Large Course Performance Issues?

[JJacobs7]

Our organization is a government institution that conducts certification training. So, they are not the typical academic or professional development organizations.

We have a certification course in Canvas that is going to have 77 modules with an average of 8 pages and 1 discussion. Additionally, about 20 SCORM assignments and 20 graded assignments in the course. Our file size is minimal (estimated 250mb) since most are pages, external video, or pdf documents.

Is this asking too much from Canvas to hold that many modules, pages, discussions, etc, in one course? I am concerned that as we build, we may see pages like the Modules page cause slowing or general performance issues experienced by the teacher or the student. The average class size is 30-40 students.

Thank you in advance for any help and advice.

John

[SusanNiemeyer]

I don't have an answer about file size, but as a student, I would find a course with 77 modules extremely daunting. My community college courses have 15 weekly modules with up to 20 items each. That's already a lot of content for my students to deal with, and to be honest, not all of the students complete the work.  I can't begin to conceive of a course with 77 modules. And, do I understand correctly that each module will have approximately 50 items?  Yikes! Even scrolling through a course this size would be extremely daunting.

You really need to rethink your plan from the end-user perspective. Give the participants shorter courses to navigate (5 separate courses might be ideal). Let them have a sense of completion as they complete each course. You need to make this certification training program doable for your participants and your instructors.

[JJacobs7]

Sorry I edited the post, it is 20 SCORM and 20 assignments in addition to the modules. Not 20 and 20 in each module, yea that would stress me out!

We have our students for 40 hours a week for six weeks plus individual study time. Our other program has them for 12 weeks 40 hours a week. It is their job and they only go home for the weekend.  So yes, many modules, but they are with us way more than a college class would in an entire year. They basically live, eat, and breath the training program.   

[SusanNiemeyer]

Thanks for the clarification. Still, though, keep in mind the user experience of scrolling through 77 modules. Regardless of the number of items contained within each module, 77 modules is just too many to scroll through. Your students will get lost. They won't be able to find important information.

Since the basic training program is six weeks long, I would urge you to set up six "courses." Let the students complete a "course" a week. Plus, it will be much easier for your instructors to keep track of whether the students are progressing through the training program when they complete weekly "courses."

Lastly, it will also be important to set up "module requirements" so that the students will see the green checkmarks when they have completed each item. I strongly recommend using "mark as done" rather than "view" for each page.

[gnoack]

HI @JJacobs7 

I have to agree with @SusanNiemeyer .  77 modules to scroll through is a lot.  While your folks might be able to handle it, why create a frustrating learning environment when you don't need to? 

A couple of other options might be to not use modules, but have a page for each unit.  On the page you can post links to the other pages you create and the discussion.  This puts everything in one place for the student.  You could post a link to the main page on the Home page of the course, you wouldn't even need the modules.   

Another option would be to not publish future modules until students need them, and move the most current module to the top. 

Just a few ideas.

[JJacobs7]

We are hoping not even to turn on the module page. The only feature we need from the module page is showing if the assignment is complete, as you see the green check marks on the module page. We have seen other institutions get this feature on a page, but apparently, it's a custom code that Canvas says they might be able to quote us a cost, but it will take months to get a quote.

[gnoack]

@JJacobs7 

It sounds like you've been thinking it through.    Good luck!