Facil Time Zones Feature Guide

Allison McComb Updated by Allison McComb

Why time zones?

One of the challenges we have found when scheduling live sessions is selecting a time that is suitable for most students in the course. Time zone information will help facilitators select an appropriate time.

How do I access the time zone feature?

The time zone feature is accessible within the Facil tool.

  1. From the Facil tool, select the “Live Sessions” bar
  2. Then choose the “Time Zones” tab:

What information is available?

The following information is provided:

  • The number of students in a particular time zone
  • The name of the time zone
  • The number of hours’ difference between the students’ time zone and Eastern time
  • The number of hours difference between the students’ time zone and GMT

Hovering over the (!) icon shows a notification that students have spent at least 25% of their time in other time zones.

How does the feature assess the students’ time zone?

The time zone feature analyzes the geolocations of students who have logged in to Canvas and provides summarized time zone information for those students. Data for students using VPNs will reflect the location of the VPN.

Because the feature relies on student login data, the first course in a certificate may show a higher “missing geolocation data” count than other courses.

The feature also summarizes student time zones as configured in the students’ Canvas preferences; this data is less reliable because most students do not set their Canvas time zone. The default value is Eastern Time.

How should facilitators use this data?

Facilitators can refer to time zone data when selecting a time to schedule live sessions. Ideally, live sessions will be scheduled at a time that is during normal waking hours for the majority of students.

How did we do?

​Course Set Up: Reviewing Due Dates​

Course Set Up: Reviewing Announcements

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