Course Hub

What is Course Hub?

Course Hub is the starting point for managing digital resources for courses. 

For each course an instructor is teaching, Course Hub allows you to:

• upload a syllabus
• create a course in Canvas
• view course rosters
• create a Google folder shared with enrolled students
• create a password-protected MiddFiles folder
• create a public MiddFiles folder
• create an Office 365 group for enrolled students
• create a Panopto resource for enrolled students
• create course links
• create a WordPress site on sites dot middlebury or sites dot miis

Login to Course Hub for all Middlebury programs: https://courses.middlebury.edu/

As an instructor, once logged into Course Hub with your Middlebury username and password you will see a menu of links to help you navigate academic terms, browse course listings, and course schedules. Courses from the most recent academic term will be listed.

To view courses from previous terms, click My Terms, then select the academic term.

Each course will have its own listing including the course title, description, instructor, schedule and location. If you do not see a course listing refer to the troubleshooting section of this article. Courses with registered students will include an active course roster. Course data is pulled from the course schedule and syncs with Bannerweb. This article describes how to add and configure available digital resources and tools to a course listing.

In this Article

Troubleshooting Course Hub listings
View a course roster
Add a syllabus
Add a resource
Edit a resource
Add a Canvas site
Re-sync class roster to Canvas
Add a web link
Add a WordPress (Sites Dot) resource
Add a Google Drive folder
Add a Panopto video folder
Add a link to an existing Panopto video folder
Enable Course Hub for lab and discussion sections
Add multiple course sections to one Canvas or WordPress resource
Display content from a MiddFiles class folder

Troubleshooting Course Hub Listings

For Instructors

Here are some common scenarios that instructors face with Course Hub:

Course details are missing or incorrect

Course details include items such as the course title, description, schedule, or instructor for an academic term.

First, confirm that the Course Catalog has the correct course details. If the Catalog information is incorrect, contact the Registrar (College Registrar or Institute Registrar to request an update. Once the Catalog has been updated by the Registrar with the correct course information, the data will update Course Hub within 24 hours.

My Course(s) aren't showing in Course Hub

1. If you you are teaching a course lab, discussion, or independent study section and do not see your sections listed in Course Hub, see Enable Course Hub Sites for lab, discussion or other sections
2. If you are the instructor of record for a course and you do not see your courses listed when you login to Course Hub, confirm that the Course Catalog lists you as the instructor. If you are not listed as the instructor, then contact your department or program coordinator to ensure that course assignments have been sent to the Registrar. The registrar's office manages course and student information. Once updated, that information will appear in Course Hub.
3. Course Catalog information is correct, but the Course Hub listing is incorrect, describe your problem with reference to course number, title, and term in a support ticket with the IT HelpDesk.

View a Course Roster

Course Hub syncs with the campus BannerWeb course and student information system. The course roster for each course is visible to instructors only. The roster includes students registered for a course and student photo, full name, and Middlebury e-mail contact. The roster will dynamically re-sync with Bannerweb, including any add/drops that are initiated via the Records office.

1. Log into Course Hub with your Middlebury username and password.

2. Click the Roster link under the course listing in Course Hub.

Add a Syllabus

Find additional details regarding syllabi on the CTLR's basic syllabus page. 

1. Log into Course Hub with your Middlebury username and password.
2. Click on the desired term
3. Click on the desired course
4. Click the + Syllabus link available underneath the course details
5. You have three options for associating a syllabus. 
   1. Syllabus File
      1. Title the syllabus as desired.
      2. Choose the file from your computer using the button. Files must be in doc, docx or PDF format and under 30MB in size.
   2. Syllabus Link
      1. Title the syllabus as desired.
      2. Write the URL for the syllabus location. 
   3. Syllabus Text
      1. Title the syllabus as desired. Write or cut and paste the content into the body field. Choose the text format (Details on the text format). 
6. Choose your visibility setting. 
   1. Class - restricted to only those enrolled in the class. This makes it difficult for students to choose classes.
   2. Any Middlebury Person - restricted to logged in Middlebury community members. Helps students choose classes and facilitates access by the DRC and other support groups.
   3. Public/Anyone in the world
7. When you've completed the form, click on the Save button. 

Documentation is available for exporting to doc/docx from a variety of authoring tools.

NOTE: Sharing a syllabus on the Course Hub does not add it to other resources you may have linked to. Course Hub only supports the sharing of a single file on a Course Hub site. To share more files, create a resource such as a Canvas site or shared Google Drive folder.

Add a Resource

There are a number of resource types that you can create/centralize through Course Hub. Here is the general pattern to use to add a resource:

1. Log into Course Hub with your Middlebury username and password.

2. Under My Terms click on the academic term and course title you want to add resources to.

3. Under the course listing, click the + Resource link.

4. A menu of resource types will appear. Examples of resource types that can be added include: Canvas, Google Apps, Panopto folder... Click the resource type you want to add. Complete the resource configuration and press Save. Repeat this step if you plan to add more than one resource type to your Course Hub listing. See below for more details about resource types.

Edit a Resource

You can edit a resource after it has been created. For instance, you may want to change the text that displays in the Course Hub that links to your Canvas site.

1. Log into Course Hub with your Middlebury username and password.

2. Under My Terms click on the academic term and course title for the resource you would like to edit.

3. Click on the Resource tab.

4. Look for the icon of the pencil in a circle to the right of the resource you would like to edit. Click on the icon.

5. Complete the edit and press Save.

Add a Canvas Site

1. Log into Course Hub with your Middlebury username and password.

2. Click the + Resource link.

3. From the resource type menu select Canvas Resource.

4. Review the Canvas resource settings. Typically, the default settings can be left as they are:

• Resource/Link Title (*required). Default is set to "Canvas Site".
• Who can view the link and updates? (*required). Default is "The Class".
• Connect to an existing Canvas course by ID. Default is blank. You should leave this blank when creating a new Canvas resource. Follow these instructions to link multiple sections to one Canvas site.
• Description (not required). Default is set to empty.

4. Click Save to proceed with adding a new Canvas resource. Be patient. A web services request between Bannerweb and Canvas has been initiated. This step may take 5-20 seconds to complete. If you click Save multiple times, you may create multiple resources. Once complete, a link to the Canvas resource will appear under your course listing. The Canvas resource can now be accessed directly from your Course Hub or Canvas dashboard.

Learn more about Canvas.

Re-Sync Class Roster to Canvas

If you are seeing a discrepancy between the student roster listed on Course Hub and the roster of students appearing in Canvas follow these steps to re-sync:

1. Login to Course Hub. On your current semester dashboard click the link to the course that needs to be re-synced.

2. Click the Resources tab for the course.

3. Clcik the Edit button (a pencil icon) next to the link to the Canvas site. In the drop down, select Edit.

4. Do nothing at the next screen except scroll down and click Save. Once complete this action should re-sync course hub roster data with the list of registered students in your Canvas site found in the People tab at the course level menu. If a course roster problem persists, submit a Help Desk ticket.

Add a Web Link

A “Link Resource” allows you to connect your students to an outside website through Course Hub. This way, your students can access all your digital resources in one place. You can post one or more “Link Resources” here that you will be asking students to reference frequently.

1. Log into Course Hub with your Middlebury username and password.

2. Click + Resource

3. Select Link Resource

4. Configure the settings that appear:

• Resource/Link Title (*required). Enter a short, clear title here. This is the title that will be visible to students in Course Hub.
• URL (*required). Copy and paste the complete website URL.
• Who can view the link and updates? (*required) Default is "The Class".
• Description (not required). Default is set to empty. You do not need to change the default. If you would like to add a brief note here about how the Link will be used, you may.

5. Click Save to proceed with adding a link resource. Instructor and students can now access the link resource directly from the Course Hub dashboard.

Add a Library E-Reserve Resource (deprecated)

NOTE: Docutek ERES was de-commissioned in October 2022. For guidance on managing digital reserve materials see this Docutek end of life FAQ managed by Middlebury Libraries.

Add a WordPress (Sites Dot) Resource

A WordPress resource allows you to connect your students to an institutional (sites.miis.edu or sites.middlebury.edu) WordPress site through Course Hub. Students may author site content or  view what has already been posted. Course Hub grants enrolled students access to a class WordPress site so that an instructor does not have to add them individually.

1. Log into Course Hub with your Middlebury username and password.

2. Click + Resource

3. Select WordPress Resource

4. Configure the WordPress resource for the following settings:

• What WordPress site? Use the default “Connect to an existing site” if you have already created a Middlebury hosted WordPress site. Otherwise, select “Create a new site”. If you want to reference a non-institutional WordPress site, e.g. one that does not contain sites.miis.edu or sites.middlebury.edu, you must post the site as a “Link Resource”.
• Path of the WordPress site (*required). Enter the path of the new or existing site. For example, the path http://sites.miis.edu/dlc/ would be 'dlc'.
• Resource/Link Title (*required). Enter “WordPress Site”. Note: This is the title that will be visible to students in Course Hub.
• Who can view the link and updates? (*required). Default is "The Class".
• Description (not required). Default is set to empty. You do not need to change the default. If you would like to add a brief note here about how the WordPress site will be used, you may. Changes to the description will not affect your WordPress settings or your Course Hub."
• What Role should students have in the WordPress site? (*required). The possible roles are listed from fewest to greatest permissions. “Author” is likely the most useful role as it allows students to post and comment on each others work, and does not require the instructor to review and approve posts. The default is set to “Subscriber” with reading and commenting permissions only. “Moderated posts” must be approved by the Editor/Administrator before being published. “Unmoderated Posts” will be published automatically.

5. Click Save to proceed with adding a WordPress resource. Be patient after clicking "Save." You can now access your WordPress resource directly from the Course Hub dashboard. If you have created a new website, your “WordPress Resource” will link to an empty WordPress site. You will need to log in to sites.miis.edu (Institute) or sites.middlebury.edu (College) to create and edit the site content.

Learn more about Sites Dot @ Middlebury

Add a Google Drive Folder

How to Video: Add a Google Drive Folder

The Course Hub will provision a Google Drive folder for the class and share it with the instructor(s), students, and audit groups for the course section. In the resource settings, Course Hub sets the default role for students/auditors: either Reader which can only view documents and files or Writer which allows students/auditors to create and upload documents and files.

Add a Panopto Video Folder

Panopto is a video streaming and recording service. To add a Panopto resource to your course hub site:

1. Log into Course Hub with your Middlebury username and password.

2. Click + Resource

3. Select Panopto Resource

4. Click Save

5. The Panopto folder is accessible to the instructor and all enrolled students. By default enrolled students are granted permission to view videos shared in this folder. To permit students to upload videos, course folder sharing settings will need to be updated:

• In Panopto, navigate to the course folder, then click the Share icon to the right of the folder name.
• By default all students in the course group are granted permission to view videos. Click the Share tab in the folder settings menu. In the add people and groups menu search for and select the course group (e.g. NPTG8584A - students - Spring 2020 - MIIS...), then use the drop down permissions menu and select Creator.
• When students access Panopto via the link from Course Hub or directly via http://go.middlebury.edu/panopto, they should now be able to upload videos to the course folder or sub-folder.

Learn more about Panopto @ Middlebury

Add a link to an existing Panopto video folder

There are times when an instructor may want to share a Panopto video folder with multiple course sections or to connect an existing Panopto video folder from a previous term with a course section. In these cases, first follow the step described above to add a "Panopto Resource" for one section. For example, start with Section A. To connect an existing Panopto folder or the folder created for Section A with other sections follow these steps:

1. Click the link to the Panopto folder on Course Hub. This will open the Panopto webpage for your course Panopto folder.

2. In the web browser address bar, look for the web address for the folder. It should look something like this in its complete form:

https:// midd.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Sessions/List.aspx#folderID=%22XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX%22

3. Notice the long string of letters and numbers at the end of the link. This is the Panopto Folder ID identified after the equal sign [=] in double quotes* and as in this case, in some browsers the double quotes denoting the Folder ID may be encoded as %22

4. Copy this folder ID.

5. Return to Course Hub.

6. Locate the class section that you want to link the Panopto folder to. For example, Section B.

7. Click +Resource.

8. Click Panopto Resource.

9. Paste the Panopto folder ID into the field on the resource form that says Connect to an existing Panopto folder by ID.

10. Click Save.

Enable Course Hub Sites for lab, discussion or other sections

Instructors can create Course Hub sites for lab, discussion, independent study, and other section-types that do not have Course Hub sites automatically created.

Lab/discussion Course Hub sites are not needed for the majority of courses as the lecture/seminar sites usually suffice. However, they may be useful in the following cases:

• The lab is taught by a separate instructor with its own resources and syllabus.
• You wish to create separate resources (e.g. Canva sites) for each discussion section.

1. Log into Course Hub with your Middlebury username and password.

2. Access the Additional Sections link

3. Choose the Term to create sections for.

4. Click the Create link next to a section you wish to create a Course Hub listing for.

This LIS blog post has instructions and a brief screen-cast describing how to create additional Course Hub sites: New Course Hub Feature: Create Lab/Discussion Sites.

Add Multiple Course Sections to one Canvas or WordPress Resource

Canvas

1. Follow steps above to add a Canvas Resource in order to the section A course listing. This Canvas resource will serve as the primary content site for all sections of the course you are teaching. Students in all sections will have the same access to the content and also be able to interact with one another in interactive activities like discussion forums, unless group settings are configured.

• NOTE: If section B is taught by a different instructor, you must add them to the primary content site so that they can add the Canvas site to their section.

2. To link additional course sections (eg. section B) to the section A Canvas site, begin the process of adding a new Canvas resource to the Section B course listing as you did for Section A above.

3. Next, locate the Canvas site ID from your Section A Canvas site. Locate the web address for the Section A Canvas site in your web browser when you are logged into that Canvas site. You can also see the Canvas site ID when you roll your cursor over the link for the Canvas resource on Course Hub. For example, for the Canvas site link below the Canvas site ID is 222, so you would enter 222 into the field.

https://middlebury.instructure.com/courses/222

4. Next copy and paste the Canavs site ID into the Connect to an Existing Canvas Course by ID field at bottom of the Resource page.

5. Click Save.

Resources created for a course can be used in multiple sections of that course. However, in the case of syllabi, links or RSS feeds, these resources should simply be recreated in the separate hub sites for each section of the course.

WordPress (Sites Dot)

1. Follow the steps above to add a WordPress Resource to the section A course listing.

2. To link additional course sections (eg. section B) to the section A WordPress site, begin the process of adding a new WordPress resource to the Section B course listing as you did for Section A above. However, before you click "SAVE," enter the WordPress site reference number from your Section A WordPress site in the text box at bottom of the page where it says “Connect to an Existing Canvas Course by ID:”

For example, the id in the following Canvas resource example is "106"

https://middlebury.instructure.com/courses/106

Display Content from a MiddFiles Class Folder

College-Only: When faculty put files in the HANDOUTS, SHARE, or PUBLIC_HTML folders of their class folder, a “Middfiles Class Folder” resource will automatically be added to the Course Hub site. This resource provides a link that allows students to easily browse the files without having to mount a network drive. Read this LIS blog post for details: New Course Hub / Middfiles Integration.