Beginning of Semester Email

Academic Technology Resources for Fall 2024 

 

Hello UT Instructors! 

Welcome to the Fall 2024 semester! We hope you all had a wonderful summer and that you found ways to relax and escape the heat. The Teaching & Learning Technology (TLT) team has prepared a collection of announcements, tool updates and useful links to help you start out on the right foot. 

A reminder that the University’s minimum Canvas presence policy is taking effect this semester. Full policy details and FAQs are available on the Academic Affairs Canvas Adoption Policy page Links to an external site..

What is a minimum Canvas presence? A minimum Canvas presence is defined as: 

  • A syllabus is available in Canvas by the first day the class meets. You can achieve this by 1) attaching an official course syllabus in Canvas (on the official Canvas Syllabus page, with the word “syllabus” in the file name) OR 2) by using the Simple Syllabus tool. 
  • Your canvas course is published on the first day the class meets. 

If you need additional training on publishing a Canvas course, uploading your syllabus, or using Simple Syllabus, reach out! Our team offers workshops, office hours, and one-on-one support. 

Finally, we are very interested in hearing your thoughts on our learning technology ecosystem. Help us prioritize our work and improve your experience with our services. Please drop us a note about what’s working and what isn’t working on this feedback form Links to an external site.. 

 

Getting started in Canvas

  • The Beginning of the Semester Hot Topics module in our Academic Technology Resources site will guide you through many tasks, including merging courses, adding TAs, posting your syllabus, and publishing your course. 
  • You can find information on Canvas workshops, vendor webinars, and/or schedule a consult on the Office Hours and Workshops page. 

  

New features, tool changes, and highlights  

Canvas

https://canvas.utexas.edu Links to an external site. 

  • New and opt-in features: 
  • Student Inactive status – students who q-drop courses will now be kept in the roster but set to “Inactive”, which filters them from course participation, the gradebook, and group assignments. Drops ahead of the 12th class day will be deleted as normal. 
  • Course Retention Policy – we will remove all official term courses that are five (5) years or older from Canvas on Friday, October 25th. This round will include courses within the Fall 2018 – Summer 2019 terms. Unofficial courses such as sandboxes, test courses, or organizations that were manually created for you will not be removed from Canvas. 
     

Canvas App Store and App Updates 

  • Do you often wonder what learning tools have been vetted and approved for use at UT? We have made it easier to find and install approved apps in Canvas. Look for the UT Canvas Apps page on the left course navigation in all courses.  
  • The Course Evaluation System integrates with Canvas, providing timely pop-up reminders for faculty and students, and adding a course menu link to access evaluations.  
  • Consider adding an assignment to Canvas now to incentivize students to complete their course evaluations at the end of the term. Provide extra credit or a small percentage of their grade if they upload a screenshot of the evaluation completion screen, https://bit.ly/3WYeCAL Links to an external site.. 
  • My Classroom, a course menu link, will be your classroom technology resource guide. Using the course unique number, Registrar data and the classroom technology database, the tool will list the available technologies in the classroom your course is assigned to. Additionally, you will find helpful in-person teaching with technology strategies created by the Center for Teaching and Learning. 
  • NameCoach - Students and Instructors can voice-record their names and set up their NameCoach profile once in Canvas. Access NameCoach from Accounts on the Dashboard or the course navigation in any Canvas course. Record your name using your web browser or phone. 

 

Zoom

https://zoom.its.utexas.edu Links to an external site. 

 

Panopto

https://utexas.hosted.panopto.com Links to an external site. 

  

Microsoft 365

https://microsoft365.utexas.edu/ Links to an external site. 

  • Everyone at UT is provided a Microsoft 365 account by default, providing access to the Microsoft 365 suite, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Copilot, Loop, Clipchamp, and more!  
  • Teams Webinars are available, at no additional cost, for all students, faculty, and staff to schedule webinars for larger audiences.  

 

Qualtrics

https://utexas.qualtrics.com Links to an external site. 

  

For monthly updates on learning technology tools including those above and more, please subscribe to the Academic Technology Update Newsletter.   

Thanks very much! 

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Teaching and Learning Technology (TLT) 

Enterprise Technology (formerly Information Technology Services/ITS)