Dear Faculty,
Welcome back! As we start a new semester, please take a few minutes to review some important announcements and reminders about the educational technologies available to you.
Please feel free to reach out to the relevant team with questions or for consultations:
- EdTech at University Information Services (UIS) – edtech@georgetown.edu
- CNDLS – cndls@georgetown.edu
- Classroom Educational Technology Services (CETS) – cets@georgetown.edu
Best wishes for the semester,
The Canvas Support Team
Ken Mayer, Director of Educational Technologies, UIS
Marie Selvanadin, Senior Associate Director For Digital Learning And Development, CNDLS
Molly Chehak, Director of Digital Learning Pedagogy, CNDLS
Canvas Updates
- Starting this fall, the new course evaluation platform, BlueCE, is live in Canvas. Main campus course evaluations will be available to faculty members and students in Canvas through Blue; faculty members will be able to add a course menu item in Canvas which will allow students to access and complete their course evaluations through Canvas.
- Pronouns. As recommended by the Data Governance Advisory Committee, you now have the ability to enter and display your pronouns in Canvas and Zoom. Please reach out to the LGBTQ Resource Center or to CNDLS with questions on pronoun practices and the classroom.
- Need seating charts? Canvas’ Attendance module has a built-in function to help you set up a seating chart. You may want to encourage students to upload their photos into Canvas so that the chart is more useful for faculty.
- Check out the list of apps installed in Canvas! Do you want to use a tool that’s not on the list or in the Canvas app center? Submit the Google form linked here and we’ll work with you to make it available. The speed of Georgetown’s security reviews and testing depend on whether the vendors cooperate and respond quickly, but expect at least six weeks as a minimum for apps to be approved and installed.
- Starting in January, Canvas courses will ‘end’ a year after the course begins and transition to ‘past’ courses. While these past courses will disappear from your Canvas Dashboard, you will still be able to access these courses. This change will help clarify and simplify how you can find and access courses but will not affect your daily operations. See our support page for details around what to expect and where past/future courses will be displayed in Canvas.
Zoom Updates
- Please update your Zoom software to the latest version before November 5 to avoid access issues this fall, even if you do not plan to teach this fall. Please see Zoom’s lifecycle policy support page for more information.
- Pronouns. As recommended by the Data Governance Advisory Committee, you now have the ability to enter and display your pronouns in Zoom (how-to guide). Please reach out to the LGBTQ Resource Center or to CNDLS with questions on pronoun practices and the classroom.
Adobe Acrobat Pro
Georgetown University has recently signed an Enterprise License Agreement with Adobe. These licenses are available for all faculty, staff and AAPs with teaching or business responsibilities that require Acrobat Pro. Individuals and departments should no longer use procards or individual purchase orders for Adobe Acrobat Pro. Instead, please contact the UIS Help Desk to request a license.
If your position requires a Creative Cloud Suite product, please do not purchase licenses independently. Instead, please contact the UIS Help Desk at help@georgetown.edu with the following information in order to request access:
- Email Subject Line: Adobe Creative Cloud License Request
- Information to include in the body of your email message: (Name; NetID; Title; Campus affiliation (Main Campus, Medical Center, Law Center, or University Services); Role type (Faculty or Staff/AAP); Brief justification for requested license.
Events & Training Opportunities
CNDLS will offer Digital Learning Days, August 18 (in-person) and August 19 (virtual), which provides faculty the opportunity to hear from CNDLS and campus partners in workshops on practical implementations of digital tools and pedagogical strategies. You can also sign up for individual consultations from 2 – 4 pm both days. Please see the schedule for more details and to sign up!
Throughout the year, CNDLS has a host of resources to help you prepare and teach your courses including consultations, webinars, and web resources. Please visit https://cndls.georgetown.edu or the Georgetown Commons Tools site to find out more.
Classroom Technology
Georgetown schools and campuses have the following separate points of contact for classroom technology needs:
- Main Campus: Classroom Education Technology Services (CETS) can meet with you for one-on-one instruction in your classroom, ideally before the first day of class. Contact cets@georgetown.edu or call 202-687-7491. Check this list to find out which CETS technician to contact for the building where you will be teaching.
- McDonough School of Business (MSB): msbhelp@georgetown.edu.
- School of Continuing Studies (SCS): scsavsupport@georgetown.edu.
- GU Medical Center: tess@georgetown.edu or call 202-687-4949.
- McCourt School of Public Policy: david.boyer@georgetown.edu or 202-687-7071.
- Law Center: lawhelp@georgetown.edu. The Law Center is issuing its own Communications to faculty and students available on their website.
- Qatar Campus: AV Team at +974-4457-8131 or guqhelpcenter@georgetown.edu