While Canvas is a reliable platform and we do not anticipate any disruptions, no technology service is immune to occasional outages. Taking a few simple steps in advance can help ensure that teaching and learning continue with minimal interruption if Canvas becomes temporarily unavailable. The recommendations below provide ideas for maintaining access to course information, communicating with students, sharing instructional content, and administering assessments during a service interruption.
- Download your Canvas gradebook periodically so you have an up-to-date offline copy of student grades.
- Maintain a downloaded copy of your class roster and student email addresses for each course.
- Consider how you would communicate with students if Canvas were unavailable.
- Student email addresses can be accessed through APR2 and Outlook.
- Email remains the most reliable campus-wide communication method during a Canvas outage.
- Identify alternative ways to access and share course resources. Many tools integrated with Canvas can also be used independently, including:
- Gradescope
- Panopto
- iClicker
- Zoom
- OneDrive
- Perusall
- Day 1 Digital
- Collaboration space?
- Microsoft Teams can serve as a substitute for Canvas Discussions and provide a way to communicate and share content with students.
- OneNote is another backup option to record and potentially share content and communication and can serve as an alternative location for syllabi, course materials, lecture notes, announcements, and other shared resources.
- Record and distribute lecture content outside of Canvas. Zoom and Panopto can be used to record lectures, and links can be shared with students via email, a shared OneDrive document, MS Teams, or other online platforms.
- Alternative assessment methods. Quizzes and surveys can be created using tools such as: Microsoft Forms, Qualtrics, iClicker, etc.
- Collect student submissions using OneDrive: With the file request feature in OneDrive, you can create a folder where your student others can upload files using a link that you send them. Student can only upload files; they will not be able to see the contents of the folder, edit, delete, download, or even see who else has uploaded files.
A few minutes spent preparing can help minimize disruption and keep instruction moving forward if an unexpected outage occurs.
If you have ideas to contribute, questions about instructional continuity planning, or just would like assistance identifying alternative workflows for your courses, please contact Educational Technologies via helpdesk@stlawu.edu.
This page will be reviewed and updated periodically as new tools, technologies, and best practices become available.