In this blog post, Katy Guthrie , Teaching Assistant Professor in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Sciences (CFANS), shares her insights on using FeedbackFruits Peer Review to enhance student engagement and learning. Her experience provides valuable perspectives for other educators looking to enrich their teaching practices with technology-driven solutions. FeedbackFruits (FbF) offers a suite of academic technology tools that supports a variety of peer learning activities. The University is currently licensing four FbF tools , integrated in Canvas, that support self-assessment, peer review, and group member evaluation. Peer Learning Strategies: Efficient and effective Professor Guthrie is a strong advocate for teaching students how to provide constructive feedback on their peers' writing. FbF makes it seamless for her to integrate peer feedback activities into her classes. She particularly values the FbF Peer Review tool in her writing-intensive courses, where stude...

Are you struggling to keep pace with artificial intelligence (AI) and its rapid pace of change? At Academic Technology Support Services, we were too, so we created this post to make sense of the AI tool categories and how they can support the teaching process. In the post, we compare various AI tools and delve a little deeper into the category of AI Agents or Assistants. Due to the rapid pace of AI functional development, combined with the proliferation of terms, definitions, and tools, this blog post has a significant caveat: This is our attempt to start/continue making sense of what’s new and upcoming in the use of AI; we aren’t looking for a right or wrong way to use an AI platform, or to accurately define groups of AI tools, but instead gain an understanding of how the various factors interact. Whether you agree with our characterizations or not, join the AI iCoP discussions and let us know your thoughts. After our AI review, we will apply AI concepts and tools to an example from ...

Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS) partnered with Instructure , the parent company of Canvas, to conduct a usability study on some of Instructure’s most recent updates to the Canvas Discussion tool. The study aimed to understand user experiences to implement changes and/or improve training.  Usability partnership & study process Since 2015, the University of Minnesota academic technology teams have conducted usability studies to understand how instructors and students use different learning technologies. This work is carried out with internal and external stakeholders such as University of Minnesota academic technology leadership, the academic technology community , and our learning technology vendors. For this study, the Canvas Discussions tool was selected for two reasons: Instructure was redesigning the tool, and it’s used in approximately 25% of University of Minnesota academic courses as shown in the graph below. Discussions are heavily used in those courses: as o...

This post summarizes the August 2024 Use FeedbackFruits Tools for Peer Learning: Basics session facilitated by ATSS . During the session, ATSS consultants presented an overview of the four FeedbackFruits peer learning tools and explored how to create a FeedbackFruits assignment in Canvas. Session participants completed a FeedbackFruits assignment as a student. Key Takeaways Introduction to FeedbackFruits The University of Minnesota is in year three of its license with FeedbackFruits. While UMN licenses four of FeedbackFruits tools , our session focused on the two tools that most directly support peer learning:  Group Member Evaluation Peer Review Set up and use FeedbackFruits in Canvas Because FeedbackFruits is integrated into Canvas, some considerations should be kept in mind so that students are not confused by the information they see in Canvas compared to what they see in FeedbackFruits. A few important notes about FeedbackFruits assignments: You will start by creating a Canvas...

This post summarizes the August 2024 Canvas Gradebook Set-up session facilitated by Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS). During the session, ATSS consultants presented an overview of getting started with the Canvas Gradebook and its settings, discussed streamlining grading throughout the semester, and shared resources for advanced tips and tricks. Key Takeaways The role of the Canvas Gradebook in addressing access and inclusion Challenges facing students: academic stress, student mental health, transparency, anxiety about grades and class performance Challenges facing instructors: burnout, grading and time commitments, transparency in grading practices and assessments, ungrading We do not intend to imply that simply using the Canvas Gradebook will single-handedly eliminate the previously mentioned issues. However, we bring them to think about a small change that could be taken to set yourself and your students up for a semester with more ease.  Canvas Gradebook settings A...

If you have not logged into Canvas since May 2024, you will notice much has changed. Let's catch you up: some things are gone (Flip), some things are improved (Discussions), and others moved to a different location (Turnitin). This post is excerpted from  a group presentation  (Video 1:06:57) at the August 7th Canvas Investigations . Timestamps next to headings will link you directly to that topic in the recording. The most important take-aways are highlighted in yellow . DoJ Ruling on Accessibility 2:29 In April, the clock started to count down two years for us to ensure all web content is accessible. The newly formed  Office of Digital Accessibility  (ODA) will guide us. Watch for messaging on the  3 Rs—Remove, Revise, Right First . The easiest and most impactful thing instructors can do now aligns with Remove — be selective when importing content from old courses . Discussions/Announcements Redesign 4:09 Canvas Discussions  have changed in appear...

The process of submitting final grades can be daunting. This post breaks down the grade submission process into discrete steps and provides guidance for each step of the way. Step 1: Check the grading scheme The grading scheme is the breakdown of percentages and letter grades and is used to calculate grades that students see in the Canvas gradebook. The default grading scheme in Canvas sites differs from the UMN Letter Grade Scheme. For example, the UMN Grade Scheme has an “A” at 93-100% whereas the default Canvas scheme has an “A” at 94-100%.  You may have already set the grading scheme at the start of the semester, so if you change it at the end, notify students as their grades may change from what they have been monitoring.  The first minute of the following video shows how to check/set the grading scheme in your Canvas course (the rest of the video shows Steps 2, 3 & 4). Step 2: Update gradebook scores All empty/blank grades need a score or another value like “EX” for ...

Have you ever had a student turn in their assignment by emailing it to you rather than submitting it through Canvas? Maybe legitimate reasons prevented them from submitting it properly, but now it's a pain for you because the submission is not in Speedgrader. Now there's a way to submit an assignment on behalf of a student. A new feature in Canvas allows a third party to submit an assignment on a student's behalf. Not every type of assignment is eligible. Only assignments where the Submission Type is "Online" and one of the Online Entry Options is "File Uploads". How does it work? While you can't do it, people on our Technology Help line can. If you are a teacher or TA in the Canvas course, send an email to canvas@umn.edu with the assignment attached. Provide unambiguous details about the course, assignment, and student. The URL of the assignment is best. For the student, provide their email address. Students Can Request It Too If a stu...

As we begin the semester, there are many factors that we, as instructors, are considering to establish and maintain a classroom atmosphere and Canvas site that empowers better learning. This article focuses on the Canvas Gradebook and how you can use it to support student learning (and make your life easier). We have taken the seven principles of Teaching with Access and Inclusion and turned them into specific actions you can take now and throughout the semester to foster an atmosphere that empowers learning. Teaching with Access and Inclusion Principles Course and Gradebook Design Decisions Integrate diversity – establish difference as inherently valuable by including and supporting diverse voices throughout the course. Recognize student effort for checking/updating their Canvas profile picture , name, pronouns , and/or Name Coach pronunciation as graded activities ( see sample activity ) Expand access – proactively consider accessibility and reduce the nee...