CGHS Instructor Resources (Canvas)

Consistent, responsive, and constructive communication is a hallmark of all academic programs in CGHS. It is expected that all faculty will embrace these communication practices, as they have been shown to be significant factors in student success, satisfaction, and retention.

Ask Your Instructor is a discussion forum where students can ask for clarification on expectations, assignments, discussions, or other course content. Instructors are required to moderate this forum and answer any student questions in a timely and collegial manner. Students should use this forum when asking questions about general course content and grading policies; questions on individual grades and performance should be conducted via the Inbox.

The Coffee Shop is a location for students to build relationships, ask non-course-related questions, network, and help one another. As an instructor, you are not responsible for moderating any discussions in this forum. However, participating in this forum will help you to better know your students; responding at least once to each student is encouraged. The Coffee Shop is intended to be a social discussion.

In the Inbox, students and instructors can send in-course messages (similar to email) to each other. It is important to maintain a positive attitude and to encourage your students to remain engaged in their coursework. These messages are quick and personal ways to provide this encouragement as well as interact with each student regarding their coursework and professional goals.

All communications with students regarding coursework must take place within Canvas for tracking purposes. This is for your protection in the event of a student grievance.

Please be aware that, although no one has access to the Inbox unless extraordinary circumstances arise, all messages are archived. Please remain professional in your correspondence and proofread carefully for tone and clarity. Lacking verbal cues, students may misinterpret remarks that may have been intended to be humorous or misread your tone or intent.

If you have an urgent communication to send to your students, it is recommended that you post an announcement.

• How do I use Conversations as an instructor?
• How do I find my unread messages in Conversations as an instructor?
• How do I filter conversations as an instructor?
• How do I star a conversation as an instructor?
• How do I send a message to a user in a course in Conversations as an instructor?
• How do I send a message to a user in a group in Conversations as an instructor?
• How do I send a message to all course users in Conversations as an instructor?
• How do I attach a file to a message as an instructor?
• How do I attach a media comment to a message as an instructor?
• How do I reply to a message in Conversations as an instructor?
• How do I privately respond to one individual in a group message as an instructor?
• How do I reply to submission comments in Conversations as an instructor?
• How do I forward a message from a conversation as an instructor?
• How do I add new people to an existing conversation as an instructor?
• How do I delete a conversation as an instructor?
• How do I delete a message from a conversation as an instructor?
• How do I archive a conversation as an instructor?

Conferences are a Canvas tool that allows instructors and students to create video conferences within the course. These can be recorded and stored within the course for future reference. Some uses for Conferences include:

• groups of students wanting to work together on a project
• instructor office hours
• course meetings
• student presentations
• tutoring sessions

Notes:

• There are many students who have hearing difficulties or who are non-native English speakers. If using Conferences, make sure you are making them accessible to all students. Please contact cghsdesigners@atsu.edu for assistance with accessibility.
• Students are scattered around the globe. If offering synchronous sessions, you must offer more than one session and/or record the session for those who cannot attend.

• How do I use the Conferences Index Page? 
• How do I create a conference in a course?
• How do I create a long-running conference?
• How do I delete a conference?
• How do I edit a conference?
• How do I record a conference?
• How do I start a conference?
• How do I join a conference?
• How do I conclude a conference?
• How do I upload files to a conference as a presenter?
• How do I use the Conferences interface as a moderator?
• How do I start a poll in a conference as a presenter?
• How do I share my desktop in a conference as a presenter?
• How do I create shared notes in a conference as a presenter?
• How do I automatically create a poll using a presentation in a conference as a presenter?
• How do I use the multi-user whiteboard in a conference as a presenter?
• How do I create live captioning in a conference as a moderator?

ATSU has a license for Zoom, one of the many easy-to-use web-conferencing tools. Features include:

• screen sharing
• recording of meetings
• use on mobile

This tool can be integrated into Canvas and is used in the same manner as Conferences. Please contact cghsdesigners@atsu.edu for assistance setting up Zoom sessions in courses.

• Find help with Zoom 

Videos are a great way to engage a different set of senses than what students in online courses usually use.

However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

1. Videos need to be short. Most online videos should be 10 minutes or less; 5 minutes or less is even better. It's difficult to keep the viewer's attention for a long period of time - and even more difficult if the viewer has issues with enough bandwidth to stream the video seamlessly. Long videos can lead to buffering issues, which will frustrate even the most motivated viewer.
2. Videos must be closed-captioned or have a transcript. This is important in order for our courses to be ADA compliant; but it's also important for learners who must work in either quiet or noisy environments. Sometimes it's just not possible to hear the audio contained in the video, so giving the student another option to access the content (a transcript document) can be very helpful. A transcript can also assist students for whom English is not a native language - the transcript can demonstrate to them how specific names or terminology are spelled.

If you would like to create your own videos for use in your courses (e.g., an introduction video), please contact cghsdesigners@atsu.edu and someone on the team will be happy to assist you!