IMGconnect

A new feature is available in Canvas: Users (faculty and students) may now upload an image to serve as their “avatar” in Canvas. Instructions for how to do this have been posted on the IMG Canvas Help Page.

Posting avatar images is voluntary.

Respondus is unable to connect properly with Canvas to upload quizzes/questions. We’re working with Respondus to resolve the issue and will update this post once we have more information.

Respondus works properly with Canvas now.

Just a couple of reminders if  you are using Canvas this term (Spring 2012):

1. Please remember that students will not be able to interact with any of your course material until you PUBLISH the course.
2. Please remind students to set their Notification preferences; feel free to share this link to an instructional video: http://www.auburn.edu/img/canvas/help/students/s_notification_pref/s_notification_pref.htm

If you have any questions or encounter problems in Canvas, please don’t hesitate to contact us in IMG:

Email IMG@auburn.edu , call 844-5181, or come by 0015 Haley Center (in the basement).

Canvas is having connectivity issues at the moment. Instructure is aware of the issue and is working on a fix.

All issues have been resolved.

The Instructional Multimedia Group will close at 4:45 PM on Thursday, Dec. 15th. IMG will reopen with the University on January 3rd at 7:45 AM.

Instructure released Canvas for iOS today for iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPads. As long as your device has iOS 5 or later, you can download it via the store.

Note: This app is designed for students, not teachers. You can e-mail or participate ind discussions, but cannot grade or do instructor tasks.

Feature list:

• View your Canvas activity stream
• Stay on top of your to do items
• View your course schedules
• Read and participate in course discussions
• Read, create, and reply to Conversations
• View grades for your courses and individual assignments
• View submissions and participate in comment discussions with your instructor

Update: If you have a Mac computer, be sure to update to the latest Lockdown Browser as Respondus has issued a temporary fix until Java is fixed.

From Respondus:

An important issue has come up for Respondus LockDown Browser users who run Mac OSX with the latest release of Java (version 1.6.0_29).

The issue is that WebKit-based browsers running with Java 1.6.0_29 will crash if a Java applet is encountered. Respondus LockDown Browser relies on WebKit so it exhibits the same behavior. (Note that Chrome and other browsers based on WebKit exhibit the same problem, although Apple has modified its Safari browser to work around the issue.)

For Blackboard Learn customers, Java applets are encountered when an exam containing essay questions is started (the rich-text editor for essay questions uses Java applets). For Blackboard CE/Vista customers, a crash occurs at the login page since Java applets are used with the browser checker.

The developer community anticipates that either WebKit or Apple will resolve this issue in quick order. Unfortunately, at the moment, WebKit feels that Apple should fix the issue, while Apple feels that WebKit should provide the fix. In the meantime, however, we are doing two things:

1) We have issued a patch for the Mac edition of LockDown Browser. Once the update is applied, LockDown Browser will detect, upon startup, whether a user is running Java 1.6.0_29. If this combination is found, they will receive this message:

———————————

WARNING: Java version 1.6.0_29 detected.

This version of Java is known to be incompatible with your learning system and may cause this browser application to crash.

We recommend that you do NOT continue. As a work-around, you may consider using a different computer.

[Quit]  [Continue]

———————————–

IMPORTANT: In order for users to be aware of this update, the institution’s Administrator for LockDown Browser should login to the admin area (https://www.respondus.com/campus-portal/login.php) and select “yes” for the setting “Check for newer version of LockDown Browser” (the default setting is “no”). This will enable Mac users to receive a notice each time they start LockDown Browser that an update is available.

2) Simultaneously, we are working on a solution where our own version of WebKit will be embedded with each installation of the Mac LockDown Browser software. This will require substantial QA testing and our hope is that the issue will be resolved by WebKit or Apple before we have to resort to distributing our own WebKit.  However, given no official response on timing of the solution from either WebKit or Apple, we feel this is a prudent path to pursue.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have questions about this issue, please don’t hesitate to open a support ticket at www.respondus.com/esupport.

The workshop Canvas: Starting from Scratch is cancelled today due to inclement weather. Please view the IMG Workshop page for other times/dates.

Faculty who wish to use Canvas in the Spring may do so. You have access as of today, Nov. 2, 2011, IF you are listed as the instructor of record in Banner. If you are not listed as the instructor of record in Banner, you won’t have access to your class in either Blackboard or Banner until you are.

I know you have many questions about moving to Canvas from Blackboard, and we do have answers for you. Please visit the Transition to Canvas page for more help.

We also encourage you to participate in one of two IMG Canvas QuickStart workshops being offered: Starting from Scratch or Migrating from Blackboard. And if you just want an overview of what Canvas is and how it works, consider taking the Canvas Orientation workshop. Dates, times, and registration information for all IMG workshops are available online.

And, you are more than welcome to contact Dr. Kathy McClelland in IMG at img@auburn.edu or 844-5181 with any questions you may have.

Blackboard is now available  - the technical issues have been resolved.

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

Blackboard is down until further notice so that we can address technical issues. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please know we are working on resolving the issues as soon as possible.