Episode 156: The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Using Canvas

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a course management system that supports students and teachers in and out of the classroom, allowing educators to post grades information and assignments online. And, it helps parents be part of the process. On this episode of the Supercast, we explore the most frequently asked questions regarding Canvas. We share some tips for students and parents on how to avoid problems and find success with course content using Canvas.

We're here with Ross Rogers, one of our Digital Learning specialists to talk about Canvas. Ross, thanks for taking the time.

Ross Rogers:
Thank you for inviting me.

Anthony Godfrey:
Canvas is something that we all became very familiar with very quickly in the spring of 2020, when everyone was thrust into virtual learning. And since then it's continued to be a part of what most teachers use to track grades and submit assignments. Notice that I said submit assignments instead of turn in assignments, because now they can be submitted virtually. So I'd just like to talk with you about what parents should know to make the most of Canvas. I know that one thing that we talked about in a previous Supercast episode is the difference between Skyward and Canvas. So can you start by just addressing that? And then let's get into some of some of the tricks of the trade when working with Canvas.

Ross Rogers:
Okay. So there are two different software programs of district supports. Skyward is our official SIS, which is our Student Information System. And that's where all of our financials are, registration takes place, and our official grade book of the District. Canvas is an LMS or a Learning Management System. And that is a tool that we provide for teachers to put their lessons online. So basically, they can create a lesson in there. They can create quizzes. They can put all of their teaching documents up there. Put videos. post online videos where they're just live virtual office hours, that they can do to support the students in their learning. And part of Canvas, there is a grade program that isn't the official grade book, but we utilize it to sync the grades from Canvas to Skyward.

Anthony Godfrey:
So Canvas as the learning management system allows teachers to create really, generally, two types of assignments. An assignment that's automatically graded as the student submits it, a quiz or a test or something like that. Also, it allows students to submit other projects that the teacher would have to grade. What happens with projects that need to be graded by the teacher? How does that show up in Canvas? And when does it get transferred over to Skyward?

Ross Rogers:
So when an assignment comes in that the teacher actually has to physically grade, it comes into the grade book and it puts like a little paper in the gradebook column under that that says it's been submitted.

Anthony Godfrey:
So a little icon.

Ross Rogers:
Little icon.

Anthony Godfrey:
So as Friday approaches and parents are checking Canvas to be sure that their child gets weekend privileges because they turned everything in, that page icon is what they're looking for.

Ross Rogers:
Correct. That little icon. If it's a dash, that means nothing's been submitted. If there's an icon there it's been submitted and waiting for the teacher to grade it. If there's a score there, the teacher's graded it and returned it to the student.

Anthony Godfrey:
Long gone are the handwritten report cards that I received in eighth grade where if you had a grade you didn't like, a minus could become a plus, and an F could become an A with a little penmanship. That was what we called Photoshop in the 1900s. But Canvas is different from those handwritten report cards. Canvas shows what's been submitted, shows what's been graded, but it's not the official grade book. And tell me the difference between being a Learning Management System and the ultimate grade book.

Ross Rogers:
So where Canvas is the operations of the program. Anything that's submitted in Canvas is what the teacher has graded, but when it converts to Skyward, the official grade book, that's where teachers can actually weight a score.

Anthony Godfrey:
And the Waiting is the Hardest Part as Tom Petty has told us.

Ross Rogers:
It's really about, you know, a final exam and I want this final exam to count for a larger percentage of the grade. And that's what weighting is. And so in Skyward, the teacher can go in and change that. So that's the reason why when parents and students look at the Canvas grade book compared to Skyward, and they're like, well, why is this score different? It's because of the weighting and how the teacher wanted to set that up. And that's why we always say the Canvas grade book is not the official grade book. It is only there for you to see what hasn't been submitted, what has been submitted and what has been graded.

Anthony Godfrey:
So that's one point of confusion perhaps that parents and students might have is that, ‘Hey, everything looks good in Canvas, but now I get into Skyward and my grade isn't what I thought it would be.’ And it's that weighting of grades and the emphasis on the outcomes of certain assignments or tests or quizzes, as opposed to others being a bigger part of the grade.

Ross Rogers:
Well, and lots of subjects, I mean, you look at different subjects. Math can be something that can sometimes be easily graded. But other times, when they're looking at the way that they're doing, sometimes it's like, I wanna see the procedures that you're using. And that's what's being graded. That has to be looked at by the teacher. Language arts, their writing, that has to be looked at by the teacher. So sometimes it takes longer.

Anthony Godfrey:
Exactly. Now you and other members of the team were the unsung, backstage heroes of getting us through all of that virtual learning. You really did an incredible job. Jumped in, helped lots of teachers and parents and students who had never done this before, understand how to learn virtually. And as much as it was emergency learning, I think things went as well as they could. And it's in large part because you and other members of the team worked so hard to provide great support.

Ross Rogers:
It was long hours, but it was what we needed to do to get the students and the teachers and even parents. Because believe me, our phones were ringing from morning until evening.

Anthony Godfrey:
I remember.

Ross Rogers:
And we took the calls all night long because people were struggling and you know, what do you do? You want to help solve that problem so that they're not frustrated. But it was a lot of work. It was our boss back at that time, we have a new boss now, who was forward thinking and saying, ‘we've got to start thinking about this blended learning.’ And so we actually had a jumpstart and had a whole bunch of these things ready, just waiting to get the go ahead. And then we got the go ahead really fast.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, the state of Utah invested in Canvas a long time ago, and it's made available through the state for each student.

Ross Rogers:
Correct.

Anthony Godfrey:
And, as a District, we had put structure in place to make the most of that.

Stay with us. When we come back more with Ross Rogers, our Digital Learning Specialist.

Break:
Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here, every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've talked about the weighting of grades from Canvas to Skyward as one point of confusion. What are some of the other misunderstandings or points of confusion that you've heard about or experienced over the last couple of years?

Ross Rogers:
One that we're trying to get fixed right now is parents having their own account. Parents technically should not be logging into Canvas through their student account. It's a violation of the Student Agreement Policy. And so they sign it when they register their kids for Skyward, that they're not going to share their username or password with anyone, and that includes the parents. The parents have access to get their own account on Skyward. And when they do that, all they have to do is get the Observer Code from their student.

There are directions, step by step with pictures, on how to do that on our digitallearning.jordandistrict.org page, and they can get their own account. When a parent gets their own account, they see everything that the student sees. The only thing that's missing is they don't have the submit button on the assignments. They can't do the work for the students, but they can download every worksheet. They can read everything, they can email the teacher, they have full access to everything. They can see the grade book, they can see what's been submitted. So basically, as a parent having an observer account, they can see everything the student can. And they can stay on top and help that student navigate each week, in a weekly meeting with their students of what do we need to do to be prepared? How are we doing our homework? And so having that observer account is really a positive thing.

You can have it for every student that you have with just one account. You just have to get an access code for each of those students. And then it's a one time event. Once you do it with one student, you have it until they graduate. It just continues with them. And last year’s teachers and classes drop off and the next year, the new classes join in and you're already set up ready to go. And for our families that have separate parents, like me, a divorced father, I can have access to it and my ex-wife can have access to it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So that observer code allows you all of the access, but it still gives the student full responsibility for their account. Which is really why we're so careful about password security internally as well. Employees are not supposed to share with each other.

Ross Rogers:
Correct.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're not supposed to share with your Administrative Assistant or anyone else because then you have sole responsibility for that account. And I would assume that that's the reason for making sure students don't share that password. So if something does happen, we know that's their work that they submitted and that they have responsibility for everything that happens.

Ross Rogers:
We want to get back to the area where the student is responsible for what they're doing. And one of those things is not sharing passwords. Even though you're the parent, and this is my child, it's part of that digital citizenship that we're trying to teach. You know, parents, you have your access to Skyward. The student has their access to Skyward. And we need to keep those separate because we're trying to teach that digital responsibility.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it's a skill that will be important throughout their lives. So what are some of the other tips and tricks for parents to make the most of Canvas?

Ross Rogers:
Once you give access to Canvas, it gives you a tool to help your students by having that, you know, meeting. Whether you're at the dinner table on Sunday night, and you have previously gone through and looked at the schedules of your student’s classes, you know what’s due that week and having that conversation. So how are you doing in school? What things do you have to do? And, you know, it's a way of saying, you know, that student says, well, I don't have anything I'm good this week. I can go play. I can go do whatever I want. And if you have that access, you are now have that tool. You are prepared to talk to that student and say, well, what about this language arts assignment? I saw that it's due here. Well, how do you know that? Well, because I have access. And so what it does is it helps the student know, well, if mom and dad know behind the scene, there's no more hiding that. It just lets the student and the parent be on the same page, lets that student know, mom and dad are here to help me.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Well, I love how it makes us a better resource to parents and it connects us to parents and it allows parents to connect with us. And the way that you described Skyward has always been a chance to peek into the grade book. But Canvas is a chance to peek into the class. I think they're both important components of staying connected with what's happening in school. And like you described, it's not necessarily deception. It's just forgetfulness. I'll talk to my son and say, ‘do you have any homework?’ ‘No, no. I'm all caught up.’ So then we look it up. It's like, ‘oh yeah, there was that one thing.’

Ross Rogers:
They're busy too.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's good to have backup. No, believe me. It's good to have backup.

Ross Rogers:
Yeah. And so one of the things that goes along with creating an account for a parent is they have an option to go into the settings and put a profile picture on it. So, when you're communicating with that teacher, that teacher would love to know who they're talking to. Sometimes, if you've never met that teacher, they don't know who you are, but if you communicate with them through Canvas and your picture is there, then when you do come in the building, they know who you are and they make that connection immediately. So I always encourage parents to go into the settings, and they can put a picture up. They can also go in and set up notifications. So when do announcements come? When do due dates come? Do they come immediately, or all at once at the end of the day, or all at once at the end of the week? And they set that up. And so I let parents know that because sometimes parents will go in and create an observer account and they're like, oh my gosh, I'm getting bombarded with all the stuff because they haven't gone in and set things up.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is the default initially to receive all of that information and you can scale it back, or do you need to go in and select when you want the notifications?

Ross Rogers:
It’s usually all on.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have to turn it off, okay. So rather than just disconnecting from Canvas entirely, go in and customize your experience. So you're getting the information you want. I love the idea of a picture. It just creates a better connection.

Ross Rogers:
It does. So that when you do walk into the school, the teacher recognizes you because they've been having a conversation for, you know, however long it has been. So that's something that I always tell people to do also. Then also on that page, the digitallearning.jordandistrict.org which is our website for digital learning, under the Big Six category, we have a link for Canvas for education. And we have on that page guides and they're made by Canvas. So we have parent guides, and we have student guides that literally walk you through how to do everything in Canvas. You want to learn how to submit a picture in an assignment? It shows you with pictures of all the steps. So it tells from a parent perspective how to do this, and from the student perspective.

So not only is it the parent reaching out for help, but now the parent can go in and learn how the student does it to help that student submit maybe a more unique assignment because you can do things differently. You don't have to do everything like we did in the old days, paper and pencil. And Canvas allows it so that, you know, yeah, you can do the old paper, pencil styles and upload that assignment, but you can also do a video. You can also just do an audio review. You can submit something from Canva that you've designed. There's just so many different facets of an assignment that you can do now. And these guides help you learn how to do all those different types of activities.

Anthony Godfrey:
So, a lot of options and a lot of chances for parents and students to stay on top of what's happening in the class and be connected to it. Any other thoughts that you have for parents or advice for using Canvas effectively?

Ross Rogers:
Yes. So one of the other tools that we use here in Jordan District is Google. We are a Google district and Google Drive works hand in hand with Canvas. So much so that people sometimes get confused about what Canvas is because, well, the assignment was on Google Drive because they did the assignment in a Google Doc, but they still have to submit it. And that's through Canvas.

Well, the issue that we have is in Jordan, we issue every student a Chromebook to use. Sometimes the Chromebook is dead by the time they get home and they never get that power supply out and plug it in. So they go to mom's computer and they sign into Canvas. And when they do that, mom is signed into their browser to the Canvas browser. So it has her personal account there. And when they sign into Canvas, it connects the student to the mom's Google account. So now they go into that assignment and they click on that assignment and it says, make a copy of this Google assignment. And it says you don't have access, request access. And then they come back the next day in school, they're on their Chromebook and nothing is working. They can't, it's asking everything to be reconnected because they're still connected to moms Gmail account from signing in on the home computer.

The way that you fix that is in most courses, we have told teachers to please turn this on. You go to the Google Drive in the course menu. And once you click on Google Drive, on the right hand side of the screen, you'll see either the picture that they've uploaded of themselves or the initials of whoever's account is logged in on that Google Drive. And they click on it and they can see, is it their district email address or is it mom or dad? And then they can log out at that point and then log back in and it will automatically pick up their district email if they're on their Chromebook and sign them into the correct account. And that's how you fix that. That is probably the number one problem that we see with students is the Google Drive issue.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you very much Ross for taking the time. And as I said, thank you for your support through the last two and a half years and all the hard work you and other members of the team have done to just make this go as smoothly as possible. And now we're in a new era. Now we're in a new era where Canvas is a vital part of what we do. And so thank you for taking the time to help us make the most of it.

Ross Rogers:
You're welcome.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see out there.