In May of 2017, a small group of families from DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota was invited to provide feedback and to talk about the Canvas Parent App. During these meetings, Canvas administrators were able to gather great user-stories and adjust the way in which Canvas Parent was supported. Additionally, a list of "best practices" was compiled and shared with teaching faculty.
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At the time of this interview, Dawne White's son Will completed his junior year at DeLaSalle High School. He is a methodical thinker and likes to have concrete expectations. While he is a good student, his mom set up a great system at home which provides him with the independence he will need to be successful after high school while still supporting him through challenging courses such as English.
Dawne enjoys that “with the app, the information, more or less, is in real-time." She continued to explain how she realizes that Canvas is only as current as a teacher can get the grades updated, but she likes to know in real-time what’s missing and that she can check that information against what Will tells her.
"Canvas [Parent] gives me a barometer of how truthful he is, how honest he is, and I can use that to shape conversations.”
Dawne doesn’t talk with Will as frequently as she could, as she’s trying to give him some space to be independent in his studies. She does, however, check Canvas Parent routinely. She tries to moderate her involvement and trying to have more “real” consequences in hopes of preparing him for the experiences of post-secondary education.
Dawne decided to shut the mobile notifications off, but she goes in at least once a week (usually Tuesdays) to see how the week will unfold. She typically checks Canvas Parent more frequently than that, but she feels that by opting out of notifications, she has more control on the schedule and urgency of her involvement.
She appreciates having the assignment details available, and she likes it when teachers include more information about objectives. Simply writing the page and problem numbers, for example, doesn’t provide much context for a parent. The more information that is provided in the assignment information, the better. She can then increase her “coaching” role as a parent and help at home, without having to communicate frequently with teachers.
She’d like to be able to see Will’s submissions for certain classes, but it would be more helpful to have easy access to the rubrics and teacher comments/feedback.
"Having Canvas on my phone definitely helps me keep track of Will’s academics.”
She continued to explain how convenient the Canvas Parent app is. “I can be anywhere. I can even be in the car in the garage, and before I go in, I can think, ‘I’m going to just check Canvas for a second.’ and then I go into the house. I then kind of have my game plan and talking points ready.” This way, Dawne can easily create prompts which open her son up to talking about his day.
