The RSVP Google Form for the 2025 Winter Faculty Development Week is now live. Check out the 2025 WFDW page to sign up for sessions and find more information.
RSVPing will also sign you up for email reminders, though it is recommended to also create calendar events too. Zoom links are already available for each session via a Google Sheet. You will need to be signed in to your MyCanisius account to view.
Submitted by: Tyler Kron-Piatek, Instructional Designer, COLI
D2L Quizzes
D2L Quizzes provides a robust tool to grade quizzes more quickly and easily. Some features can help prevent cheating, like basic question randomization and advanced question randomization, and you can also have your students sign an academic integrity pledge before continuing to an exam.
If you want to use questions from a previous exam or quiz, the Question Library lets you copy questions. Customize the Quiz Result display to show students what questions they got and see where they need to brush up on their studying.
For faster grading, you can connect the Quiz to the gradebook.
Please note that if you allow automatic grading of your exam, D2L will not automatically grade written responses. Those need to be graded manually, and you should inform your students that the grade that they receive immediately after completing the exam may not reflect their overall grade. If you want to see all of the tutorials on the D2L Quiz tool that COLI has compiled, check the Online Quizzes and Exams in the Quizzes Tool Section.
D2L Dropboxes
D2L Dropboxes are a great way to receive student work in various formats, including PDFs, Microsoft Office files, JPGs or PNGs. You can also restrict the types of files that the dropbox will accept. Attach the dropbox to the grade book or use a D2L Rubric and attach it to the dropbox for faster grading.
For more information on D2L Dropboxes, check out the Collecting Assignments in Dropboxes section. For tutorials on D2L Rubrics, check out the Using Rubrics section. If you would prefer, you can also sign up for COLI workshops or a consultation with one of COLI’s staff members.
COLI has compiled other resources on the various tool sets in D2L. Check the D2L Self-Paced Training for Faculty and Staff wiki.
Additional resources
Need plagiarism and AI content detection? Try out Copyleaks, our replacement tool for Turnitin. Using Copyleaks requires creating a Dropbox/Assignment folder separate from your typical D2L Dropbox. If needed, Copyleaks also has the scanning tool, which allows faculty to quickly scan individual files. For more tutorials, check out the Copyleaks wiki.
Submitted by: Tyler Kron-Piatek, Instructional Designer, COLI
Between semesters, why not try something new? Using the Lightboard Studio is easy. Professors and staff can develop professional-quality videos using this innovative recording method that captures very traditional teaching – lecturing or demonstrating while writing on a board – in a new and visually engaging way.
Visit the Lightboard Wiki Page to see more demos or book time in the studio. Contact COLI for a one-on-one tutorial on how to get started!
Submitted by: Tyler Kron-Piatek, Instructional Designer, COLI
Due to a back-end problem, surveys using the Qualtrics email distribution tool may have experienced errors sending. This issue seems to have started Nov. 14 and was resolved Dec. 3.
Example error message when sending Qualtrics Survey
If you sent surveys using Qualtrics during this time period, please double check that they were delivered. You may need to resend the survey. Additionally, if Qualtrics was used for an assignment (i.e., students being required to fill out a survey or were required to create their own survey), we advise that you alert students as needed.
Any further questions can be directed to the ITS Helpdesk at helpdesk@canisius.edu.
Submitted by: Tyler Kron-Piatek, Instructional Designer, COLI, on behalf of ITS
It’s coming up to the end of the semester again. Here are some actions you should take by the week after grades are due:
Additionally, make sure to download any relevant Turnitin reports before Turnitin is phased out after this semester Turnitin will be replaced by Copyleaks.
For more information on end-of-semester academic housekeeping, visit the COLI checklist wiki page and watch the end-of-semester checklist overview video.
Submitted by: Tyler Kron-Piatek, Instructional Designer, COLI
