Modules within Modules

[kristi_levy]

As we move toward Personalized Learning we are beginning to feel boxed in by the linear design of Course Modules.  Many teachers would like the Course Modules to look more like the Course listing in the new UI (Tiles rather than lists) AND have the functionality to have Modules within Modules.  This would allow for MANY more options for student Voice, Choice and Pacing options!

Comments from Instructure

Please refer to our comment from the product team. 

[ronmarx]

Kelley,

In our K-12 school district, we are encouraging each teacher to be the master of their course—in effect, they will be instructional designers.

I'm advocating these ideas for designers, in all their permutations!

i_Ron

:smileycool:

[awarmar]

Scott, One of problems we've (I work with  @ahardesty ) found with using the indentation within modules for organization so far is that indentation does not show on mobile. If what you are proposing would still show the modules indented on the app, it might be something that would work for us (at least as I am conceptualizing it). 

[ahardesty]

Hi Kelley:

I think your system of design may be different than ours. I'm going to agree with Marx, at least from our standpoint and how we create courses and encourage instructors to. It has been extremely time consuming for us to figure out a way to organize courses without the submodules. For us it makes more sense to have submodules as a method for organizing the course structure (at least for how our courses run). Additionally, our instructors really like submodules and typically make good use of them (once we have shown them how). Of course not everyone does, but these are instructors that probably wouldn't organize well no matter what system they were given.

I can understand your point about it being confusing for students to know where they are at in the course. We are concerned about this having come from a system that does breadcrumbs entirely differently than Canvas does. We are used to the breadcrumbs at the top of the screen showing what module and submodule a student/instructor is in when they are viewing a page instead of showing what part of the entire course they are in (such as "Pages"). The breadcrumbs look like this   

• Unit 1: 19th Century > Lesson 1.1: Tolstoy > Early Years     

Instead of like this

• ENG 1003 > Pages > Early Years

This may need to be changed in order to make the submodules more effective. It looks like there is an open vote for the breadcrumb issue right now:

I appreciate your comments as they help us to think through this issue. Also appreciate your comments about screen readers.

Thanks, Aimee

[Renee_Carney]

  Idea is currently in Product Radar Learn more about this stage...

[elizabethmcdoug]

Being able to group modules would be wonderful.  Please make this available!!

[thompsli]

Here is how I would use this feature:

In my course, each Module contains a week's worth of content so that students can use the Modules view as a way to see what our class is doing each week at a glance, and always know where in the course they are "supposed to be" that week (we run on a common numbering of "Work Weeks" throughout the school, so all of their classes are in "Week 06" this week, for example). 

In a typical week, this might be two math lessons (external tools or pages) with associated short auto-graded quizzes to give students immediate feedback, and a bigger "problem of the week" assignment where they have to work on a larger problem-solving task. 

The structure looks something like this:

Module: Week Number

• Lesson: Topic One
• Exercise: Topic One (due Tuesday)
• Lesson: Topic Two
• Exercise: Topic Two (due Thursday)
• Problem of the Week (due Friday)

I'd like to be able to require them to view each Lesson before starting the related Exercise (quiz). However, I also want them to be able to view the Problem of the Week all week so they can work on it all week rather than in one sitting (they turn those in as Google Docs), so I can't use the "completed sequentially" requirement.

If we had sub-modules, set I'd it up like:

Module: Week Number

• Sub-Module: Topic One (complete in order)
  • Lesson: Topic One
  • Exercise: Topic One (due Tuesday)
• Sub-Module: Topic Two (complete in order)
  • Lesson: Topic Two
  • Exercise: Topic Two (due Thursday)
• Problem of the Week (due Friday)

I think this would make the "paired" lessons and exercises clearer to students. I could do the visual structure now with subheadings and indenting, but I wouldn't get enforcement of the "look at the lesson before trying the quiz" rule. (Which I want because new students will often only look at their to-do lists and not even see that there were any lessons, then complain that I "never taught them this" when they go to take the quizzes. This tends to get them off to a terrible start in my class, and I'm currently using several methods to try to head this off at the pass. An automated system to enforce the pairing would be more elegant, though.)

It would also be nice for weeks that contain a review activity. I'd like to use a structure like:

Module: Week Number

• Sub-Module: Topic One (complete in order)
  • Lesson: Topic One
  • Exercise: Topic One (due Tuesday)
• Sub-Module: Review! (choose one) (due Thursday)
  • Review Activity #1
  • Review Activity #2
  • Review Activity #3
  • Review Activity #4
• Problem of the Week (due Friday)

[ronmarx]

I like  @thompsli 's example so much, I want to elaborate a few other points, relating to personalized learning through blended learning environments and differentiated instruction. Being able to nest modules within each other, from a course construction point of view, gives the designer the power of interchangeable parts. Entire object sets could be moved/copied in their entirety from one module to another. When a teacher/developer gets to work in a fun-to-use environment the product will invariably be fun to use for the student.

Blended Learning is all about personalizing learning for students, especially in classes of more than a dozen or so students. Canvas provides many tools for doing this, and is adding more and more as its installed base grows, but what is missing is the organizational tool that gives designers/teachers the ability to use these tools in an easy, sometimes non-sequential manner. If sub-modules can be adaptively released to students, as Linnea suggested, then the student experience in Canvas becomes a closer one virtually to what they're experiencing in a multi-station K-12 classroom.

Imagine how much more fun designing in Canvas would become if teachers could select entire sub-modules and multiple individual components in order to move them as a selection! Today? Individual components inside a module have to be moved one at a time. So much of what we learn is clustered through logic or narratives, imagine how much more reliable assessment questions could be if they could be grouped within a topic question bank. Numerous examples abound.

Differentiated Instruction: Nesting modules as in Linnea's example would also give teachers/designers the power to create optional groups of activities for remediation and enrichment purposes. This simply can't be done now, especially when students are following the NEXT and PREVIOUS buttons within a display page. The current system is very cumbersome, as well, and sub-modules would enable designers to create a more adaptive (and personalized) learning experience for students.

Generally, this suggestion for nest-able modules in another of many suggestions to make the Canvas development environment as fun to use as the Canvas LMS is fun for students to use. How? By removing repetition and tedium from the development platform. Alleviating tedium for the developer has been a general theme here in the Community Idea Center. We are already anticipating amazing things from quizzes.next‌, and hope that overarching usability ideas like https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/4636-modules-within-modules?sr=inbox&ru=136635 get the concurrent attention they deserve.

Other similar issues:

• Selecting more than one question at a time for manipulation: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/2152-ability-to-select-multiple-questions-at-once-in-quizzes-a... 
• Selecting multiple items on the Modules page for manipulation: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/5941 
• Allow bulk importation of questions to create question banks and quizzes: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/8263-strengthen-canvas-import-ability-with-qti-files 
• Comment customized code in the HTML editor: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/5982
• Slightly tangential to the basic working environment, to infuse a smidgen of artificial intelligence into written response quiz questions: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/5826-add-regular-expressions-to-quizzes 

[sroa]

This is a fantastic idea!! Canvas needs something like that to improve the user experience, i really hope this to move forward and be implemented in Canvas sooner than later.

[sgeil]

I would like to have the ability to create a submodule to hold a particular mastery path within the larger unit module. The way things are now, the module ends up with too many elements which can be discouraging to students. If I could stash a mastery path based assignment in a sub module the students would see it as a single lesson, not as a long list of "too much work."

[jim_sibley]

Another way to work with a long module page (over 100 feet long in one of our complex courses) would be have the ability to have a module page magnet that lets me embed a single module or pieces of a module on a page. Then you could give enough context to give the student a coherent view of where they are and what is next.

In current setup....I guess we will just tell students we are at about 65 feet in the module page give or take a lot depending what you have open.

Here is my original post that got me connected with cold storage

We really need module nesting with sub-modules that can be opened and closed....and the ability to by date prop open the current week...so that module > sub-module > specific week is all that is open on page load.

This would let you build complex courses using the module page....otherwise the module page gets way too long to use effectively.

Just to set the scale of problem

• one course (800 students)
• 26 weeks
• 7 modules
• Inside each module...a folder for each of the 26 weeks (approx. 4 weeks per module)

Inside all of the 26 weeks

• inside each week...3 folders.....getting ready for week...class....studio....
• inside "getting ready for week" 2 scormed videos
• inside "class" skeleton notes
• inside "studio" word doc and assignment dropbox for 16 sections

We are looking at widgetizing some of the deprecated JS to get accordions and tab back....as a way to architect these big, complex courses.

Any wisdom or guidance would be appreciated 🙂

[james_elliott]

I really like this idea, as many of us set up our courses in a hierarchical fashion anyway.

1. Unit 1
   1. Introductory content 
   2. Topic 1.1
      1. Objective 1.1.1
      2. Objective 1.1.2 
      3. Objective 1.1.3
   3. Topic 1.2
      1. Objective 1.2.1
      2. Objective 1.2.2
   4. Closing content
2. Unit 2

Etc.  

The Units would be your primary modules, and Topics would be sub-modules.  Objectives and "content" areas would be your content pages, quizzes, discussions, assignments, etc.

Similar ideas and schemes have been presented here already but I did want to add my vote to this topic.

I realize there are other ways to organize, but this makes sense to me and most of my students.  I would caution against infinite nesting of modules, however. 

This also seems like it might be a benefit in conjunction with mastery paths.

[jim_sibley]

Hi

I had large amounts of trepidation giving up folders and nesting...because

that was what I was used to.....how I typically imagined laying out a course

But since I made the comment about want to nest modules...I have been

working more extensively with Canvas....and have given in a bit to their

more linear metaphor....and I am reasonably happy with the results

I been using buttons and pages the nest content...screenshot below...it

gives you a way to hierarchically organizing using pages

In really complicated courses we are using modules (although modules pages

do get very long)

This particular course (below) has 26 week times 4-5 entries per week....so

module page will be over 100 items long...not perfect but will do

Most module items point at individual page where I can have links to

multiple files and links to submit assignments...it works...I am pretty

happy with things

Take Care

Jim

Educational Consultant specializing in Team-Based Learning

Read my TBL book Getting Started with Team–Based Learning

<http://learntbl.ca/book>

Visit my TBL website at www.learntbl.ca

Take my TBL course http://learntbl.ca/take-a-course/ and build your first

TBL module in just 2 weeks

[Stef_retired]

 @jim_sibley ‌, we're not able to see your screenshot--but the description of how you're using Canvas to organize course materials so as to streamline navigation for students is very helpful.

[joel_duffin]

My company, Atomic Jolt, a Canvas Partner, has developed a product that provides this functionality to nest modules and to manage, navigate, and search Canvas modules using a Google Drive-Like user interface. It also allows you to flag modules and module items private so that you don't accidentally publish them. In addition, it lets you embed navigation grids in pages that link into modules so you don't have to create those grids manually using HTML like people commonly do. One last thing the product does, is allow you to generate a link that you can use to share the course with others. When the user follows the link, they are asked to OAuth against their Canvas and choose which course to copy the content into. Once they choose a course, the content is copied into the course and any LTI tools that the course depends on are installed into the course. We've been working with publishers on this and designed it to make it simple way for them to distribute their content. To learn more about the product and request a demo, please see Atomic Curriculum Tools - Atomic Jolt.

[debra_russell]

Hi Kristi, it sounds interesting what you are saying and a good idea but you could achieve this in the existing Module set up.

You can have links or picture links on the Contents page with the line "Choose ONE of the following experiences..." and link to the three alternatives. You would then set up the pages for the three sub modules with a homepage feel.

Cheers Debra

[theotherdy]

Hi Kristi, just to say that I've just blogged about a simple(ish!) way to autogenerate a Modules 'dashboard' as in your screenshot while we're waiting for Instructure to come up with a 'proper' solution.

[simone_laughton]

Having more granularity within modules could be helpful.  As mentioned in comments above, module and sub-module structure that includes the ability to

• Bring together diverse content in a structured manner;
• Allow for the more granular control over making content available in modules and sub-modules, for example,
  • by date (start date and end date - either of these or both);
  • by other module / sub-module content reviewed;
  • by group (we have some tutorials that take place of different days and only want students to have access to the content just before their tutorial);
  • by grade on an item (for example to provide targeted resources and additional help as needed - supportive of adaptive learning and differentiated learning)
• Accommodating and enabling greater granularity in terms of associations between content, activities, assessments and learning outcomes;
• Greater support for non-linear and graphical representation of courses (e.g., think about modules as a boxes where instructors / students can organize stuff, and instructors / students can label it anything they like); An example - we have an instructor who has created his entire course using the "Journey" metaphor.  Students take a "Preflight Checklist" quiz to determine areas where they may need to develop their skills.  The "Syllabus" is called the "Course Map", the Discussion Board is called a "Researcher Guild", the "Contact" page is called "Explorer Profiles", an Assignment has been renamed as "Weekly Dispatch", and students "Grades" are labelled as "My Dispatch Record".  Students have access to "Navigating your Travels" nested modules created by our Library that allow learners to review content, complete self-check quizzes, add to course resources through a wiki, etc.  They take a final quiz "Passports Please!" after they complete their Library modules.

[debra_russell]

Hi Simone you have some great suggestions hereto assist developing more interesting courses.

[aw1539]

Problem: The linear aspect of discussions and modules is counterproductive. It requires scrolling down a vertical list every time.

     This is especially an issue in discussion post boards assigned by professors using the discussion feature. The unread function and the search by name help in navigation but these do not give a bird's eye view of the discussion.

     In modules, if several module resources are pinned at the top, the student has to scroll down every time to get to the week's module. Even without pinned resources, this occurs by week 6 on my laptop.

Need:  The discussion board is meant to function not as a single thread but as different knots threaded together.

      Other types of discussions in the course have the same issue. Modules function as mini-courses even though they usually have a chronological aspect.

Proposed solution: Tiles.

         In modules and in discussions, I envision a dashboard of tiles. There would be one tile for each module. And there would be one tile for each topic in a discussion, or for each student who posts a topic. This could be just like the course tiles function in the dashboard. Perhaps new coding would not be needed.

[molly_duggan]

@Kristi Levy

I love your idea!   Modules need t be visually appealing and the current text view gets cluttered very quickly. I have started using my home page as a slash page linking to specific modules, but I still need modules within modules...and the module page just sometimes looks confusing!