Importing Content into Canvas

I just recently had a very similar blog posting about importing class content, such as assignments and quizzes, into a new Canvas.  Canvas is the learning management system that our school district has supported for the last few years.   This link will take you to that posting.

I want to make a little update here though with this posting, based on a question that several teachers have asked in the last couple of weeks, that is, ...
Can I import my content from the 'paid' version of Canvas into the 'free' version of Canvas?

The answer is YES.

Here is how it works.

First off, set up your own free canvas account at this link.  This is a different address than the 'paid' version.  If you are familiar with the 'paid' version, navigating around the free version will be relatively easy.  I won't go through directions on how to export course content.  This link will walk you through that process.

Once the account is created, navigate to
             Dashboard ->

Once it is named, follow these steps:

Within your course...

         

Select Settings on the left side of your window.

      

Select Import Content into this Course.

       

Select the dropdown to Copy a Canvas Course

        

You can select any or all of the content from a Canvas course that has been set up.

Some extra notes:  

** The free version continues to support other applications like Noteflight, ALEKS, or ConnectEd, just like the free version.  If you used it before, it should also continue to work.  This is also found under the Settings tab.

** As the teacher, you will need to add students/teachers/observers as needed.  Students should be added by using their school email addresses so that they don't have to remember a new password.

** Please send me feedback if I need to either clarify or walk through any additional directions on this posting.  I will modify as needed.

** For any of our G-N staff, I will be happy help you through this process, too.  Please check with your PLC team first.  It would be much more efficient to work with a group of 5 in one meeting, for example, than having 5 different meetings.

My YouTube Channel

My favorite YouTube Channels

We all have our favorite TV channels or magazines.  Do you ever flip through 100 channels of what seems to be nothing good on?  Do you peruse through a magazine to only find a single article that interests you?  YouTube provides everything that you would want to watch.

Did you know that you can Subscribe to a YouTube Channel in the same way?  A subscription gives you quick access to your favorite video resources.  If you have a Google account, then you already have a YouTube account, even if you have never used it.

Here are a some of my favorite channels for the classroom:

From YouTube, click on the icon to the right of the YouTube logo.

NOVA - Based on the long-running PBS TV show, these are science-based.  They include impressive insight and acccess to the most amazing parts of our world. Example: Schmoop - This video series is relatively new.  The accompanying website at this link includes complete lesson plans for a wide range of curriculum.  Only a part of the resources are free, but the videos are freely available. Example: Crash Course - These  nice library of science and social studies resources were created by a pair of brothers. They are typically 10-15 min. long. Example: Crash Course Kids - This collection would include the same type of content, but for a younger audience. Example: How Stuff Works - I always liked taking things apart to see how they worked.  Videos like these may have you thinking about what you want to tear apart next. Example: Frontline - Here is another channel based on a PBS show. These provide amazing insight on many serious global issues.  (I always wanted to be able to talk like the narrator) Example: Khan Academy - Any topic at any level, this massive video library corresponds to lessons. It all started when a guy was just trying to help out his middle school niece with some math problems. Example:

Create a YouTube Video and Embed it into Blogger

The following are from a teacher request:

1)  How to create a video in YouTube -

All of our teachers and students have their own YouTube accounts, often without realizing it.  Since YouTube is a Google product, any Google account will also be connected to a YouTube account.

Here is a basic version of how to create your first video.  In this case, I used a home video of my youngest daughter from a while back.

How to upload your first YouTube video:


Here is the actual video that I uploaded:

2)  Here is how to embed any YouTube video into a Blogger site (such as this one):

There is no audio included with this one




YouTube can be used to manage videos that you have created as well as any that others have uploaded in the same way that a Google Drive document can be managed.  Here, however, instead of having a Drive, we have 'My Channel', and instead of having folders, we have 'Playlists'.

Subscribe - think of this as a magazine subscription.  This is like putting the magazines on the end table for us in the living room.  You can quickly see the latest update without doing any searching.

Playlists -  We can save others' videos to our own playlists.  Playlists can be made Public/Unlisted/Private, depending on the purpose, and shared with others.

Importing Canvas components

This posting comes from a teacher-generated request regarding Canvas, our 7-12 Learning Management System.

The question - Can a rubric from one course be used by a different teacher in a different course?  
        The answer is Yes.

Basically,     Assignment 1 in Course 1 can be imported as Assignment 1 in Course 2
                              and
  Rubric 1 in Course 1 can be used as an assessment tool  for any assignment in Course 2

Rubrics are an important assessment tool for student work.  They provide detailed guidelines for students to use as they complete and create important projects.  It also provides a clear and consistent tool for instructors to use with assigned work.

Canvas is a very versatile learning management system.  In Canvas, any variety of course content may be imported.  The directions below are directed towards using a rubric, but may be slightly modified to include quizzes, assignments, pages, and more.

1. Export the course assignments:

  - >    ->

2. Now, download those contents:

3.  Transfer that data file to the 'new' teacher's computer

(Email / sharing over Google Drive / or just logging into the 'new' teacher account can work)

4.  Navigate to the 'new' course.  Navigate to  Settings -> Import Content into this Course 

5.  Select  Import Canvas Course Export Package

6. Choose the file that was exported from the previous course.  

Select specific content will let us import only what is needed.  Click on Import.

7.  Click on 'Select Content'

8. Here, you can either select a specific assignment OR select the desired rubric

9. To use a 'Rubric' for a different assignment,  go ahead and create the desired assignment.

Then choose 'Add Rubric'

10.  The desired rubric should show up now.

  

Teacher Collaborations

Teachers -

Are you looking for classroom collaborators for your kids, but don't quite know where to look, besides the classroom next door to yours?  Advances in technology have made the world so much smaller and accessible.  Social media can lead us to collaborators, but can be tough to wade through all the distractions to get to real connections for your students.

Check out ePal.  This online resource provides a venue to connect classrooms with each other for just about anything project.  The bounds of geography do not have to limit the collaborators that students have access to.  This tool will facilitate connecting students to a global community.

Setting up and a teacher account is quick and easy.  Try it out.  You may be amazed at who will get a chance to meet to create meaningful collaborations.

How to add a Chrome Application or Extension

There are many useful free applications and extensions available on the Google's Chrome App Store.  Some of these simply link you to another website that you can log into using your Google username and password.  Others are a part of the web browser.

Here, I'll walk through how to install the Chrome Application call ScanQR.  This application will use the computer's webcam to scan any QR Code.  These little images are often used as web links, but also have many other uses.  My favorite place to create a QR Code is at qrstuff.com.

Now to install,

Open your Chrome web browser.  

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Open your Chrome Applications.

You can do this either by going to this web address OR 

by clicking on the Apps icon in the upper left corner of your browser.

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Your Chrome applications should now be displayed on your screen.

Now, to ADD an application, click on the Web Store in the lower right corner of your browser window.

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In the upper left corner, complete a search for the Google Web app, "qr code scanner."  Now, ScanQR should be one of the top hits.  Click on where it says "Add to Chrome."

When you first open this application, there will be some type of popup related to connecting to your video camera.  Go ahead and agree to the terms.  It's not very painful. 

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To open the QR Scanner:

Select the Apps button in the upper left corner of Chrome:

Now select the ScanQR application:

By the way... you will know if your webcam is turned on if the green light next to it is turned on.

You should be up and rolling now to scan QR Codes.  Just hold up your QRCode image in front of the camera.

If this doesn't work, or if you need more steps included, please let me know.

Here are a some other very useful Chrome applications:

Desmos - a great graphing calculator with all the functions you expect to see on the popular handheld versions and it's free.
Mindomo - a graphic organizer tool.  It will require a login, but this will allow multiple users to work on the same documents.
LucidCharts - another graphic organizer It is easy to use and collaborative. This doesn't have all  the features of Mindomo, but maybe you need something simpler.

Bill Gruman, Tech Integrationist

Grinnell-Newburg Community Schools