Canvas Companion
Canvas Companion Available Spring/January 2021
We are pleased to make Canvas Companion available to faculty who are teaching our on-ground courses beginning in our 2021 semester/term.
Similar to the version of Canvas used in our online environment, Canvas Companion will provide faculty with a robust platform to post assignments, issue announcements, and communicate with students.
We are pleased to make Canvas Companion available to faculty who are teaching our on-ground courses beginning in our 2021 semester/term.
Similar to the version of Canvas used in our online environment, Canvas Companion will provide faculty with a robust platform to post assignments, issue announcements, and communicate with students.
What Specifically Can I Do in Canvas Companion?
You have full control over all content within your course.
Consistent with the way that faculty are currently using Moodle, you can create and have full editing rights to all material in your Canvas Companion course. You are free to add assignments, discussions, announcements, etc. All content options are enabled in your Canvas Companion course.
Consistent with the way that faculty are currently using Moodle, you can create and have full editing rights to all material in your Canvas Companion course. You are free to add assignments, discussions, announcements, etc. All content options are enabled in your Canvas Companion course.
You can copy/import your Moodle Course into Canvas Companion
You can choose to import the material from your existing Moodle course into Canvas Companion or you can copy and paste this material directly into the Canvas Companion shell (Our experience has been that it is more efficient to copy and paste, but you can follow your personal preference.) Instructions for each procedure will be sent under separate cover and reviewed during the training sessions referenced below.
You can view registrants to your course (adds/drops) in near real time.
Course registrations for faculty and students happen in near real time -- usually within a few minutes of a change in CNS.
You can access Zoom and Turnitin
Canvas Companion includes links to Zoom and Turnitin for easy incorporation into your course.
You can choose to import the material from your existing Moodle course into Canvas Companion or you can copy and paste this material directly into the Canvas Companion shell (Our experience has been that it is more efficient to copy and paste, but you can follow your personal preference.) Instructions for each procedure will be sent under separate cover and reviewed during the training sessions referenced below.
You can view registrants to your course (adds/drops) in near real time.
Course registrations for faculty and students happen in near real time -- usually within a few minutes of a change in CNS.
You can access Zoom and Turnitin
Canvas Companion includes links to Zoom and Turnitin for easy incorporation into your course.
What Can't I Do in Canvas Companion
You cannot manually enroll users into your courses.
All course and section enrollments for students and faculty must be managed through CNS. Likewise, all TA assignments must be assigned in CNS. Student adds and drops are processed and maintained through CNS. [This must be done through the process with the registrar's office. IT cannot assign faculty, students, or TAs into courses within CNS.] Course registrations flow automatically to Canvas Companion within 5 minutes.
You cannot manually crosslist courses or sections in Canvas.
At present, you cannot crosslist courses across sections or campuses in Canvas Companion. This is related to a limitation in the CNS-Canvas integration. IT is working on a solution to this and I will provide an update as it is available.
You cannot enable third party tools for your courses.
You have full editing rights to your Canvas Companion course. However, as third-party tools cannot be enabled on a course-by-course basis, there would need to be a university review, approval, training, and support mechanisms in place to permit integration with any third-party add-ons. As we move forward, we will create the process to accept requests for adoption of third-party tool integration. At present, we have included Zoom and Turnitin.
You cannot enable access to your course prior to the official semester/term start
As with the "physical" classroom, student access to the Canvas Companion classroom cannot begin until semester/term start. Any communication with students prior to this time needs to occur through alternative channels, such as e-mail.
You cannot create "community courses" in Canvas.
The process for sharing information with select groups should be done through Sharepoint, where each department is able to curate and manage the distribution of content. Assistance with creating an easily accessible Sharepoint site should be requested through the IT Help Desk.
You cannot take attendance through Canvas Companion/We cannot automate attendance through Canvas Companion
Canvas Companion courses cannot be configured for automated attendance. The attendance process for all ground courses has not changed and should be entered directly in CNS.
You cannot post final grades through Canvas Companion
Although you can communicate assignment grades in Canvas Companion -- and the speed grader is available to assist in this process -- you must post final grades in CNS in accordance with the current process.
All course and section enrollments for students and faculty must be managed through CNS. Likewise, all TA assignments must be assigned in CNS. Student adds and drops are processed and maintained through CNS. [This must be done through the process with the registrar's office. IT cannot assign faculty, students, or TAs into courses within CNS.] Course registrations flow automatically to Canvas Companion within 5 minutes.
You cannot manually crosslist courses or sections in Canvas.
At present, you cannot crosslist courses across sections or campuses in Canvas Companion. This is related to a limitation in the CNS-Canvas integration. IT is working on a solution to this and I will provide an update as it is available.
You cannot enable third party tools for your courses.
You have full editing rights to your Canvas Companion course. However, as third-party tools cannot be enabled on a course-by-course basis, there would need to be a university review, approval, training, and support mechanisms in place to permit integration with any third-party add-ons. As we move forward, we will create the process to accept requests for adoption of third-party tool integration. At present, we have included Zoom and Turnitin.
You cannot enable access to your course prior to the official semester/term start
As with the "physical" classroom, student access to the Canvas Companion classroom cannot begin until semester/term start. Any communication with students prior to this time needs to occur through alternative channels, such as e-mail.
You cannot create "community courses" in Canvas.
The process for sharing information with select groups should be done through Sharepoint, where each department is able to curate and manage the distribution of content. Assistance with creating an easily accessible Sharepoint site should be requested through the IT Help Desk.
You cannot take attendance through Canvas Companion/We cannot automate attendance through Canvas Companion
Canvas Companion courses cannot be configured for automated attendance. The attendance process for all ground courses has not changed and should be entered directly in CNS.
You cannot post final grades through Canvas Companion
Although you can communicate assignment grades in Canvas Companion -- and the speed grader is available to assist in this process -- you must post final grades in CNS in accordance with the current process.
Moodle
What happens to Moodle?
Faculty retain access to all previous courses in Moodle during this transition period. You are free to use previous Moodle courses for reference as you construct your new Canvas Companion courses. Beginning with the January and Spring 2021 terms, no active courses will be added to Moodle (i.e., no students will be enrolled in a Moodle course).
Faculty retain access to all previous courses in Moodle during this transition period. You are free to use previous Moodle courses for reference as you construct your new Canvas Companion courses. Beginning with the January and Spring 2021 terms, no active courses will be added to Moodle (i.e., no students will be enrolled in a Moodle course).