Learn@OregonState

Frequently Asked Questions

Top Hat: Can I edit slides within Top Hat?

Yes, it is possible to edit slides within Top Hat! Top Hat partners with Microsoft to allow for easy slide editing. Plesae see details in the article Educator: Slide Management

Top Hat: Can I edit slides within Top Hat?

Why did OSU select Canvas?

From 2012-2014 OSU investigated our options and needs for instructional innovation and technology. Over the course of our campus-wide inquiry, Canvas was preferred by students and instructors alike as the system and technology partner that is in the best position to help us meet our goals. Learn more about the decision for Canvas at OSU.

Why did OSU select Canvas?

How can I get help with Canvas?

All OSU Canvas users may get technical support 24 x 7, 365 days a year by phone, live chat, or email. Log into Canvas and click the “Help” button in the Canvas Global Menu (leftmost menu) to access any of these general Canvas support options. If you are an instructor, TA, or staff member and would like to learn more please contact the OSU Canvas team. Alternatively, check out the excellent online help resources in the Canvas Community.

How can I get help with Canvas?

Can students view their Turnitin originality scores before an assignment is graded?

Yes, if the assignment is not muted; no, if the assignment is muted.

Can students view their Turnitin originality scores before an assignment is graded?

Who can use Canvas?

OSU students are automatically enrolled in Canvas sites when they register for their classes (note that some instructors choose not to activate their Canvas course sites).

Groups and departments who want to use Canvas for training and collaboration may request a Canvas Studio site and enroll anyone with an ONID account.

Read the article Request a Canvas studio site on oregonstate.teamdynamix.com

Who can use Canvas?

What is Turnitin and how does it work?

Turnitin is a Web-based service that identifies passages in submitted papers that match passages in other sources, such as websites, articles in scholarly journals, and other student papers. TurnItIn then generates an Originality Report, which highlights passages of matching text. See more information on Turnitin here. Turnitin does not state outright whether or not plagiarism has occurred. Plagiarism is a large category that includes many different behaviors, ranging from poorly paraphrasing a cited source to purchasing a paper and submitting it as one’s own work. While no software can make a blanket statement about whether a paper contains plagiarism, Turnitin does provide originality reports that show which passages from submitted papers match other sources. To make a determination about whether a paper contains plagiarized material, analysis is required. Originality reports make analysis easier and more convenient.

What is Turnitin and how does it work?

Can I request my own Canvas studio site?

Yes, any person with ONID credentials can request a studio site.

Read the article Request a Canvas studio site on oregonstate.teamdynamix.com

Can I request my own Canvas studio site?

Can I enable Turnitin on a Canvas assignment?

Yes, Turnitin originality check is now an option for any Canvas File Upload assignment. Instructors can use all of the Canvas File Upload features in the assignment, including rubrics, group assignments, and peer review. Instructors can view Turnitin scores and reports from the Canvas gradebook or from SpeedGrader. Students can view their reports and assignment scores from their Grades page in Canvas.

Read the article Use Turnitin (plagiarism checking) on a Canvas Assignment on oregonstate.teamdynamix.com

Can I enable Turnitin on a Canvas assignment?

Top Hat: Is it possible to prevent students from responding to questions outside of class?

It is possible to determine if a student is physically located within the classroom for attendance purposes with Top Hat, but it is not possible to completely prevent students from responding to questions asked in class with Top Hat. However, Top Hat does have two features that will help to minimize students' ability to respond remotely.

Method 1: Secure Attendance

Top Hat offers a feature called Secure Attendance which enables a faculty member to determine who is physically located in the classroom when using the Attendance feature of Top Hat. Faculty have the option of using geolocation only or geolocation and proximity to determine student attendance. Secure Attendance does NOT prevent students from responding remotely to questions asked in class.

Method 2: Minimize Remote Responses to Questions

To minimize the ability of students to respond remotely to questions asked in the classroom, faculty can enable the option to prevent students from seeing question details on their mobile devices. To enable this feature:

From within Top Hat, click your name in the top right corner.
Select Course Settings
Select Advanced Options
Check the box next to the option "Students cannot view the details of a presented question, they can only see the response options (students will need to see the question projected on a screen)"
Click Save Changes

Top Hat: Is it possible to prevent students from responding to questions outside of class?

Top Hat: How do I give different versions of a formula question to each student?

For courses that require students to calculate numerical responses using formulas, Top Hat's Formula Question, exclusive to Pages and Test, allows instructors to offer a different number for students to use for calculating the formula so that no one gets the same question! Check out this Top Hat support article for instructions on setting up a Formula Question.

Top Hat: How do I give different versions of a formula question to each student?

What are merged and crosslisted course sites in Canvas?

When a course is listed under two different names, e.g. listed as both an undergraduate version and a graduate version OR listed under different designators, it is a crosslisted course. In other words, if the two versions of the course are taught at the same time and place, they should be crosslisted. In order for a course to be technically crosslisted, the crosslist designation must be set in Banner by the Registrar's Office. Once the courses are crosslisted in Banner, a crosslisted course site will appear in Canvas. The crosslisted course will have the same Canvas course code as one of the original sections with the exception of the addition of an "X" to the front of the section number.

If you are teaching or co-teaching multiple sections of the same course, you can use the Course Merge tool in Canvas to create a single merged Canvas course with the multiple sections contained within the course. The tool can be used to merge multiple Ecampus sections together, or to merge multiple on-campus sections together. Ecampus sections cannot be merged with on-campus sections.

What are merged and crosslisted course sites in Canvas?

Top Hat: What is the best way for students to create their account?

Creating an account through the Top Hat course menu item in Canvas is the preferred method for students to create and access their Top Hat account. If your instructor is using Top Hat and does not have a Top Hat menu item in their Canvas course, let us know at classroom.response@oregonstate.edu and we can reach out to the faculty member.

Navigate to the OSU Beaver Store to purchase your Top Hat subscription code and choose a 1-term or 1-year subscription.
Go to one of your Canvas courses that is using Top Hat, click on Top Hat in the course menu on the left.
Click on Sign up to create a Top Hat account. Make sure to use your OSU ONID email when creating your Top Hat account.
Agree with the Terms and Conditions and click Next to proceed.
Click Continue to and enter the subscription code you purchased previously at the OSU Beaver Store (see step #1 above).
Complete the purchase and click on Go to my Lobby to see any Top Hat course(s) in which you are a student.

NOTE: It is very important that students register their Top Hat account using their OSU ONID email address. Creating a Top Hat account using a non-ONID email will prevent student Top Hat scores from synchronizing with their grades in Canvas. Using the steps above will automatically link your Top Hat account to your ONID email address, as long as you have not changed your default email in Canvas. If you used a non-ONID email address for your Top Hat account, use these instructions to change your Top Hat account setting.

Top Hat: What is the best way for students to create their account?

Do I need to inform students that Turnitin is being used in my class

Yes, any course using this software should include a statement in the syllabus. You may use or adapt the following:

“Your instructor may ask you to submit one or more of your writing assignments to the Turnitin plagiarism prevention service via Canvas (do not submit directly to the Turnitin website). Your assignment content will be checked against Internet sources, academic journal articles, and the papers of other OSU students, for common or borrowed content. Turnitin generates a report that highlights any potentially unoriginal text in your paper. Papers that you submit through Turnitin for this class or any class will be added to the OSU Turnitin database and may be checked against other OSU paper submissions. You will retain all rights to your written work."

Do I need to inform students that Turnitin is being used in my class

How long does a Turnitin check take?

Originality Reports should usually be ready within 15 minutes. However it may take up to 24 hours during peak times such as the middle or the end of semesters when many papers are being submitted to Turnitin. Plan accordingly when working on a deadline. If an instructor allows multiple submissions on a Turnitin assignment there is a 24-hour waiting period between the each submission. This delay allows resubmissions to correctly generate without matching to a student's previous draft.

How long does a Turnitin check take?

What accessibility and inclusivity tools are available in Canvas?

Accessibility and Inclusivity tools in Canvas include Ally, Accessibility Check, and NameCoach.

Read the article about Ally in Canvas on this website
Read the article Accessibility Check in Canvas on oregonstate.teamdynamix.com
Read the article Use NameCoach to record name pronunciation and set preferred pronouns on oregonstate.teamdynamix.com

What accessibility and inclusivity tools are available in Canvas?

Learn@OregonState

Using Canvas

Using Media

Using Student Response

New to OSU or Teaching?

Training Opportunities

Other Tools in Canvas

News + Updates

Calendar of Events

Issues, Outages and Updates

Frequently Asked Questions

Method 1: Secure Attendance

Method 2: Minimize Remote Responses to Questions

Contact Info