Fun Features to Try in CarmenCanvas

There’s a lot to love about Canvas, the new LMS powering Carmen, including more options for creating assignments and a powerful mobile app for easy access to courses. Many of these features were not available in Desire2Learn (D2L), the platform behind the "old Carmen."

You've adopted Canvas and started using the basic features, but did you know you are able to incorporate the following into your classes?

Create Peer Review Assignments or Discussions

Peer review? That’s right. In CarmenCanvas, it's possible to set up both anonymous and identified peer reviews. As an instructor, you can manually assign students to review another student’s work or automatically assign the peer review.

Enhance Group Collaboration with Group Sites

The Group feature makes it easier than ever to collaborate on projects. Each group has a specific section within the course dedicated to their own collaboration. The Group section is like a "mini-course" within the course. Students can make announcements, share files, record conferences, set up pages and post discussions.

Instructors will see all group discussions listed in the main course Discussions area. Clicking on a discussion will take you into the group site. From there, you can navigate between group sites. Students will only see discussions and sites for groups in which they are a member.

Conference with Students Directly in Carmen

The Conferences tool makes it easy to hold real-time discussions with students in your course. It is similar to CarmenConnect, but available directly in the course for easy student access. Students can even use it for group work within their Group sites. It is ideal for holding office hours, meetings with students and short-term recordings.

Note: Recordings are deleted 14 days after the conference ends.

Easily Sign Students Up for Office Hours Using the Scheduler

No. More. DoodlePolls. A part of the calendar feature, the Scheduler tool allows instructors to create appointment groups and then notifies students to sign up. Use the Scheduler tool to host office hours, schedule individual student meetings and more.

Sharing Files is Easier than Ever

While sharing files is not new, the Files area is more visible and easier to access for both students and instructors. This might be particularly useful if you have a lot of files that cannot be converted into Pages, or if you provide students with supplementary material.

Note: By default, students will be able to see all files in the Files tool, but you can manage file visibility within the tool.

Faster Grading Across Devices with SpeedGrader

SpeedGrader allows you to view and grade all kinds of student assignments using the same interface, leaving feedback as a text or media comment. Use the SpeedGrader mobile app for easier grading on-the-go.

For Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and PDF files, you can even annotate the submissions from within SpeedGrader.

Utilize Audio and Video Assignments and Feedback

There are four submission types instructors can choose from when creating an assignment:

1. Text entry
2. Website URL
3. Media recordings
4. File uploads

If you choose media recordings, students can submit audio or video files or record their media submission directly in Canvas. You can also leave audio and video comments as feedback on Canvas Assignments.