Learn@UW Newsletter, week of Dec 5 - UW–⁠Madison Information Technology

What’s happening?

Canvas – Spring course shells now available

Canvas course shells for the spring semester are now available. Instructors can access them from their Canvas dashboard and begin preparations for the new semester.

Top Hat – Updates expected in December

The following Top Hat feature updates are being delivered in December.

Offline Mode allows students to access textbook content in their Top Hat library while offline. In December, Top Hat will add functionality enabling students to download assigned course content for offline access, including slides, pages, and read-only versions of questions.
Updated Multi-Section Management (MSM) functionality will allow instructors to create deep links directly in Canvas courses. This enhancement empowers instructors to manage their own course connectivity and grade syncing.
Updates to the layout of the Top Hat student gradebook will improve the spacing of date-grouped entries. This enhancement is designed to improve accessibility, making it easier for learners to navigate using screen readers and keyboards.

Blue – Changes to transition timeline

The UW–‍Madison Course Evaluation Tool Transition Team has extended the timeline for the move from HelioCampus AC to Blue. HelioCampus AC will remain available through May 2027. The majority of faculty and staff will be asked to start transitioning to Blue during the 2025-27 academic year, with the goal of full implementation by summer 2027. For more information about the transition project, refer to the project webpage.

DesignPLUS – Now available!

DesignPLUS is now available in our instance of Canvas. Course instructors and designers can use this tool to quickly enhance the look and feel of Canvas courses. For more information, refer to this news article. (And check the Upcoming events segment [below] for DesignPLUS training sessions in January.)

HelioCampus AC – Surveys close next Wednesday

Most HelioCampus AC course evaluations have been running for the past week (since Wednesday, November 26). They will remain open until next Wednesday, December 10.

Instructors or department/school administrators wishing to monitor survey completion rates may refer to this KnowledgeBase article and this KnowledgeBase article, respectively.

Learn@UW – Upcoming important dates

December 10 – Last day of instruction, Fall 2025
December 10 – HelioCampus AC course evaluations end
December 21 – Grading ends
December 24 – Extended grading period ends
December 25 – Course evaluation results available to instructors
January 20 – First day of instruction, Spring 2026

Learn@UW – Kari Jordahl retirement

After 17 years, all with DoIT, Kari Jordahl is retiring. In 2008, Kari began with the AT Professional Technical Education team (under Kathy Konicek). In the ensuing years, she moved into several roles, all dealing with education, training, learning, and/or data analytics. She fulfilled each of these roles with intellectual curiosity, maturity, grace, kindness, and a professional competence and concern for the learners that left an indelible impression. Many thanks to Kari, for years of excellent service. We wish her well.

Upcoming events

Faculty Center Grade Prep Tool

This 30-minute session provides a comprehensive overview and demonstration of a nice time-saving tool that will facilitate your transfer of grades from Canvas into the Faculty Center.

Learn@UW Training Blitz – January 2026

Learn@UW is proud to offer the following 14 sessions of training and support during the week before the start of spring semester, January 12 through 16. All are welcome: come to what you can, stay as long as you like. No registration necessary.