Teaching and Technology Updates
Spring 2025: Final Semester of Moodle Teaching
As the sun sets on the fall semester and we look ahead to Spring, we’re sharing a reminder that instructors will no longer have any access to Moodle or Blackboard following the conclusion of AY24-25. Instructors teaching in Moodle in the Spring may experience complications for handling resolution of incomplete grades as there will no longer be any access to prior LMS data, including students being forced to complete work outside of the LMS.
If you have yet to switch to Canvas, you can complete a course migration form to quickly transfer content. We appreciate all instructors that have completed the move to Canvas and are available to support any further course migrations, incomplete questions, and more. Browse our support options, including live drop-ins, consultations, and documentation on the IDEAS website.
Final Grades Due Tuesday, December 24
Grades are due in SPIRE at midnight on Tuesday, December 24. You can import your final grades from Canvas directly into SPIRE using the Total column in your Canvas gradebook. If you have any questions on this process, Canvas has a detailed support article on how to set up the total column in the gradebook.
For more information on how to enter grades from Canvas into SPIRE, please refer to the support article below.
Student Access to Courses and Incompletes
Student access to courses in Canvas will end on Tuesday, January 7, two weeks after final grades are due. If you need to provide incomplete access or otherwise extend a student's ability to access a Canvas course beyond this date, please contact instruct@umass.edu, and include:
- Course URL(s)
- Name of the student(s)
- Date to end the student(s) access
- If you are using EchoVideo, and the student needs extended access to videos.
Winter 2024 Preview Week Begins December 13
Preview week for Winter courses begins Friday, December 13th. While courses will be opened to students on the first day of classes (Friday, December 20), we recommend that you publish your course up to one week in advance. This can help students get familiar with your content and teaching style ahead of the first day.
Need a refresh on publishing your course? Check out the Canvas support article for more information.
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Classroom Walkthroughs
Sessions are currently scheduled for January 13 (10:00 a.m., Auditoria), January 14 (10:00 a.m., Large Classroom), and January 14 (2:00 p.m., Small Classroom).
Responding to faculty feedback and student needs and in collaboration with campus partners, the IDEAS Team has contributed to upgrading teaching technologies in campus classrooms as part of our commitment to enhancing campus teaching and learning environments. A full list of upgraded rooms is available on the Flex Classroom Technology Guides & Support Page.
Campus instructors are invited for a walkthrough to learn about the upgrades. Whether teaching in one of these rooms or just curious, IDEAS invites all instructors to explore features that support current methods and open new possibilities to support pedagogical goals.
CTL/IDEAS Facilitated Discussion Group: Integrating AI into Student Assignments
December 12, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m., W.E.B. Du Bois Library, 600
The Libraries will facilitate a session for the CTL/IDEAS faculty discussion group on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into student assignments. This workshop covers AI fundamentals, ethical and legal considerations, and tools like ChatGPT and Copilot. Participants will learn about designing AI-integrated assignments that promote learning and academic integrity, with examples provided and opportunity for feedback.
Monthly Canvas Updates
With final grades on the horizon, we're sharing a tip for weighting by assignment groups, and some gradebook resources.
Prepare For Final Grades: Weighting by Assignment Groups
An important step to take before you start your final grading is weighting assignment groups for the final course grade. Choosing this option assigns a weight to each assignment group rather than to individual assignments. Within each group, a percentage is calculated by dividing the total points a student has earned by the total points possible for all assignments in that group.
The Canvas support article below has detailed instructions on enabling weighted assignment groups. Additionally, you can also drop the lowest or highest scores in an assignment group by adding a rule.
Canvas Gradebook Resources
With midterms in full swing, we’ve provided some resources on grading in Canvas along with our training course. Whether you’re looking for more information on some more well-known grading functions in Canvas, or would just like to have a repository of articles readily available, these resources will answer your common grading questions.
Need help with a specific issue? Canvas offers 24/7 live chat for instructors. For UMass-specific Canvas questions, reach out to instruct@umass.edu.
- How do I use the Gradebook?
- Canvas Course Checklist: Grading
- Welcome to SpeedGrader: Canvas Training and Resources
Planned Downtime
There is no planned downtime for Canvas this month.