Course Evaluation Checklist v3.0

mirandamcintosh
Instructure
Instructure
6
20118

Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist v3.0

Building Quality Content

What’s Included in This Post?
• The Why behind the updated checklist
• The Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist v3.0

Make a copy of the Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist v3.0 (shared as an easy-to-copy preview via Google Docs) so you can customize it for your institution. Or download a PDF version. Note: We ask that you comply with the Creative Commons licensing located at the bottom of the document. 

Educators, regardless of their level, recognize the importance of incorporating best practices and reflecting on the effectiveness of their teaching strategies to benefit their learners. Our widely used Course Evaluation Checklist has led to an increasing number of requests for feedback on full content builds in Canvas. The newly improved Course Evaluation Checklist v3.0 builds upon the previous version (2.0) and introduces, for the very first time, guidelines for assessing both course content and curriculum! We also took a look at our Mobile checklist and wrapped it into 3.0 to give you a one-stop shop when evaluating your course. Evaluating the efficacy of course content can be tricky, which is why we have included comprehensive guidelines to support this evaluation process.

Purpose

The purpose of the Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist has always been to support Canvas course creators in enhancing the quality of their Canvas courses. With version 3.0, our focus shifts towards full course builds in Canvas, which extend beyond synchronous course content to promote ongoing independent learning.

This version of the checklist remains dedicated to supporting various course creators, including instructional designers, K12 teachers, and higher ed faculty, across diverse learning settings, such as brick and mortar, hybrid, and fully online environments, as they design and create Canvas courses for learners of all ages. Once you make a copy of the checklist, you have the flexibility to modify it according to your specific needs and goals.

Since Version 3.0 targets full course builds, we have kept Version 2.0 available for those who prefer to continue to use it for courses without quite as much asynchronous content. It's important to note that neither v2.0 nor v3.0 are intended to compete with or replace proprietary evaluations. Instead, these free tools serve as valuable starting points for institutions to make a copy and tailor it to meet their individualized requirements.

That's why we continue to share these types of resources in the Canvas Community – to encourage conversation among Canvas users and create a space for ongoing dialogue on how best to enhance course creation in Canvas for all users.

Potential Uses

Just as with v2.0, we continue to encourage you to:

  • Share this checklist with your colleagues
  • Apply the principles to your own course
  • Elevate the quality of your institution’s courses
Final Thoughts

The Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist v3.0 marks a significant step towards elevating the quality of online courses for all learners. With enriched guidelines for assessing both course content and curriculum, v3.0 empowers educators (and other course builders!) to reflect on effective teaching strategies and create courses that foster engaging and ongoing learning. Instructor-led courses can benefit significantly by improving instructor-student communication through well-structured designs. Asynchronous courses can also benefit by offering learners the necessary tools to independently complete coursework while seamlessly integrating with Instructure's technological resources. So, let's leverage this valuable tool, share it with colleagues, and elevate the quality of our courses for an enriching learning experience!

Check out some other useful checklists in the community:

 

Please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!

Our Design and Curriculum teams offer a variety of services, including course templates, consultation hours, badging and certificate services, course reviews and evaluations, instructional workshops, course authoring, content reconstruction, and much more! If you would like to learn more about our services, please contact your CSM or our Design/Curriculum Managers, Learning Services: @rosina_marie, via rmonteiro@instructure.com, or @mirandamcintosh, via mmcintosh@instructure.com
6 Comments
9931696
Community Explorer

This is a great resource. I am excited to look at this in further detail and incorporate it into our course design process. Thank you. 

TraceyByrne1
Community Explorer

Thank you, we will be using this as we are preparing for Parent view of courses.

valentinesking
Community Coach
Community Coach

Thanks for the updated resources!

GraceStephens23
Community Explorer

Hi @mirandamcintosh, are you able to share this checklist a downloadable PDF that doesn't go through Google Drive? My org blocks Drive.

mirandamcintosh
Instructure
Instructure
Author

@GraceStephens23 Absolutely, I am sending you a DM here in the community that includes the file for you. Let me know if you have any trouble accessing it. 

orwinr
Community Champion

We are investigating the use of this checklist within our school and noticed that the UDL references point to the older 2.2 version of the Guidelines. Has there been any thought about updating the UDL Guidelines to reference the new 3.0 version released on July 30th, 2024? It might even be good to reference both versions for a bit as folks get used to the newer Guidelines that address critical barriers rooted in biases and systems of exclusion. I have just started looking at them and there are some fairly big changes. I will be looking at how the new Guidelines fit with the existing checklist and trying to update them appropriately, but it will take a while as I have some large projects in the works at the moment.

Thanks for considering aligning the version 3.0 UDL Guidelines with the Checklist.

Cheers!