can feel confident and clear about how you will facilitate that conversation. Key things to think about First, get grounded. Return to your own commitment to what ethical teaching and learning looks like in your course, in your subject/disciplinary area. Ask yourself: What am…