Virtual Student Updates: March 2021
Over this past week, ITS and AT have gone through and updated all virtual students throughout campus. Below you will find some of the feature changes you will see and some new troubleshooting steps you may need to start in the classroom. It is important to note the way you start class and share content has not changed. The Virtual Student Cheat Sheet that should be in each classroom is still accurate.
Zoom has implemented Gallery view when sharing content with the Zoom call on the Virtual Student. To enable these features, share the content you are looking to share with the Zoom call.
Once your content is shared, go to the Poly Controller and select Change View.
Select Gallery. This will show a gallery view of the content you share and all of the remote students on the Virtual Student Screen.
Note: If the content you are sharing is something that the in-person students do not have on their iPads, we recommend using your laptop to share the content with the Zoom call while simultaneously AirPlaying your computer with the Apple TV. This way, in-person students can look at the whiteboard and still see the remote students on the Virtual Student.
Virtual Students can be assigned to breakout rooms.
The Virtual Student can now be assigned to a breakout group and can visit breakout rooms moving forward. If you would like to explore how to use the Virtual student to join breakout rooms, please feel free to schedule some time with AT on our calendar!
Controller not connected
If you see the following image on the Poly controller when you enter a classroom, you should be able to click the retry option on the lower left side to resolve the issue. If you click Retry and still have an issue, please take a photo of the Controller and the Virtual Student and submit a ticket to ITS.
macOS Big Sur
Highlights worth noting:
New icons for apps
App icons have been redesigned to feel both familiar and fresh. Icons have a uniform shape but retain the stylistic touches and details that give Mac its character.
Control Center
Designed just for Mac, the new Control Center consolidates your favorite menu bar items into a single place to give you instant access to the controls you use most. Just click the Control Center icon in the menu bar and adjust Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, and other settings — without opening System Preferences.
Translation
Translate entire web pages in Safari. When you encounter a compatible page, click the translation icon in the address field to translate into English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Russian, or Brazilian Portuguese.
Import passwords and settings from Chrome
Easily import history, bookmarks, and saved passwords from Chrome into Safari.
Battery usage history
Battery usage history displays graphs of battery level and usage for the past 24 hours and the past 10 days.
Taken from: https://www.apple.com/macos/big-sur/features/
When you are ready to update we would like you to be aware of two things:
- The update will need 35 – 45 GB of space to complete. We recommend having at least 50 so that there is no concern. To check how much space you have free:
Click the Apple in the upper right corner of your mac and then select About this Mac. In the new window that opens, select Storage.
- Make sure that all important documents and files are saved somewhere safe. We recommend using Dropbox, iCloud, or OneDrive to store these files while completing the update.
Canvas Update: New Rich Content Editor
On January 19th, Canvas updated the rich content editor. You will see this update when creating a new assignment, quiz, page, or discussion. This has automatically been rolled out to all of your courses.
Here is an overview of the new menubar that replaced the sidebar we used in the old layout.
Taken and adapted from https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-use-the-menubar-in-the-Rich-Content-Editor-as-an/ta-p/931
View Menubar
The menubar will display above the Rich Content Editor [1]. The menubar includes the same tools as found in the toolbar [2], but in a format that is easier to navigate with a keyboard.
View Edit Menu
To view the Edit menu, click the Edit link [1]. From the Edit menu, you can undo content changes [2], redo content changes [3], cut [4], copy [5], paste [6], paste as text [7], and select all content [8]. You can also view the keyboard shortcuts for each edit option [9].
View View Menu
To view the View menu, click the View link [1]. From the View menu, you can expand the editor content area to the width of your browser [2] and open the HTML editor [3].
View Insert Menu
To open the Insert menu, click the Insert link [1]. To insert a link, click the Link option [2]. You can link to an external URL or course content.
To insert an image, click the Image option [3]. You can upload a new image or insert an image from your course or user files.
To insert media, click the Media option [4]. You can record media, upload media, or insert media from your course or user files.
To insert a document, click the Document option [5]. You can upload a document or insert a document from your course or user files.
To insert a math equation, click the Equation option [6].
To insert a table, click the Table option [7].
To embed content using an embed code, click the Embed option [8].
To insert a horizontal line, click the Horizontal Line option [9].
View Format Menu
To open the Format menu, click the Format link [1]. You can select several formatting options [2], including bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, superscript, subscript, and code.
To open the Formats menu, click the Formats option [3]. The Formats menu includes options for headings, inline text, blocks, and alignment.
To view and manage blocks, click the Blocks option [4].
To select a font, click the Fonts option [5].
To change the font size, click the Font sizes option [6].
To manage text alignment, click the Align option [7].
To change the direction of the text, click the Directionality option [8]. You can format text from left to right and from right to left.
To select a text color, click the Text color option [9].
To select a background color, click the Background color option [10].
To clear formatting, click the Clear formatting link [11].
View Tools Menu
To open the Tools menu, click the Tools link [1].
To view word count statistics, click the Word count option [2].
To embed content from an external tool, click the Apps option [3].
View Table Menu
To view the Table menu, click the Table link [1].
To add a new table, click the Table option [2].
To format the table rows, click the Row option [3]. To format the table columns, click the Column option [4]. To format the table cells, click the Cell option [5].
To view table properties, click the Table properties link [6]. To delete the table, click the Delete table option [7].
Hypothesis workshop recording
Were you unable to attend the Hypothesis workshop before winter break? No worries! We will have more live webinars in the coming months, and in the meantime, here is the archive of December’s workshop.
Zoom Breakout Rooms Update!
Zoom has released the option for participants to select their own breakout rooms. With this feature, teachers no longer need to pre-assign breakout rooms or take time from class to create groups.
To use this feature, make sure that your Zoom app is up to date by clicking on zoom.us in the top left corner of your Mac next to the Apple. Select Check for Updates.
The app will then let you know if there is an update you need to install and guide you through the process. If there is not an update, you should get a message saying You are up to date.
Once your app is up to date, initiate breakrooms in the same you have in the past and you should now see the option to Let participants choose rooms.
How to Sign in to Padlet on Your iPad
- Download the Padlet app from Self Service and open it on your iPad. Select Log In on the opening screen.
- At the bottom of the next screen, click the login button next to “Backpack or Briefcase user?”
- Enter “choate” and select Continue.
- Login in with Microsoft using your Choate email and password.
Sharing Video to Remote and In-Class Students Simultaneously
Option 1:
- Share the link to the video with the remote students via email, Zoom chat, Teams, etc.
- Mute the Virtual Student from the Poly Panel (Controller).
- Have remote students mute themselves on the Zoom call and give them time to watch the video.
- In class, Airplay the video to the Apple TV and have in-person students watch.
Option 2:
- On your iPad, open the Zoom app and make sure that you are signed in. If you have not signed in, see the SSO Sign in iPad Video.
- Select the icon titled Share Screen. It should not prompt you for a meeting ID. If it does, enter your meeting ID. This is the 7-10 digit code at the end of your Zoom link.
- Make sure the Zoom option is checked, and then press Start Broadcast.
- Once your iPad is being shared, you can swipe up from the bottom middle or press the home button to navigate to the content.
Option 3:
Join the Zoom call from your laptop if you have not done so already and do not connect the audio. *See steps 1 & 2 on the Virtual Student Cheat Sheet.
Share the video from your laptop to the Zoom call. Make sure you check off Share Computer Audio.
The audio is going to play from the Virtual student and your MacBook. To help reduce echo, we suggest plugging in a pair of headphones into your MacBook. The audio will play through the headphones instead of through the Mac speakers.
Canvas Studio Quizzes
We are excited to announce that Quizzes have been enabled for Canvas Studio! Now, in addition to the standard Studio functionality of organic collaborative annotation embedded in the video timeline, you can create interactive quizzes just like you can with EdPuzzle. How do I use Canvas Studio video quizzing in a course?
How to invite the Virtual Student to your meeting with minimal to no contact
Would you like to connect your classroom’s Virtual Student to your Zoom meeting without manually typing in your meeting ID on the Poly panel? Just follow these simple steps!
- Start the meeting from your laptop as you normally do.
- Click “Participants.”
- Click “Invite.”
- Click the “Zoom Rooms” tab.
- Locate your VS unit. (You can do this quickly by typing in the building name and/or room number in the search field.)
- Click “Invite.”
- Accept the call from the Poly panel, and the VS unit will now be in your meeting! You will see your remote students on the VS screen, and they will see the classroom from their devices.
While the above method requires one touch to accept the meeting invitation, there is another method that does not require you to touch the Poly panel at all: Schedule Meetings in Zoom Rooms with Outlook. With this method, you set up everything in advance, and when your class period starts, the VS automatically connects to the meeting with no additional setup from you.