Collaborating in an Online Course

Modified on Fri, Sep 19 at 4:11 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Zoom
Penn+Box
Canvas
Support

Instructors may ask students to collaborate in small groups for specific assignments. Below you will find some options available to you.

Please follow any instructions from your instructor regarding collaboration tools. If no specific tools are required, you may choose from the following options.

Zoom

Synchronous video platform access via upenn.zoom.us or, by selecting SSO at the Zoom Application login screen. Please see Zoom for Students for more information on how to log in.

Zoom Whiteboard - allows students to work in a whiteboard space together, synchronously or asynchronously.

Record group presentations in Zoom and share links to the recordings or download and upload them to Canvas or other locations as instructed.

Penn+Box

Everyone at Penn can access Penn+Box. Penn+Box allows you to work on a Microsoft Word document or a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation together and create folders to share and organize different documents easily.

Penn+Box Documentation:

Instructions on how to invite collaborators to a file, as well as sharing links, and making them editable for the group
Instructions on how to change the share expiration date on a file

Canvas

If you are in a Canvas Group, an asynchronous discussion area is available for your group. Please see the following documentation for Canvas Group discussions.

If no group appears for your course in Canvas, your instructor has not set up groups, so this suggestion does not apply.

Canvas Inbox also allows you to message other peers in your class.

Support

If you have specific questions about group work or collaborating in your course, first reach out to your instructor for additional support. If you have a technical question about one of the tools above, please reach out to online-learning-help@sas.upenn.edu, and we will be able to assist.

If you are looking for specific Canvas Collaborations information (found in your course navigation, if available to you), please see the Canvas Collaborations article. Please note that Canvas Collaborations may require some advanced setup and troubleshooting, so please take this into consideration before using the tool.