Canvas can be a great tool to support teaching and learning in face-to-face environments. Used appropriately, Canvas can help manage your class by delivering course-related activities and resources in a streamlined fashion. Unfortunately, there are a few too many occurrences of learning management system misuse spanning from unstructured document repositories to less-than-desirable course design that leave students confused and anxious. Below are 5 tips for faculty that will foster a successful Canvas experience:
Notifications in Canvas is a Global feature. It will adjust frequency of notifications received for ALL of your courses. Notifications are categorized by Course Activities, Discussions, Conversations, Scheduling, Groups, Alerts, and Conferences. Ask questions for each item. For example, do you want to know when a new discussion post or reply is available immediately, or do you check on a daily basis anyway? Would a daily reminder be helpful nonetheless?
The Syllabus page provides you with a tool to organize all of your graded activities and events into one place. Any time you create an assignment, activity, or calendar item with a due date in Canvas, it will automatically populate in the Syllabus tool. It also provides an easy way for your students to locate the Syllabus!
If you have graded activities such as assignments, quizzes, group work, etc., use Canvas as a way to manage your Gradebook and student submission of work completed. Using these tools help manage the flow of information, grades, and feedback to students. Canvas provides Assignment, Discussion, and Quizzing tools for graded activities.
Canvas offers different ways to structure course-related activities, organize information, and deliver content. Canvas classifies the materials and activities you add to your course into types. For example, clicking on "Assignments" will show you every assignment in your course, no matter where it fits in your course sequence. Clicking on "Files" lets you look at all the files that have been uploaded into your course site, irrespective of which page they are designed to appear on.
Canvas offers a variety of methods to communicate with students. You can use the Inbox, Announcements, or Discussion tools to communicate.
By following these tips, you can spend more time focusing on meaningful learning experiences than answering student questions that are not content related.
Have a tip to share? Comment below!
You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in.
As an Instructional Designer at Macomb Community College, I design, develop and facilitate online and on-ground workshops including online faculty certification and Canvas certification. I also support faculty in repurposing courses from an on-ground to an online learning environment, recommend course improvement ideas, and support faculty in using technology to facilitate learning. I obtained an Ed.S. and M.Ed. in Instructional Technology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and a B.A. in Education from the University of Michigan in Dearborn, Michigan.