Too Many Canvas Courses!

Some EMS ISD teachers are noticing that they have quite a few more Canvas courses than actual courses they teach. Prior to the start of school, all previous courses disappeared from view. In order to bring them back for teachers to be able to copy content from past courses into current courses, we re-activated all previously deleted courses. This has resulted in quite a collection of active courses.

In order to make things much easier to navigate, we suggest that teachers go through the existing courses and set their current courses as a favorite and consider concluding previous courses they no longer need.

This video demonstrates how to accomplish both tasks. Keep scrolling for written instructions.

"Star" or "Favorite" a Course to Add it to the Course Menu

1. From your Canvas dashboard, select Courses from the left column
2. Click the All Courses link (you may have to scroll down if you have lots of courses)
3. Click the star icon in front of the course name to make it a favorite. This course will now show up on your Canvas dashboard.

* It is recommended that you click into a course, click the People icon to verify if this is your current list of students. 

Concluding a Canvas Course

If you would rather not see the "old" courses in your All Courses list, you can Conclude the course to move the course into your Past Enrollments. You will still be able to access the course for content, but it's no longer editable.

*Please check the People before Concluding a Course, to be sure these are not your current students.

1. From within the course, scroll down and click Settings
2. Click the Conclude this Course button from the right side of the window
3. Confirm that you would like to Conclude the Course

Watch YouTube Videos Safely in Class

We've all been there. You've found the perfect YouTube video to show your students, but then at the very end, you see some questionable or perhaps suggestive video suggestions. Or perhaps, you just don't like the "Up Next" videos that appear along side the main video.

There are several ways you can watch a video without worrying about these other detractors. One of my favorites is Safe YouTube, a site that lets you watch and share videos safely.

1. Copy the URL of the desired YouTube video.
2. Go to safeyoutube.net
3. Paste the URL into the empty field and click Generate Link
4. Copy the safe link, share it to social media, download the video, or go directly to the Safe View.

There are plenty of safe YouTube viewers. Do you have a favorite? Leave a comment below and we will check it out!

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Creating Email Lists in Outlook

The functionality of Outlook is expanding!  We now have three different options for creating lists of contacts.  In the info-graph below we have tried our best to describe the three ways you can create contact lists and which one has the best functionality for you.  A tutorial video can be seen by clicking each image.


Distribution Lists
Distribution lists are email lists created for the global email search within Outlook.  All of EMS ISD can search for these lists.  These lists are set up by campus administration.

Groups
Groups was a new feature last year, offering you the opportunity to easily share files, calendars, and emails with the group.  *All of EMS ISD can see items shared in the group, unless the group is set to private.  Also, if you choose to create a group, be sure to give your group a detailed name so that it is not easily confused for another group. A good group name should include -  a detailed group identification name.  A good group name should not include-  a vague name with a year.  For example, EME 4th Grade is a good group name versus 4th Grade 2016.

Contact Groups
Contact groups are great for personal lists of email contacts. (only you can see these lists when created) This would include parent groups or certain staff groups you email.  This is the only option for creating email lists with outside of district email addresses.