What to Know for Winter 2021 Courses

This week, Mt. SAC’s Winter course shells rolled out in Canvas. Before you start to build your courses, you may want to read this post with the biggest updates and reminders that can help you make the most of your prep time!

Cross-list Updates!

Crosslist requests are made in the IT helpdesk. They will be processed one week before the semester begins. You can still work on your courses: just work only in the Parent course. After courses are cross listed, the “child” course cards disappear from the dashboard. They become sections in the Parent course and adopt its content, navigation and “publish” status.

Zoom Changes in mid-December

DO NOT schedule Winter Zoom Meetings in Canvas until this change has taken place–or you’ll have to do it twice!

In mid-December, ConferZoom will be replaced with TechConnect Zoom in Canvas. No meetings scheduled in the future will be retained when this app is upgraded in Canvas so please DO NOT SCHEDULE SESSIONS using the old Canvas Zoom app! TechConnect Zoom will appear in your course menu on Dec 15 and will be announced in announcement within Canvas.

Until mid-December when the app is updated, ConferZoom can still be found in Canvas in the hidden menu items, but we recommend you ignore it for Winter courses. The old ConferZoom menu item will disappear when the new TechConnect Zoom menu item becomes available. Sessions scheduled in the old tool will not carry over to the new tool. Have more questions? Learn more as the information becomes available, by check the TechConnect Zoom Page in the Canvas Faculty Center.

The upgrade to the new Zoom interface in Canvas still connects to your ConferZoom account. It looks and acts much more like the website version. Want a sneak peak? check out this Zoom video showing how to schedule a class in the New Zoom LTI!

Changes to Faculty Support

As the period of working and teaching remotely wears on into winter, professors and all who support them have been put to the test and have had to rethink ways that things are managed. As a result, Canvas has made some support changes, the FCLT has worked to create more course tools and training for professors. Mt. SAC’s Academic Senate also responded by creating a program of peer assistance for faculty who require Canvas assistance, the Faculty Facilitators. The FCLT has expanded content and updated the Canvas Faculty Center. Local Workshops have been moved to Zoom and expanded, and FOMAR has been established as the training (found in POD) for those who are not SPOT-certified and whose classes will be only in on-campus once we can all safely return to campus interaction. To help everyone work efficiently and pair the right problem with the right resources, see these changes:

Need One-on-One Help with Canvas Basics?

Speak with a Faculty Facilitator! Academic Senate has arranged for help from faculty facilitators to support professors with questions about Canvas. Request one-on-one help with your questions here!

New! Live 24/7 Canvas Chat for Professors & Students

The Canvas Help Menu now includes 24/7 live chat for faculty AND students. Professors can still use the toll-free help line but the student phone line will be retired at the end of Fall semester

Canvas Guides Update – Now with Local Help Pages

Canvas Guides moved to a new platform in 2020. Now, the guides allow colleges to host locally added pages to help with frequent questions that rely on local decisions. The Canvas Guides have always been a good first place to check for answers to Canvas functionality questions–now reach Guides: Canvas and Local, directly from the Canvas Help button in global navigation.

Need Urgent Help? Use the Help Desks!

Canvas and IT both have help ticketing systems for urgent questions. You can reach the Canvas direct help options under the Help button in Canvas navigation. IT is best for students, service requests, and local questions. You can log into the helpdesk or email helpdesk@mtsac.edu. See a full list of help resources on the FCLT website.

Winter Apps & Tools Are Same As Fall’s

Tools have remains the same between the Fall and Winter term. If you do not see a tool, it may be hidden by default. See the Apps & Tools page in the Canvas Faculty Center to learn about each tool Mt. SAC has adopted and integrated into Canvas. Here you can also learn how to get started with each tool. Please check here for info before emailing FCLT or contacting the helpdesk.

Start-of-Term Resources

The Faculty Center has several dedicated start-of-term resources available for professors

Start-of-Term Checklists
Start-of-Term Refresher slides to remind you how to:

copy prior course content into your Winter shell.
request course crosslisting
publish your course
find new “cool tools” and learn more about them

Use FOMA Readiness as a Pre-Semester Refresh!

Any professor can access FOMAR to learn Canvas Basics, Canvas Gradebook, and Regular & Effective Contact rules & tools. Don’t want to take the quizzes or finish the course for credit? No problem. Just use the Contents menu to jump to any video you’d like to watch. Already finished it? POD assures me that revisiting videos will not affect your FOMAR status. Don’t have FOMO, use FOMAR and learn or refresh your Canvas know-how whenever you need it! Great as a “Canvas Pre-semester Intensive” Option!

And if you haven’t, consider joining the Canvas Faculty Center to have easy self-help available on your dashboard. Get updates and announcements about important changes to Canvas and learn about workshops and events.

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Faculty Center for Learning Technology | Mt. San Antonio College

Winter (Semester) is Coming! If You’re Teaching this Winter, You’ll Want to Read This!