December 2023 | Issue 39
Find previous issues on the Instructional Technology Newsletter page.
Instructional Technology & Design Newsletter
Important Updates
Spring 2024 Prep
Spring 2024 Shells Are Available – Tips for Starting to Prep Your Courses
• Organize your dashboard (change course card colors, reorder, nickname and move course cards) to
make it easier to find your current and future courses.
• Before importing your content, or making any edits in your Spring shells, cross-list your shells (if
needed).
o Canvas Cross-Listing Guide or Request Cross-Listing from Erica Reynolds at
• Import your current courses and consider removing or shifting all your course dates in the process.
o Remember you can also bulk update assignment due and availability dates.
Update Your Course Welcome Packet
Many of these elements are included in our Getting Started module template, so you can import that template if
you’d like a place to start with a new welcome packet, or some help with updates to your current welcome
packet elements.
Consider a Course Equity Audit
I presented the idea of a Course Equity Audit Checklist the August Flex Day. This tool is a blend of a few
online course design recommendations that you can use as a guide for checking your whole course for
opportunities for additional clarity, access and inclusivity. Consider performing a Course Equity Audit as you
begin setting up your Spring 2024 course shells.
Upgrading to Pearson Access LTI 1.3 in Canvas
This semester, your Pearson courses will require a slightly different set up! Instead of using the old 'MyLab and
Mastering' or 'Pearson' tools, you'll be using the new 'Access Pearson' tool instead. The old tools will be
disabled and will no longer work next semester. If you need any assistance with your course set up, please
contact Hiromitsu Masuda at hiromitsu.masuda@pearson.com.
In your new Canvas course, you'll need to:
1. Navigate to Settings > Navigation and choose Disable from the option menu for the old “MyLab
and Mastering” and/or “Pearson Revel” tool in your Canvas course navigation.
2. Next locate the “Access Pearson” tool and click Enable from the options menu. Scroll to the
bottom of the page and click Save.
3. Create your Pearson course using the new Access Pearson tool and enable grade sync to update
assignment links and grade columns in Canvas.
a. You can easily copy your previous Pearson course as normal. Here is a video walkthrough
in case it helps.
b. You can also find more detailed instructions on our Instructor Help page. Note: any old
Pearson assignment 'deep link' in your Canvas modules will need to be replaced/updated.
December 2023 | Issue 39
Find previous issues on the Instructional Technology Newsletter page.
Canvas LMS Enhances Discussions and Announcements with User-Friendly Redesign
The discussion redesign includes an updated UI and new features. When the redesign is enforced on July 20,
2024 all existing discussions will show in the new UI and will have new functionality available to them. We are
encouraging faculty to enable the Discussions/Announcements Redesign feature now for their Spring and
Summer 2024 courses, so the feature enforcement in July will be less disruptive. The redesign currently
includes:
• The toolbar has been moved to the top of the discussion and announcement thread.
• Newest replies display at the top of the first page instead of the bottom of the last page.
• Users can sort replies from newest to oldest, or oldest to newest.
• Users can mention other users in discussion replies by using the @ symbol.
To learn more about these features and more, please visit the Canvas help guides below:
• Announcements Redesign: Instructor Guide & Student Guide
• Discussions Redesign: Instructor Guide & Student Guide
Empowering Inclusive Learning: Popetech Accessibility Guide in Canvas
Pope Tech is an advanced accessibility guide and checker located within the Rich Content Editor of Canvas. It
is called the "Accessibility Guide" because it guides you through correctly formatting and fixing accessibility
issues within your Canvas course. This integrated technology scans the page and provides a side panel listing
errors and alerts it discovers, as well as providing feedback on where the errors are and guidance on how to fix
them.
• Accessibility Guide Demos Video Playlist
• Get started with the Canvas Accessibility Guide
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Reminders
Cañada Local POCR Process is in Full Swing!
Fall 2023 was the first semester for Cañada to be a Local POCR certified campus by the CVC, California
Virtual Campus! Our POCR Team reviewed & QR-badged the following courses:
• COMM 110: Public Speaking (by John Perez)
• LING 200: Introduction to Linguistics (by Sarah Harmon)
• BUS 201: Business Law (by Candice Nance)
A big Thank You to reviewers and reviewees for the hard work and productive collaboration!
The call for Spring & Fall 2024 POCR Courses is out!
If you’re interested in the POCR process, please contact Nada Nekrep, Cañada POCR Lead
(nekrepn@smccd.edu).
Is my course a candidate?
• The course is fully online (synchronous or asynchronous).
• Canvas course shell is authored solely by the instructor.
• The course shell meets various CVC-OEI Rubric criteria.
• Instructor received DE training (QOTL or equivalent).
What are the benefits of participating?
• Improved course quality & accessibility = Student success!
• Your QR-badged course gets lined up for the CVC Course Exchange!
• Instructor compensation for time & effort!
December 2023 | Issue 39
Find previous issues on the Instructional Technology Newsletter page.
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Upcoming Training
Spring 2024 @One Courses Available—and now free!
@One has released their course offerings for the Spring of 2024 and their courses are now free! I’ve taken
almost all of their courses and have found value in every single one. I invite you to sign up for one this
semester if you have the bandwidth. Note that if you’re eligible for online teaching re-certification, certain
@One courses are equivalent to QOTL 2.
2024 QOTL 1 & 2 Cohorts
Below are our QOTL 1 and 2 cohorts for the spring and summer semesters. If you’re interested in completing
QOTL this year, please email Nada Nekrep, our Online Instruction Coordinator at nekrepn@smccd.edu. Add
form to fill out?
• QOTL 1
o Spring 2024: April 1 – May 3
o Summer 2024: June 3 – July 15
• QOTL 2
o Spring 2024
▪ Cohort 1: February 24 – March 24
▪ Cohort 2: April 1 – May 5
o Summer 2024
▪ Cohort 1: June 3 – July 7
▪ Cohort 2: June 24 – July 29
SMCCCD Microcourses
Our SMCCCD Instructional Designers have built a series of microcourses that can be completed in about two
hours. Upon completion of each course and submission of the course deliverable you will receive a badge of
completion. To complete a microcourse:
1. Self-enroll in the course(s) you’re interested in. You can enroll in one or more microcourses.
o Instructor Feedback: https://smccd.instructure.com/enroll/TJJCRT
o Student-Centered Syllabi: https://smccd.instructure.com/enroll/EKP4PR
o Ungrading: Part 1: https://smccd.instructure.com/enroll/XWWRWD
2. Complete the course deliverable to obtain your badge.
3. Fill out the short microcourse feedback survey.
