A New Year Brings Change to Familiar Tools

A new year brings some good news: the major educational technology tools are unchanged from the previous semester. The university is still relying on Zoom, Canvas, Kaltura, etc. to deliver content to students. You can however, expect some changes to these tools, including some new features that have long been requested by instructors. Some changes for 2021 include:

• The new Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE)
• Ongoing Zoom changes, including more options for polls, enhanced non-verbal feedback, and more flexible and engaging webinars options (like Breakout Rooms!)

The Office of Information Technology is constantly providing resources for the whole university about technology tools and changes to existing technology. One new resource you might find useful is their guide for Comparing Video Recording Tools.

The Language Center Tip of the Day team will also be busy this semester updating existing Tips to reflect changes in technology, and highlighting new features that may be useful to language instructors.

As a starting place, the following Tip from October has been updated: LC Elevator + Canvas = Easy Media Streaming for Your Students! Please refer to this newer version, as the process of embedding Canvas media has changed due to the new RCE. Canvas remains the best method of sharing media from LC Elevator with your students.