IT Tips is a weekly-release listserv at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln focused on academic technology services including Zoom, Yuja, Canvas, the Digital Learning Center, EvaluationKit, and iClickers.
If you are interested to learn more IT tips, join the listserv or view the archive.
Microsoft Tip
- Accessibility: With a few easy clicks, check for accessibility problems in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word documents. Select the 'review' tab and look for the 'check accessibility' button. When prompted with issues, use the dropdown menu to learn more about how to address each problem and begin the process of addressing the issue.
Canvas Tips
- Organization: Going into summer courses, it is worth remembering to organize Canvas courses using modules and/or pages. Users can create modules with links to content, videos, and assignments that can be applied to individualize items or opt for page-based content where students click into course content and resources. It's up to you to decide the best way to organize a course. A great way to do this is by creating a naming structure for content that stays consistent throughout the course.
- Grade Import: Import grades from Canvas directly to MyRed to save time. As long as Canvas is mostly correct on grades, they can be imported together and updated manually after being added to MyRed.
- Overriding Grades: As final grades are calculated, the "final grade override" feature can be used to change grades in the final grade column. If you've taken steps to ensure Canvas accurately calculates simple grade structures, this feature will not need to be used. However, if you have a grading scheme that is more complex or instances in which inaccuracies have arisen in student grades, this feature will be helpful.
- Course Grading Scheme: Enable a course grading scheme for each of your courses to give students the ability to easily see what letter grade is associated with the Canvas grade percentage. To begin adding a grading scheme to a course, go to settings (left menu) > course details (tab) > select the box next to "enable course grading scheme" about halfway down the page.
- Page History: Make a mistake while updating a Canvas page? Reverse those changes using the "view page history" feature in Canvas.
- Rubrics for ACE Report: Track ACE outcome progression using rubrics in Canvas. Using rubrics in Canvas makes it possible for you to easily create a data-driven report on your ACE outcome attainment at the end of the semester. Learn more on the rubrics page in Canvas.
- Canvas Commons: Did you know that the university has resources on Canvas Commons? The content ranges from assignment setups to student help pages which can be imported to your courses as a starting point. Learn more on our Canvas Commons webpage
Zoom Tips
- Alternative Host: When scheduling a Zoom meeting, the host can designate another licensed user on the same account to be the alternative host. The alternative host can start the meeting on the host's behalf. This user will receive an email notifying them that they have been added as an alternative host, with a link to start the meeting. Learn more at the Zoom Support Instructions for alternative host.
- Co-Host: The co-host feature in Zoom allows the host to share hosting privileges with another user, allowing the co-host to manage the administrative side of the meeting, such as managing participants or starting and stopping the recording. The host must assign a co-host. There is no limitation on the number of co-hosts you can have in a meeting or webinar. Learn more at the Zoom Support Instructions for adding the co-host.