Welcome to the fall semester to all our instructors and staff! CCAPS Academic Technology and Design is very happy to start a new academic year and continue our efforts to provide technological, media enriched, and pedagogical assistance for CCAPS courses.
Special Announcements
- Welcome Dean Radhika Seshan! ATD would like to welcome Radhika Seshan as our new CCAPS Dean! Check out her Message to CCAPS if you haven’t seen it already. We would also like to wish Dean Bob Stine a happy retirement and thank him for his many years of leadership.
- Formation of Office for Digital Accessibility. Since the new Title II ruling on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments came out this year, the UMN created The Office for Digital Accessibility (ODA) to coordinate accessibility efforts. Over the next 2 years, the office will be working with various units to get websites and Canvas course sites to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA as a part of the new ruling deadline.
Important Reminders
Correction re: Course Open: Our previous communication stated that ATD opens courses. We would like to correct this statement as ATD policy is for instructors to open their courses one week before the start of semester. Fall courses should open by 12 p.m. on August 27, 2024.
Teaching Tips
- *New* Instructor Orientation Course: This fall, ATD is launching a new and improved instructor orientation course that refocuses on pedagogy in CCAPS courses. While this course is intended for new-to-CCAPS instructors, anyone wishing to refresh their online teaching skills is welcome to complete this online, asynchronous course! You can register for the course through UMN’s Training Hub: CCAPS Instructor Orientation.
- Communicating with your students: It is a best practice to contact your students for the first time via MyU → Key Links → Faculty Center → Class Roster. Provide them with a link to the Canvas course site. Encourage students to update Canvas notification preferences to receive your Announcements throughout the semester.
ATD Highlight
Kaltura - Important Reminder
The Kaltura Player (embedded media player) will be updated to v7 (Version 7) in early August 2024. This update will include performance improvements including shorter load time and the option for more backend analytics. Unfortunately, this update will break embedded videos added with embed codes in Canvas pages, quiz questions, and other Canvas resources. Embedded videos that use the “Add Media Using Kaltura” button in the Canvas Rich Content Editor should not be impacted.
ATD is working to fix embedded videos for Fall 2024 courses, but please reach out to ATD through the CCAPS-ATD Learning Management Assistance form if you find an embedded video that is not working.
