By this time in the first week of our last Winter quarter, if you are using Carmen you’ve probably found your course, compared the Classlist with the official roster in the Faculty Center, and hopefully made any necessary changes to instructional staff in SIS.
And of course, you’ve activated your course so students can see it!
Here are some additional simple suggestions:
Review the changes – and a few hiccups – from the annual system update done December 17 & 18. Most of the changes are positive, but a couple of bugs related to a massive overhaul of the Carmen calendar are causing some frustration! Knowing what to expect will save you time!
Make use of the News column in the center of the course home page. Remind students of their learning goals and assignments for the week, provide pointers to current events related to your course topic, or let students know that you’ve posted grades. Think of the News column as an extension of your syllabus.
Consider using the Dropbox to collect assignments, if you aren’t already. Our student staff say they love not having to find a printer or a stapler before turning in papers. If you accept assignments via Dropbox, you can accept a variety of file-types, perhaps giving you more flexibility in the kinds of assignments you make. The new design of the Leave Feedback area makings grading online assignments easier!
Watch some video tutorials – copies of our basic Carmen workshops, available 24/7 to brush up on some of the more complex tools or to learn a new one.
One Comment
I would suggest that another wonderful feature is the ability to subscribe to News items and discussions – to receive email or mobile notifications. A wonderful way to try to keep learners coming back to the course site.