Vista USD Ed Tech Newsletter

Hey there!

We hope everyone has had a smooth start to the new school year. We wanted to share some new Canvas resources that are available for teachers. Our Canvas Refreshers resource page was compiled from some of the frequently asked questions about Canvas and contains video guides with step-by-step directions.

Canvas Basics

Need a refresher on Basic Canvas tools and features? Please check out our Canvas Basics Slides for step-by-step directions and resources.

Digging Deeper with Canvas

Our Digging Deeper with Canvas Slides go into more detail on embedding content in Canvas, Canvas assignments, external tools, quizzes, and much more!

The Learning Collaborative (TLC) will be hosting monthly office hours for teachers to assist with Canvas and technology questions. Please bring your technology and Canvas questions to our drop-in office hours on the first Thursday of every month from 2:30-4:30. We will answer your questions or direct you to someone who can! The first Tech/Canvas Office Hours session will be held on October 7th. Please see our flyer for the zoom link and more details!

When importing course content from a past Canvas course, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you import the course into an empty sandbox, and not a "live" course with students. When past enrollment content is imported into a new course with students, all of the assignments and work will show up as "past due" and the work will have to be unpublished or deleted to correct the issue. Entire past enrollment courses being imported into live courses have also caused issues with the grade integration between Canvas and Aeries and, so far, we have been unable to solve these issues once they occur.

What should you do instead?

Instead of copying a past enrollment course into a live course with students, please make a new sandbox course, and import the content there. Once the content is in your sandbox, you can "copy to" the content from your sandbox to your other course(s). Please watch this video for directions on the process of importing content from “past enrollment” courses to a new sandbox.

VUSD is on Remind! Remind is a wonderful tool that allows teachers and schools to communicate with students and parents. We have included a Remind Teacher Onboarding Guide to assist with some of the FAQ's around use and adding students/parents manually to a Remind course. NOTE: If new students transfer into or enroll in your class, they will need to be added manually to Remind.

We want to welcome new teachers to VUSD! We have included our New Teacher Technology Resource with directions for new teachers and/or teachers who are new to VUSD. This document provides a variety of resources and information for all things "tech" in the district. ED Tech is here to support you!

Here are some possible solutions to some of the most common issues we have been seeing for Canvas.

Issue: My students can't see the content in my Canvas course.

Possible Solution: Make sure that your course, the module, and/or the assignment is published.

Issue: I don't see my courses on my dashboard.

Possible Solution: If you scroll down and do not see them under "unpublished courses," please fill out a Technology Help Form and we can assist you!

Issue: A parent wants to be an observer on Canvas, how do I help them do this?

Possible Solution: Send them to the Vista Institute for Parents (VIP) website. There are Canvas and technology resources for students and families in English and Spanish.

If issues persist or you have questions, please remember that you can fill out a Technology Help Form and get timely assistance from a TLC TOSA via email, over the phone, or through Zoom or you can attend our Office Hours on the first Thursday of every month!

If you have checked with your Canvas Site Expert and still need support, you can fill out our Technology Help Form and we will assist you! The technology help form is meant for help with Canvas. The IT Work order can help with technology set up (printers, monitors, etc), account supports (Aeries, Cloud Connect, etc). If you need support with Lexia or AR, these are site based and your administrator should be able to support you. If further support is needed, you can put in a work order under accounts. If you don’t have an account yet, register NOW! IT Work Order - password: 4680NorthAve

I teach more than one section, or a combo class. How do I combine them into one Canvas course?

A course shell is created for each section that a teacher teaches. For elementary combo teachers, a shell is created for each grade level. Cross-listing courses allows a teacher to take multiple courses, and house them as “sections” in one course. This may allow a teacher who teaches multiple periods of the same subject, to work within one course, and push out the same lessons across sections. However--there are important things to consider before cross-listing. If you would like to cross-list, read the cross-listing guide. NOTE: The decision to cross-list should be made BEFORE a course is published to students. This will ensure a correct sync to Aeries.

Cross-Listing Guide

Cross-Listing Video

I have cross-listed my sections, but now I want to de-cross-list them. What do I do?

When you de-cross-list courses, grading data in Canvas can be lost. In order to get a copy of any grading that has been done in Canvas, please use the resource on exporting Canvas grades below. NOTE: De-cross-listing must be done with the assistance of our TLC TOSA's. If you want to de-cross-list your course(s), please complete the Technology Help Form attached below, be sure to include the course titles and/or section numbers, and we will assist you.

Exporting Canvas Grades

Technology Help Form

• VUSD Technology Help Form- Get timely support from a VUSD TOSA

• How to Access Canvas Training Portal: All teachers have FREE unlimited access to the Canvas Training Portal, which includes self-paced and LIVE training sessions with Canvas trainers. These trainings are free and voluntary.
  

• How to Access Canvas Help: Need help with your Canvas course? Select the “Help” menu to utilize the 24/7 chat or phone support.

• VUSD HELP RESOURCES

• Teacher “How tos”

• Student “How tos”

• Vista Institute for Parents (VIP) "How tos"

Chromebook Startup

iPad Startup

Canvas Login (Student)

Canvas Login Student Spanish

Canvas Login (Parent)

Canvas Login (Parent) Spanish

Student “How to” Videos

How to Generate Pairing Codes

Canvas Support Teachers

Taresa McSpadden (Elementary)

Kirsten (Kurdy) Turner (Secondary)

Contact: VUSD Technology Help Form

Email: edtech@vistausd.org