News & Updates



Accept Faculty Contracts Online



To accept or reject your faculty contract, please follow these instructions to ensure that you get paid in a timely manner.

Accessing First Day Handouts and More



First day handouts are now located on the myPGCC portal. Links to Student support services can be found in every Canvas course on the Home page by clicking Student Services. Select the links below for instructions on finding the First Day Handouts or link to the Canvas Learning and Faculty Resources page.

• See Faculty Resources in the myPGCC Portal for First Day Handouts
• eLearning Faculty Resources

eLearning Support Center in Canvas

The eLearning Support Center is an on-demand resource available 24/7 where you can learn more about various Canvas features, find answers to questions, and get help from an expert. Click on the Help? menu option in the Global Navigation Menu (left-hand blue margin) to open the Support Center as shown in the picture below.

Once opened, you can click on the different categories or type in the search bar to find the help you need. At the bottom of the Support Center, faculty and students now have three options for support: Email, Call or Chat. You can receive on-the-spot help from a contracted Canvas Support Agent by selecting Call or Chat. If you select Email, you can submit your questions and concerns to either Canvas 24/7 Support or the college’s eLearning Team depending on your chosen recipient and issue type. All three support options generate a ticket, which you are notified of via email. If Canvas cannot resolve the issue, they will escalate the ticket to eLearning.

What Happens to Canvas Courses at the end of the Semester?



Courses that have concluded are listed under the Past Enrollments heading and are no longer listed on the Dashboard. To view your past enrollment courses, follow these instructions: 

• How To Access Past Canvas Courses

Laptop Loaner Program: Know a Student Who Needs a Laptop?

To support students’ success, PGCC offers a laptop loaner program to students. If you encounter a student who needs a laptop – whether they are in a class you’re teaching or not – please encourage them to request to borrow one. Students need to complete and submit the online request form, which can be found by following these instructions:

• Step 1: Go to the PGCC Technical Support page: Technical Support

• Step 2: Scroll down on the page and click on the “Request Device” button in the Mobile Device Loaner Program section

• Step 3: Complete the form and click “Submit Form”



Thank you for working together to support students!

Canvas Premium Training Subscription

PGCC faculty have access to Canvas Premium Training – the top tier training package in Canvas. The Premium Package includes live 1-hour training webinars which allow participants to interact with a trainer and other Canvas clients nationwide. The live webinar calendar can be found via the training portal in Canvas

• How to Access the Training Services Portal from Canvas 
• Training Portal Subscription Options (PGCC is licensed for premium services. ) 

Additionally, the training services portal offers Learning Pathways (multiple on-demand training courses around a central theme), Training Videos, and self-paced Courses for those who do not wish to commit to an entire learning program.

Windows 11 and Office 2021 Deployment

We are excited to announce that for the upcoming Fall Semester, all academic classrooms and labs will be upgraded to Windows 11 and Office 2021. This upgrade is part of our commitment to providing the most current and secure technology to enhance our educational environment. We believe that this will improve the performance, functionality, and accessibility of our learning technologies, both in-person and online. We're planning to complete the upgrade by the start of the Fall 2024 semester.

Don't forget to read the PC and Mac instructions before teaching onsite.

• Computer Login Procedures for Largo Campus and Extension Centers

Student Resource: eLearning Smart Start

eLearning Smart Start is the virtual orientation program that provides students with essential information needed for success in their online, hybrid, and remote courses.

eLearning Smart Start includes:

• Academic and technology tips to prepare for online learning 
• Skill-building resources specific to online student success​ 
• Assessment so students have a sense of their readiness for online learning 
• Feedback opportunity for students to share ideas on improving eLearning Smart Start

We encourage you to join us in sharing this resource with students. eLearning Smart Start is available on the PGCC Orientation webpage and as a page in the “Canvas: Start Here” module of the fall course template. 

If interested, you are also invited to complete eLearning Smart Start. At the end, you’ll have the opportunity to provide your feedback. Thank you for your help with ensuring PGCC students are prepared for success!

Introducing: Canvas Course Feedback Form



PGCC is focused on empowering students through learning. You have been instrumental in ensuring we deliver on our commitment to student success and high-quality learning experiences. 

Students are also central in shaping their academic journey at the College. They have shared - via survey responses and in-person interactions - a desire to provide feedback on their Canvas experience throughout the year. To that end, we are pleased to share the launch of a new student resource: The Canvas Course Feedback Form – a form where online students can share comments, including compliments and suggestions, about their Canvas courses. Students are encouraged to contact their instructor first with course-specific feedback using the contact information listed on the syllabus. 

The form is optional, and students may submit it as many times as they wish. Students can choose to share their feedback anonymously or indicate if they’d like follow-up from eLearning. The eLearning team will review all feedback and use it to improve students’ Canvas course experience. 

Students will receive communication about this new resource and where they can find it. We invite you to join us in encouraging online students to utilize the form and engage in the continuous improvement process. Please contact eLearning with questions or comments. Thank you for your dedication to student success and contributing to a community where students’ voices are valued!

Project Updates

Canvas Updates 

This past summer, Canvas made several updates which improve functionality for existing tools or in some cases additional functionality. A list of those updates includes: 

• Announcements Mark All As Read 
• Announcements Available Until 
• Assignments New Settings Interface 
• Course Status 
• Discussion Redesign 
• Discussion Ungraded with Assign To 
• Discussion Summaries AI feature Option 
• Find and Replace 
• Gradebook Messaging Updates 
• Inbox Add Signatures to Messages 
• Module and Pages Assign To 
• New Analytics Online Attendance 
• SpeedGrader Randomize the Student List 

An article in the askPGCC knowledge base has been created which can be accessed on the link that follows: 

• Canvas Fall 2024 Updates 

Hypothesis Update

Prince George's Community College now has access to Hypothesis, a social annotation tool installed directly in your Canvas courses. After our successful Spring 2024 pilot, we have secured the tool as part of our regular instructional technology budget. 

Adding Hypothesis to readings in Canvas supports student success by placing active discussion right on top of course readings, enabling students and teachers to add comments and start conversations in the margins of texts. Watch a one-minute video of what this looks like here. 

This getting started document also has links to resources like Hypothesis Academy and a Getting Started in Canvas help page. Hypothesis provides an additional tool for engaging your students in your online course and improving critical thinking and reading proficiency. You can also find a step-by-step guide to setting up in your Canvas course here: 

• Using the Hypothesis LMS App With Assignments in Canvas : Hypothesis 

We have one more session available during Welcome Week: 

• Session: August 23, 2024, at 10:00 AM 

By participating in this workshop, you will gain a clear understanding of how to incorporate collaborative annotation into your courses, which can lead to improved student success and engagement. If you wish to attend, please register using the following link: 



•  Zoom Registration Link 

Lucid – New Functionality in Canvas 

Canvas has expanded collaborative capabilities and assignment functionality by Incorporating Lucid Visual Collaboration Suite as part of the main Canvas LMS Product in July 2024.  As of August 15, that functionality was improved that now includes Lucid as part the main navigation menu in your course. 

What Is Lucid? 

Lucid’s Education Suite empowers teachers and students with visual collaboration solutions anytime and anywhere within Canvas. With your Canvas account, you get free full access to the Lucid Education Suite apps Lucidchart and Lucidspark. Lucidchart is an intelligent diagramming application that allows you to visualize complex ideas, systems, and processes. Lucidspark is a virtual whiteboard application that enables teams to ideate, design, and build better ideas. It also allows students to mind maps, visualizing and other diagrams easily either as individually or collaboratively.   

How to use Lucid? 

eLearning is currently working on documentation specific to Prince George’s Community College for use of Lucid. Because of the late deployment, we are working on best practice documentation that will be out in the next week or so.   

In the interim, you (and your students) can use the Lucid link on your course menu to create an account with your SSO login in Canvas by simply clicking the Lucid option on your menu and then click the Sign up button and follow the prompts. Please do not create an account directly through the vendor. This will ensure your privacy as well as avoid needing to login multiple times to use the tool and other limitations.  

You can then create assignments and more using the following link: 

• Integrate Lucid with Canvas 

What if I do not want it showing on the menu? 

Because this update was done after we pushed out semester courses, we do not have the ability to make it an optional menu item until Spring 2025. We appreciate that you may not want the additional option to be shown on your course menu if you are not using it. If you wish to hide the option from students, you can update your course menu in navigation settings. 

VoiceThread Update



VoiceThread has updated to a new interface for everyone for Fall 2024. There are dozens of new features and enhancements, but the biggest highlights and updates are below. For more information about the new version, check out the article on the VoiceThread blog: 

• New VoiceThread: Simpler, More Accessible, and More Powerful. 

You can also access free training sessions on the new interface on the VoiceThread training page.