Using Canvas to Support Note-Taking

[corrin1_shelton]

Organizing Notes

Every year I struggle with students taking and organizing effective notes and binders. I have tried various methods to help students stay organized. My first year I had students by a three-ring binder and page dividers, to find that students put papers anywhere in their binders and that the pages easily ripped out. I then tried to use an interactive notebook, which was a struggle because students never glued their work in neatly and did not keep up with the table of contents. Other note-taking strategies failed me as well. An effective notebook is both organized and filled with succinct notes. Luckily Canvas has helped my class to create a perfect balance.

Canvas for Organization

I have found that Canvas ha proven to be extremely effective in helping students organize their notes. By using the module tool in Canvas, I am able to neatly display each unit as a module. I can then use sub-headings to organize the different topics within each units. Within each topic I then post all of the materials, videos, slides, and quizzes. Having this structure allows students to easily see information displayed. This is very helpful when students are trying to study for a quiz or test because it allows them to focus on specific section while studying.

Canvas for Note-Taking

Canvas has also been very helpful for allowing students to take detailed and succinct notes. In class I post all of the notes online. When I am teaching I put a symbol next to what I want students to copy down. Since I post the notes online I make sure that students are only writing down what is more important, because students know they can go on Canvas to see the complete slides, which frees up time in class. I also don't have to worry about students gluing as many worksheets in their notebooks because I can post the sheets online for students to complete.