Weekly Quercus Updates
This week: Blocked Email Addresses, Student Zoom Licenses, New Training and Documentation Blogs/Webinars!
In this Weekly Update:
Blocked Email Addresses
Typically when a student first creates their UTORid and chooses an email address, it will take some time for O365 to activate it. When the student attempts to add this email address to Quercus, Quercus then sends a verification email to the new utoronto address. However, this request bounces because the email isn't fully activated yet, and this triggers the address to be blocked in Quercus. Previously, this issue would be resolved fairly quickly on the Quercus side, however, due to recent updates in Instructure, this problem can now take a minimum of two weeks to be resolved.
While the issues have been escalated, a two-week delay can be detrimental to students. Therefore, we've taken steps to temporarily fix the problem by hiding the ability to add additional addresses in Quercus (until around mid-October, when accounts and other issues settle down). This change will be implemented in the near future, so don't be alarmed when the button disappears!
Student Zoom Licenses
All U of T students can now register for a provisional managed Zoom Education account. A Zoom Education license is similar to the Standard Pro license that can be purchased individually; it allows the individual to run their own interactive meetings with up to 300 participants. There is no charge to the individual or department.
This license does not cover enhanced Zoom features, such as Webinars (broadcast mode version of Zoom), Large Class capabilities (more than 300 participants), extra Cloud Storage for recordings or physical Classroom Connectors, etc. Please note that Zoom will not be integrated into Quercus.
No Previous Zoom Account (or accounts not associated with a U of T email)
For individuals who have never had a Zoom account, or for individuals who have a Zoom account that is not associated with their U of T email address, simply go to the U of T Zoom Portal, and log in with your UTORid and password, and claim your personal Zoom Education license.
Existing Free Zoom Account using U of T email
For individuals who have a Free Zoom account that is associated with their U of T email address, and who wish to upgrade at no personal cost to a full Zoom Education account, simply go to the U of T Zoom Portal, and log in with your UTORid and password, and claim your personal Zoom Education license. It will take about 24 to 48 hours to transfer your existing Free Zoom account to our provisional Zoom Education Licenses.
Training, Documentation, Communication
Webinar: Strategies and technology for supporting mental health in large online classes
Attend our webinar on September 30 @ 2:00–4:00 p.m for discussing strategies on support students' mental health in large online classes. All U of T instructors, administrators and coordinators are welcome. A large class is any number of students that feels large to you. The ideas in the workshop can apply to any sized class/course but we think are especially helpful if you're working with 150+ students.
Teaching with Quercus: Managing Difficult Conversations Online
Discussing difficult subjects is challenging in both face-to-face and online/remote teaching contexts. However, this can result in a meaningful learning experience for you and your students. This session will draw on equity and diversity frameworks and pedagogical principles that can support you and your students in having difficult discussions that support their learning. We will share strategies for managing these conversations online through asynchronous and synchronous modalities. If you're interested, be sure to join our session on October 6 @ 11:00 am - 12:15 pm.
Discovering Teaching and Learning Tools in Office 365
Want to learn more about O3655 tools? Come join us on October 29 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm. We will introduce and model various applications of the tools that can support asynchronous and synchronous delivery in online learning. This webinar will also highlight accessibility features available in the Office 365 suite. To highlight the Office 365 suite of tools, this session will be held using the Microsoft Teams video meetings platform.
Have a Quercus (or EdTech) question? Please contact FASE's EdTech Office.
