D-Term Academic Technology News & Updates

TLDR: 

It may not look like it outside, but Spring is just around the corner! D-Term is upon us, and the ATC team is here to help you with all your Academic Technology needs. If you have any questions as you begin your preparations, please reach out to us to schedule a consultation with one of our Academic Technology experts!   

What’s New? 

Canvas Course Site & Video Content Retention 

Per the LMS Policies approved by Faculty Governance in 2016 and revised in 2022, LMS course & Echo360 lecture capture content is retained at WPI for 6 years. This Summer, ATC will begin to remove content created in 2016 from our servers. 

In D-Term, the ATC will contact by email any faculty who taught in 2016 and used Canvas or Echo360. We will provide instructions on how to export and save this content to OneDrive or personal storage.  

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact atc-ttl@wpi.edu. 

Poll Everywhere Login Updates 

Poll Everywhere is now accessible for faculty and students to login using WPI credentials. Simply go to https://www.polleverywhere.com and log in with your WPI email address and password to get started. 

 

Canvas Updates 

Waitlisted and Unenrolled Students 

Need to give a student access to your Canvas site before they are officially added to your Workday roster? Please follow these instructions to use the “Manually Added Student” option in Canvas. 

New Canvas Quizzing Tool 

Canvas is revamping its entire Quizzing tool this Summer! Get a first look at the new tool in this video. We are hoping to do a formal rollout next year (2024) as Canvas develops advanced functionality for this new tool. 

Want to learn more about it? Book a Coffee & Canvas session with Lindsey Van Gieson. 

 

Consultations & ATC-TTL Office Hours 

If you’re looking to brush up on an old topic, or learn something new, the ATC-TTL team is here to help! Check out our consultation and training options below.  

Canvas 

Book a Coffee & Canvas session with Lindsey Van Gieson (lftapper@wpi.edu) to learn how to better utilize Canvas and other edtech tools for a variety of teaching approaches. 

For self-service Canvas training, check out our video repository

Zoom 

Zoom-compatible hardware is available in all classrooms on campus, so you can reach your students remotely from any computer.  

If you’d like to learn more about Zoom or have any questions, e-mail Jolene Cotnoir (jcotnoir@wpi.edu) to schedule a one-on-one training session that fits your schedule. 

For basic Zoom training and other topics, check out our videos on Zoom.  

Echo360 

Echo360 is the lecture capture system used in classrooms at WPI. If you’d like to learn more about Echo360 or have any questions, e-mail us at echocapture@wpi.edu to schedule a one-on-one training. 

For basic Echo360 training, check out our online resources (requires WPI login). 

Poll Everywhere, Qualtrics, and Gradescope 

If you would like to meet for 30 minutes with Mike Hamilton (mjham@wpi.edu) via Zoom for a consult or training on Poll Everywhere, Gradescope, or Qualtrics you can book online or email Mike. 

Pre-Recorded Workshops & Micro-Trainings 

Want to work at your own pace? We have pre-recorded workshops available, as well as micro-training sessions where you can learn something new in Canvas, Echo360, or Zoom in 10 minutes or less! 

On Demand Trainings - Full 45-minute training session recordings 

Micro-Trainings – individual Canvas, Echo360, Zoom topics, learn in 10 minutes or less 

 

Canvas Requests & Support 

Canvas is WPI's official course website system to deploy learning materials, assessments, discussions, and grades. If you have a course that exists in Workday, a site will be generated automatically for you within Canvas. 

Need changes to your site? Use our form for all Canvas modification requests: https://www.wpi.edu/+canvasrequest 

Got a Canvas question or need to report an issue? We’re here to help! 

Weekdays 8-5, our team is answering questions at canvashelp@wpi.edu. 

We also have 24/7 tech support for Faculty and TAs, just click on “Help” in the left-hand menu of Canvas to call, chat, or email Canvas.  

Did you know... 

we have a Canvas blog sharing Canvas updates and tech tips? 

 

Web Conferencing 

Zoom is WPI’s web conferencing tool accessible from https://wpi.zoom.us.  

In addition to screen sharing, video, and audio, Zoom has a robust suite of collaboration tools to allow you to engage with your class in-person and online simultaneously.  

Echo360 and Canvas allow automatic deployment of classroom lecture videos and Zoom recordings into your Canvas site! 

To learn more about using Zoom to engage with your students, check out the workshops above, or contact Jolene Cotnoir at jcotnoir@wpi.edu.  

 

Video Publishing & Sharing Options 

Echo360 is WPI’s lecture capturing tool available in every classroom or from accessing https://www.echo360.org from any computer with your WPI login credentials.  

How does Echo360 differ from Zoom? Start here with our Recording Lectures FAQ post and this comparison chart to learn more about each tool. 

 

Request Echo360 Lecture Capture 

Lecture Capture is back to opt-in this academic year. To request Echo360 lecture capture, please fill out the opt-in/request form.  

Microphone Requests  

Each classroom is equipped with a gooseneck microphone on the podium. To request a wireless lavaliere microphone, please fill out this request form and the ATC will prepare one for you and follow-up via email when it is ready to be picked up. 

Lecture Capture-Zoom Integration 

If you record using Zoom in a classroom, you can still use Echo360 by setting up an automatic connection which enables your Zoom recordings to be stored in your Echo360 library. We strongly recommend setting this up as Zoom recordings are deleted after 100 days. 

Learn how to set up the automatic ingest of your Zoom cloud recordings in this Echo360-Zoom Connection blog post. 

 

Storing Videos & Lectures 

Are you maxing out your Canvas storage? Learn more about options for streaming your lectures and uploading video or other media that connect into Canvas for a seamless experience for you and your students. 

For more information or to request training on Echo360, email echocapture@wpi.edu  

  

Classroom Engagement & Research Survey Tools 

Poll Everywhere is a web-based polling solution where students use their phone, tablets, and laptops to answer questions used for lecture engagement. You can even use it in Zoom!   

Poll Everywhere is now accessible for faculty and students to login using WPI credentials. Simply go to https://www.polleverywhere.com and log in with your WPI email address and password to get started. 

 

Will your students be creating surveys and collecting data? 

WPI has a site license for the fully featured Qualtrics suite.  No need to use "free" online services for your surveys!   

Looking for another way to efficiently assess and grade STEM work? 

WPI now has a license for Gradescope. Gradescope is a browser-based tool that supports online, paper-based, and blended assignments, and cuts down grading time for science, math, and programming assessments. You can find more information in this FAQ Guide

If you don't have a Gradescope account, you can create one on their homepage. We recommend using these short videos and the searchable Help Center to get started. The Gradescope team also hosts regular online workshops.  

Join our WPI Learning Community for Gradescope to learn more and to access documentation in our Team notebook.    

Interested in enhancing your online class discussions?  

WPI has a free license to use FlipGrid, which allows for video discussion boards that can be enabled directly within Canvas. Learn more about FlipGrid.   

Engagement through social annotation with Perusall  

Perusall is a tool integrated into Canvas that facilitates student engagement with reading assignments through social annotation and reflection. Interested in learning more? Check out this overview of Perusall. Have you tried Perusall in your class? Let us know what you think! 

 

Incorporating Course Flexibility in D-Term 

Still thinking about how you can support your students who might need more flexibility in C-Term? Wondering about “blended,” “flipped” or other teaching approaches?  

Check out this infographic overview and consider consulting with one of our Instructional Designers to help identify what asynchronous and synchronous teaching and learning activities you might consider incorporating into your course using either Echo360 or Zoom. 

Feel free to reach out anytime to schedule a consultation with the Technology for Teaching and Learning team at atc-ttl@wpi.edu.  

 

Contact Us 

Got a question or a problem? E-mail atc-ttl@wpi.edu and we'll help find a solution! 

The Technology for Teaching and Learning team is available M-F, 8am-5pm. 

Please check out our other resources: 

Canvas Blog - Get important Canvas updates, new features, and help resources 

TTL Blog - Academic technology resources, workshops, and discover new tech tools 

Follow us on Twitter: @atc_ttl 

Check out the ATC’s Accessibility & UDL in Canvas site for more ways to make your course site & videos accessible to all users.