Changes Made

1. OFFICE HOURS: Highlighting Office Hours on the Course Home Page

As previously discussed in our November 20, 2024 post, a placeholder section has been added to the Home Page to ensure Office Hours are always visible and easily accessible to students. Instructors must be sure to update this section with accurate information each semester. Instructors can adjust the layout and/or setup as needed; however, we ask that this information remain prominently displayed, up-to-date, and easy for students to find on the Home Page.

Steps to Edit Home Page in Canvas

• Go to your course in Canvas.
• Click the Edit button in the upper-right corner of the Home Page:

• Then, navigate to the current placeholder and change as needed, found under ‘Semester Office Hours for SP-I 2025‘ to update the table with the appropriate information.

Editing the Table

• To add rows or columns: Right-click within the table and choose “Insert Row” or “Insert Column.”
• To delete rows or columns: Right-click on the row or column you want to remove and select “Delete Row” or “Delete Column.”
• To add links to Zoom meetings: Highlight the text for your meeting time, click the Link icon in the editor toolbar, and paste your Zoom meeting URL.
• To integrate Teams, please refer to the November 20, 2024 post for more help on how to use that integration instead.
• To update times or details: Simply click on the cell and type the new information.
• Once you’ve made your updates, be sure to click Save at the bottom of the page.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Be sure to use proper heading or text formatting for the Office Hours section to make it stand out.
• Consider linking to the Canvas Calendar or Scheduler for dynamic updates.
• How you choose to make this information clear to students is absolutely up to you, but it is critical that you include an Office Hours section on this Home Page with relevant, up-to-date information.
• If hours are tentative placeholders, you can simply label them as such until it is finalized (e.g., TBD or TBA, Pending, etc.).

2. INTRO DISCUSSION ACTIVITY: Revamping to a More Community-Building Approach

Make the introduction discussion activity more engaging by focusing on specific topics and fostering community-oriented interactions. We hope this shift will create more meaningful connections among students and steer away from the “Hi, my name is” approach.

HINT: Pin the discussion (or any discussion for that matter) to the top of the Canvas Discussions section to list for easier visibility.

Again, we hope that these updates will make the course setup more student-friendly and help build a stronger sense of community while keeping important resources, like Office Hours, more easily accessible. As always please reach out to our team at GVIDS@psu.edu at any time if you need any help with any of these changes.