GSA eLearning News

www.zamzar.com ZamZar  is a useful online file type converter. It works with hundreds of file types, including most audio, video and graphics files. The free version is limited to two conversions per day, up to 150MB, but it can be very useful for solving compatibility issues between software. The drag and drop interface is really easy to use, and most conversions are processed very quickly. The site offers an unlimited premium version via a subscription model, although if you find you need to regularly convert certain file types, there are usually offline software-based solutions for this. For advice with online or offline file type conversion or any other Learning Technology issues at GSA, visit us in the Learning Technology Office located in the library or contact us at LTHelp@gsa.ac.uk You can find the terms of use for the Zamzar service here .

The Canvas gradebook has been updated - New features mean workflow changes for the way instructors and admin support use the gradebook Muting / Posting Policy The new grade posting policy is the biggest change in the new gradebook. Previously, instructors or admin staff would mute an each assignment when creating it or prior to grading; then admin or tutors would unmute the assignment to release the grade. This was done in the gradebook by clicking on the 'eye' icon to mute or unmute (release) the marks.  The New Gradebook allows instructors to set a Grade Post Policy for all assignments in a course with a few clicks. All GSA 19/20 courses have been set up with a 'manual posting policy', which means all course marks and feedback are hidden until manually posted.  Grades are posted when the 'eye' is clicked in the top left corner of speedgrader and 'Post Grades' is selected. Please review the  New Gradebook and SpeedGrader Muting Behavior ...

All GSA staff can search and request content from the BBC Digital Archives, which contains over 2 million TV and radio programmes, in addition to content from other providers. The archive is accessed through Planet eStream, and content requests will appear on GSA's Planet eStream site, where they can then be viewed or embedded into Canvas courses. To access the archive go to  GSA's Planet eStream site , and log in with your staff username and password. You can then access the TV and Radio Archive from the Create menu as shown below. Once your request has been placed, the item will be approved by GSA Library staff and the item will be available to all at GSA.  For further help using Planet eStream, come along to the Learning Technology Office in the library or contact us at LTHelp@gsa.ac.uk 

Canvas have just released a useful new feature called Direct Share. This allows users with teacher permissions to copy items between canvas courses, and share content items with other teachers. Pages, assignments, quizzes and discussions can all be copied or shared from the pop-up options menu shown below. You can copy items to any course you are an instructor on. This will include any assets such as files or images. When copying you will be prompted to choose the destination course, and a module within where the item will be placed.     You can share items with other teachers within GSA. Again, this will include any assets such as files or images. Once the content has been sent, the recipient will receive a notification as shown below. It can then be viewed and imported into any of the recipient's courses.  For a step by step guide to using this new feature with individual pages please see the official Canvas documentation below: H...

Image: www.pexels.com (Alex Andrews)  If you need some stock images to liven up your Canvas course, you can try using  www.pexels.com . The site is very quick and easy to search for and download images, with no sign-in required. All images are free to use, subject to its very generous licence (more info  here .) The site operates on a 'suggested donation' model, encouraging you to make an optional donation to the artist before you download their image. To insert your image into your Canvas page, choose the 'Embed image' option shown below, you will then be given the option to upload the image to your Canvas folder. Please remember to fill in the 'alternative text' option when inserting images. This provides screen readers with a description of the image, and helps increase the accessibility of your pages.     

Here is a quick guide to embedding Planet eStream content into your Canvas course.  For more details of how to create screen recordings please visit this guide on creating screencasts.  To embed Planet eStream content into a Canvas page follow the simple process detailed below.   In Planet eStream, select the content you would like to embed  In the video's 'Details' area, select 'Share' then 'Share by embedding' Copy the embed code supplied Switch to your Canvas page , and select 'Insert/Embed Media' from the toolbar Select the 'embed' Tab and paste your embed code Click OK and Save your changes to the page.  Happy New Year! Learning Technology Team

Two easy-to-use methods to get your data back! We all need to recover data at some point - a previous version of a file or a deleted course page we need to use again. The two methods detailed below will help you recover your lost data. 1. Recover previous versions of a page: You can recover previous versions of a page in Canvas by accessing the Revision History for that page. To do this, click the options icon in the top right of the page you want to recover (the three vertical dots) to access the page options. From here select 'View Page history' to access your previous versions. 😀 2. Recover a deleted page:  Canvas has a hidden feature called 'undelete' to recover deleted content from your courses. To access the feature simply add /undelete  to the url of your course in your browser's address bar. For example if your course url is  your new url would be  From here you can restore any previously delete...