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FYI! Auto-captioning in YuJa will no longer be automatically generated!

Dear Faculty,

In order to accommodate the dramatic increase in usage for our YuJa video management service due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to adjust some of the default settings for video recordings and uploads to the service.  In particular, auto-captions will no longer be generated for all recordings and uploads by default.  

All videos added to YuJa still will have the option of auto captioning — it will just need to be requested by interested faculty on a video-by-video basis.  The request is made through YuJa and an email will be sent to you when captioning is complete.  

Instructions for requesting auto captions for a video are available at: https://wlu.box.com/s/4mwhkswgrgydhbsqnqa8ojm566resava.

We apologize for any inconvenience this adjustment may cause.  

Please email the ITS Information Desk at help@wlu.edu or call 540-458-4357 with any questions or concerns.  

 

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Pedagogy, Books & Java’s Winter Term Book Club Selection: “Intentional Tech: Principles to Guide the Use of Educational Technology in College Teaching”

Intentional Tech: Principles to Guide the Use of Educational Technology in College Teaching

With the multitude of educational technology options available, it’s not easy to decide which to use and when.

Derek Bruff, Director of the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, argues that it should be our teaching and learning goals that drive our choice of technology, NOT the other way around. In “Intentional Tech”, Bruff provides 7 research-based principles for matching technology to pedagogy and expands on each principle by providing examples of implementation from real faculty.

We’ll meet via Zoom 3 times: Thursday, Jan 21; Tuesday, Feb 16; and Thursday, Mar 11 at 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM EST. In order to best facilitate a lively discussion, we are capping enrollment to 20.

Interested in reading and discussing “Intentional Tech” with us and your colleagues? Sign up at go.wlu.edu/intentionaltech and contact Helen MacDermott at hmacdermott@wlu.edu for a copy of the book.

 

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How can I create an inclusive online learning environment?

Creating an Inclusive Online Learning Environment
Friday, October 2, 2020, 3:00pm ET

10/2/2020 ACUE webinar: Creating an Inclusive Online Learning Environment

Panelists will share practices they have found helpful to effectively set expectations for valuing diverse viewpoints, facilitating respectful conversations, and engaging students in inclusive active learning exercises. The teaching practices discussed in this FREE webinar can be utilized in a variety of disciplines and course sizes to promote equity and inclusion.

Moderated by Charity Peak, Regional Director of Academic Programs at ACUE, this panel will feature a brief keynote from Michael Benitez Jr., Vice President for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Metropolitan State University, Denver.

Register NOW!

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The “Read Aloud” feature in Word: a game changer for proofreading!

Did you know that Microsoft Word can read aloud the text of documents to you? Aye! This can be super helpful if you’re tired of reading the screen or are proofreading from another document.

Using a desktop version of Word, position your cursor where you want the reading aloud to begin and click on Review > Read Aloud button. Watch below!

Click the Read Aloud button a second time and it stops. Click the button again to continue from that point on.

Pretty sweet, right?

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NEW! All W&L Zoom Pro accounts can host meetings with up to 300 participants total!

Zoom srcset= Profile showing 300 participant limit for meetings with unlimited minutes” width=”525″ height=”271″>

That’s right, folks, if you need to host a meeting for up to 300 participants total, now you can! All W&L faculty, staff, and students with a Zoom Pro license can use Zoom to meet and collaborate using video, voice, and screen sharing across campus or around the world with up to 300 participants — no need for the large meeting or webinar license! (But if you DO need the large meeting or webinar license, contact help@wlu.edu or call 540.458.4357 (HELP) to make your request.)

Questions about Zoom?  You know what to do: contact the ITS Information Desk at 540.458.4357 (HELP) or email help@wlu.edu.

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What?!? You missed it? Nooooooo!

Ugh, if you missed out on the first Pedagogy and (perhaps you have) Pizza lunch time session of the Fall 2020 term, we’re so sorry: it was a terrific (virtual) gathering.

In fact, Paul Hanstedt even went so far to tweet:

And we can’t disagree!

If you want to hear about activities that W&L professors have done to engage students, virtually and in-person, then you’ll want to watch this: 

[must login with W&L credentials – choose SSO Login]

After you smack yourself for missing this workshop, be sure to sign up for upcoming Pedagogy and (perhaps you have) Pizza sessions at go.wlu.edu/pedagogy.

Have ideas for future Pedagogy and (perhaps you have) Pizza sessions? Email Julie Knudson at jmknudson@wlu.edu.

 

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NEW! Opt in to Display Personal Pronouns in Canvas

All users can choose personal pronouns in their Canvas profiles. Pronouns in Canvas display in locations such as:

  • Comment Fields
  • Discussions
  • Inbox
  • People Page (Course and Groups)
  • User Navigation Menu
  • User Profile Page
  • User Settings Page

The default is “None” and users can opt in to displaying a pronoun in Account > Settings. Available pronouns include:

  • He/Him
  • She/Her
  • They/Them

Here’s how:

  1. While logged in to Canvas, click Account in the global navigation.
  2. Click on the Settings link.
  3. Click the Edit Settings button (on the right side of the page)
  4. Select the desired pronouns from the drop-down menu.
  5. Click the Update Settings button.

[must log in with W&L credentials]

Questions? Contact the ITS Information Desk at 540.458.4357 or email help@wlu.edu.

And if you’re wondering … 

What are Personal Pronouns?

Pronouns are used on a regular basis to refer to people without using their name and imply one’s gender (he, she, they, etc.). Pronouns are one of the many ways we define our identities. 

But why do Personal Pronouns Matter?

You can’t/shouldn’t assume someone’s pronouns by their appearance or name. Referring to someone by the wrong pronoun can be damaging, making the person feel disrespected, invalidated, and/or dysphoric. Correctly using someone’s personal pronoun shows respect for their identities and helps foster an inclusive community. 

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Can I share a Box file or folder with someone who doesn’t have W&L credentials?

Aye! You sure can!

But if they have issues opening the file or folder, the problem may be that they must first accept W&L’s Terms of Service before they can access the content you’ve tried to share.  

Have the outside user follow these  steps outlined in these instructions:

https://wlu.box.com/v/nonWLbox

If that doesn’t work, contact the ITS Information Desk at help@wlu.edu or call 540.458.4357.

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Zoom-Canvas Integration is now active!

The Canvas-Zoom integration allows instructors to schedule and manage online meetings with their students. 

When you create a Zoom meeting within Canvas, you do not need to send meeting invites to students who are enrolled in the course.

A notification is also sent out to students within Canvas, as well as to their W&L email (assuming they haven’t changed the default notifications). Additionally, an event is created with the Zoom meeting information in the course calendar.

Students only use the Zoom tool in Canvas to join meetings created by Teachers in the course. Students can use Zoom outside of Canvas — by logging into myapps.wlu.edu with their W&L credentials and clicking the Zoom tile OR wlu.zoom.us with their W&L credentials — to create and host their own meetings.

How to Add Zoom to Your Canvas Course

Here’s a 3 minute video that will show you how to enable Zoom in your Canvas course and create a meeting invite for your students:

How to Add Zoom to Your Canvas Course

Open Settings

Open Settings

In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.

Open Navigation

Open Navigation

Click the Navigation tab.

Enable Zoom

how to enable Zoom in your Canvas course navigation

Click the blue “Save” button. After the browser refreshes, you will see the Zoom link in your course navigation. Click on the Zoom link to schedule meetings for your Canvas course!  (You will first be asked to authorize Zoom before you can use the tool. Once you click the “Authorize” button, you will be able to schedule or start meetings with your students.)

NOTE: Not all Zoom meeting settings, such as pre-assigning breakout rooms or creating polls, are available in the Zoom app in Canvas. Additional meeting settings are available in the W&L Zoom web portal at wlu.zoom.us.

But you can then import that meeting into Canvas, by clicking on the 3 vertical buttons next to “Schedule a New Meeting”:

screenshot of how to import a Zoom meeting into the Canvas-Zoom interface

and entering the Meeting ID. When you import the meeting, it will then be treated as if you’d created that Zoom meeting within Canvas. Students will receive notifications in Canvas and through their W&L email and an event with the Zoom information will be added to the course calendar.

Questions? Need help? Contact the ITS Information Desk at 540.458.4357 or help@wlu.edu.