Grading Resources and Prepping for Winter

Congratulations on completing the fall quarter! Don't forget that final grades must be entered into PioneerWeb by 10 p.m. Mountain Time on Tuesday, November 30. Visit the Office of the Registrar's Grading Policies page to learn more about the processes and policies here at DU, and their Grading Guide for instructions on how to enter your grades.

The OTL is here to support you as you prepare your courses for winter. As a reminder, the OTL observes DU's winter holiday closure. Our office will be closed the week of December 27, reopening Monday, January 3, so we'd love to help you get a jump-start on your courses. OTL Instructional Designers and Faculty Developers will be available online and in person for drop-in support as you prepare for the winter term. We can support you with:
  • Importing and updating Canvas course content
  • Developing and uploading your syllabus
  • Designing your assessments
  • Incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into your courses
  • And more!

Tuesday, December 7, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
In person - OTL Suite, Anderson Academic Commons, 350

Tuesday, December 7, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, December 8, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, December 9, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
In person - OTL Suite, Anderson Academic Commons, 350

Thursday, December 9, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

And don't forget to join us to learn how to make your course content more accessible:

Wednesday, December 15, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Hyflex - join us online or in person at Anderson Academic Commons 345

Respondus is also hosting several training webinars throughout the month.

We will also be providing drop-in hours during the first week of January. Check the OTL Events Calendar for more information and to discover other upcoming events!

For support as you grade and prepare your upcoming courses, schedule a 1:1 with an OTL Instructional Designer.
Canvas New Quizzes Available December 1

DU's Learning Management System (LMS) will be replacing the current quiz functionality known as “Classic Quizzes” with an update called Canvas New Quizzes. This is an update to Canvas that is being directed by Instructure, the company that designs/maintains Canvas LMS software. Learn more about New Quizzes in our new blog Canvas Update: What's New About "New Quizzes" and our Knowledge Base article, Canvas: New Quizzes v. Classic Quizzes Feature Comparison.
 
Starting December 1, faculty will be able to use the functionality of both New and Classic quizzes. When an instructor goes to create a new quiz they will be presented with the option of creating a New or Classic Quiz, and both types can be used in a course. Information on using New Quizzes can be found in our Knowledge Base article How to create a quiz using Canvas New Quizzes.

The current quiz functionality will be available to Instructors until July 2022 after which Instructure will start to restrict some features in Classic Quizzes as updated in the New Quizzes Launch Timeline. While instructors will be able to create/edit Classic Quizzes until July 2022, Instructure will eventually remove all Classic Quiz functionality. Currently this is slated for June 2023. We recommend that faculty migrate any Classic Quizzes in their course to New Quizzes before the deprecation date of June 2023. Information on this can be found in the Canvas Community: How do I migrate a Canvas Quiz to New Quizzes? You can also visit Instructure’s New Quizzes FAQ page.
Canvas Tip

Are you looking to prepare your fall courses and unable to find them on your Canvas Dashboard? Visit our Ed-Tech Knowledge Base to easily access your courses and add them to your dashboard.
Teaching Online - Advanced Practice Starts Next Week!

Did you complete the Teaching Online Short Course and now you are hoping to elevate your online teaching even more? Interested in exploring Canvas integrations, active learning techniques, and High-Impact Practices? Then join us for the upcoming session of the Teaching Online - Advanced Practice Short Course!

Teaching Online - Advanced Practice starts on December 6 and will help you get a head start on your winter courses! You will investigate topics related to multimedia, measuring individual and group learning outcomes, technology that promotes social and cognitive engagement, and more. You can take your time and work on the course at your own pace throughout the month of December and faculty who complete the requirements will receive a stipend!

Faculty Learning Community (FLC): Teaching and Professional Faculty Tools for Success
 
Tools for Success is a faculty learning community designed for teaching and professional faculty (TPF) in the assistant rank at the University of Denver. The FLC will explore areas essential to the success of teaching faculty including: community building, effective instruction, wellness, DU culture, promotion, national trends, and the roles of TPF. We will utilize one book in our sessions (Inclusive Collegiality and Nontenure-Track Faculty: Engaging All Faculty as Colleagues to Promote Healthy Departments and Institutions). The FLC will be led by Dr. Laura Sponsler, Clinical Associate Professor, Higher Education, and Faculty Scholar - Teaching and Professional Faculty.

We will meet in the OTL Conference Room (Anderson Academic Commons 345) weekly during the Winter Quarter on Fridays from 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., starting on Friday, January 7.

 
For more information contact Laura Sponsler at Laura.Sponsler@du.edu.
Teaching Resources

This tool kit provides practical steps for readying your courses, no matter the modality. From Canvas basics to hyflex considerations, and complete with worksheets to guide you, this toolkit is a great starting point for course planning.

This Knowledge Base article provides helpful tips and tricks you can use as you create pre-recorded videos, lectures, and demonstrations to enhance the asynchronous components of your course. You can also learn more about the various tools you can use to create your videos, such as Zoom and Kaltura.

This web page provides access to the robust virtual services and resources that the Libraries provide along with a host of online services and resources.