Hello from your Educational Technology Librarian!
I am here to support you in using technology to be successful here at Columbia College! This includes using Canvas for your classes, creating digital media, and more.
On this page, check out some tools and resources we have at Columbia College.
You can access Canvas and log in here. If you can't log in, be sure to contact the IT Help Desk! Once you're in, check out the following guides to make sure you're ready to start class strong.
All three of these may be graded, depending on how your professor has set up their course. You may also have what are called "third-party" tools in your class, which link out to sites like those from textbook publishers. For those, be sure to ask your professor if you're having issues.
Most students at Columbia College have access to several licenses for Microsoft products, which you can download and install on different devices such as a laptop or tablet.
To install Office 365 (the Microsoft bundle), log onto your webmail here, then go to your Microsoft 365 page here. You may be able to skip directly to the account page if you are already logged in.
At that top of that screen, look for the installation link:
Click the "Install and more" button, then select "Install Microsoft 365 apps":
From there, you can look for the option to install Office 365 apps, and it will provide download links whether you're on a Windows or Mac device.
You can also look for apps in the Play Store or App Store, depending on your phone or tablet. Just make sure that the app is from Microsoft to ensure it's safe to install!
Regardless of how you download the program or app, you'll need to log in with your CC e-mail address and password to finish activating the license.
Check out the "How to Use Microsoft Tools" page for even more guides on being successful with Microsoft!
Some professors may have you use something called LockDown Browser to take a quiz or test. LockDown Browser may or may not use your webcam. The quiz instructions will say which version your professor has enabled.
You'll need to download a new program or app to run LockDown Browser. It is a browser just like Chrome or Firefox.
You will see a download link when you go to take your quiz, then click the "Take the Quiz" button. Canvas will direct you to download LockDown Browser. Install the browser after you download it.
Once you install the program, you'll either launch the quiz from the new browser or have it open after you click the quiz in Chrome.
To take your quiz, open LockDown Browser, then go to your course and the quiz page. When you click on "Take the Quiz" now, it should launch.
If that doesn't work, go to Chrome and the quiz page. When you click the button, the browser should now launch and open the quiz there.
Which way works depends on how your professor has set up your quiz, so if one way doesn't open the quiz, try the other way!
Still having trouble? Here's a checklist of how to troubleshoot:
YuJa is a video tool that some professors may have to use to caption your videos. If this is the case, you should see a link to YuJa on your course menu:
Clicking on the link will bring you to a dashboard that looks like this:
This is the main YuJa page, accessed by clicking "YuJa" from the course menu. You will see all your media, which can be organized into folders and edited after uploading.
To use YuJa, here are some guides that can help with uploading, finalizing, and more.
Once you've enabled auto-captions from the Accessibility menu, you should this edit them to make sure they are accurate. You can do so by going to your video, then clicking "Edit" to go to the video editor. On the editor, turn on your captions with the (captions button). Your captions will appear on a menu that looks like this:
You can now edit your captions for typos and other inconsistencies!
Lastly, you can embed in Canvas by clicking here from the text editor screen:
If you need help with IT (such as fixing your e-mail login or troubleshooting ePrint), you can reach out to the IT Help Desk at (803) 786-3878 or visit directly in the library.