Webex is a new Canvas resource that provides web conferencing and enables students to join a live virtual session. By providing a collaborative and engaging experience to students, Webex also provides real-time polling, virtual breakout rooms, quizzes, attention monitoring tools, and threaded Q&As for the maximized online learning experience.

How to Activate Webex on a Canvas Page for Students and Instructors

  1. Open your Canvas course and select "Settings" on the left-hand side of your course screen (1).
  2. Once in "Settings," switch to the Settings tab titled "Navigation" (2).
  3. Find "Cisco Webex" in the list of resources disabled for student access and either drag it up to the top section or click on the three dots (3) and click on Enable
  4. Click on Save at the bottom of the page:


Setting Up Webex on a Canvas Page

  1. On your Canvas course menu, select "Cisco Webex."

  2. On your first visit to Webex on a Canvas course, you will need to determine which features to activate in your course. Under "Choose Your Features," select the options you wish to use.

    Classroom Collaboration Activates Webex Teams area for student-to-student collaboration spaces.
    Virtual Meetings Activates Online Meeting option for students to meet with their instructors.
    Office Hours Allows students to schedule online office hours with their instructors. (Note – Office hours are specific to the instructor and not the course. Setting or changing office hours will apply to all courses where office hours are enabled.)


  3. Once you have selected the features you wish to use in that Canvas course, hit "Apply" to save these changes.

    choose-your-features

  4. Select "Authorize" for the option titled "Authorize with LMS." This will pull up an additional window on your computer asking for your Marian username and password.
  5. If you desire, select "Turn On" for "Reminder Bot" which provides students and instructors reminders before the virtual session goes live. You can customize how much notice is given through reminders.


How to Schedule a Webex Live Discussion Space


Webex allows for collaborative spaces through Webex Teams by activating the Classroom Collaboration function mentioned above. A Webex Team space can be created for the entire class or specific groups of students. In each team space, members of the team can post comments, share files or images, and have online meetings. Team spaces are great for group projects or sharing information with your class that is outside of required readings (e.g., links to current events, informal communication, et cetera).

To create a space for your course:

  1. Click on Classroom Collaboration:
  2. Click on Create New Space.
  3. Give the new space a title and click Create Space:
  4. Click on the Space that was just added to the List. You can read and send messages to the Space using the Messages tab (5), see content (such as Files) that has been added to the Space under Content (6), and you can add people to the Space via the People tab (7). Note: The People tab allows you to add people not in the course. Since non-course members will not have access to the Canvas page, they will need to download the Webex program in order to see the Space. 


How to Create a Virtual Meeting in Webex on Canvas for Instructors


Webex on Canvas allows for virtual live sessions so that students can participate online with the instructor for discussions, lectures, presentations, etc. Instructors can set up a meeting on Webex by selecting the "Virtual Meetings" tab and selecting "+ New Meeting."


A box will appear for information regarding the meeting, including the start and end times, date, and title of the meeting. 


create-virtual-meeting


Once the meeting is created, it will be added to your schedule. Students can join the meeting from the mobile app, desktop program, or through the browser by going to the Canvas page and clicking the Join button.