Canvas in the Upper Mid-West

[rislis]

I'm wondering if there are schools in Wisconsin, Minnesota or Iowa that are willing to have a focused look at how we are using Canvas in our K-12 settings. We could all learn from each other - perhaps even set up some site visits and hopefully grow into a productive PLC!  

Holmen is a school district of approximately 4000 students. We currently are using Canvas in our middle school and high school, although it is not mandatory for teachers to do so. Our Instructional Services team is exciting about the possibility of housing our curriculum documents in Canvas, which could potentially draw in interest from our Elementary teachers. If not using Canvas, teachers are using Google Classroom. 

I hope this will spark a round of discussion!  Thanks!

[KristinL]

Hi Lisa!

Great questions!!

There is a Midwest Regional Canvas Users‌ group, but that includes Higher Education institutions and a much larger geographic location. There is also a Minnesota Canvas User Group‌, and we meet face-to-face a few times a year in addition to having the online collaborative space.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this discussion develops!

[donna_bohn]

I think this is a great idea as well.  I am the technology coach at a union high school (the school is the district).  Canvas is mandatory for our teachers and we also house our curriculum in Canvas.  I would like to be able to connect with other schools in the area.

[lmcmillen-b]

Hi all!

Always great to learn from each other!!

I am located in Cedar Rapids Iowa.  We have the 2nd largest enrollment in the State of Iowa with 16,294 students in 21 elementary schools, 6 middle schools and 4 high schools plus various alternative schools.  

We have been using Canvas for about 6 years now.  It was first implemented in the High Schools followed by Middle Schools then the Elementary Schools.  The heaviest users of Canvas would be the High Schools and Middle Schools, but Elementary has been gaining traction.    Elementary has gained traction within the last two years because the curriculum materials are linked within Canvas. 

Canvas is not mandatory, but the teachers are starting to see the benefits and using it more all the time.

Looking forward to the discussions as well!

[ruethj]

Hi!

I am an instructional coach/technology coach at the 2 high schools in Elmbrook School District (Brookfield, WI) and we currently use Canvas at our 4 secondary schools.

We have been using Canvas for about 5 years now and I would definitely be interested in connecting with other schools to learn from them and to share how we are using it!

Joanie Rueth

[arbogasa]

Hi Lisa,

I am the Director of Technology and Personalized Learning in the Verona Area School District. We are a school district in WI that uses Canvas 6-12, again like you, not required. I would love to connect on how things are going and get ideas!

Amy

[tammy_mcclimon]

I am the district librarian in DeWitt Iowa.  We have been using Canvas K-12 for 5 years.  It is only mandatory at the 7-12 level, but the teachers only have to use it for one of the classes they teach.  We are always looking for ways to get elementary involved.  Would love for there to be a midwest users conference.  

Tammy McClimon

[KristinL]

...I wonder what it would take to get a CanvasCon closer to us? Chicago? Minneapolis??

[tammy_mcclimon]

That is why I jumped on the discussion on Canvas. Maybe the powers that be

at Canvas will see a need.

On Thu, Nov 29, 2018 at 8:54 AM kristin.lundstrum@delasalle.com <

[KristinL]

I should officially introduce myself and provide my school's background too!

I am an art teacher, the Canvas Engagement Specialist, and Canvas co-admin at DeLaSalle High School. We're located very close to downtown Minneapolis. DeLaSalle is a diverse private Catholic school of approximately 750 students. Our students all have iPads, so our students spend more time in the Canvas Student app than they do with the browser version.

We went "all in" on our first day of Canvas adoption! It was an intimidating decision to make, but we don't regret it! We are in the middle of our 5th year.

[rislis]

Do you happen to be attending TIES next week?

[tammy_mcclimon]

Sorry I will not be. I truly hope we can get something organized. I can't

figure out the reluctance on Canvas' part to have a Midwest conference.

Tammy

On Tue, Dec 4, 2018 at 8:48 AM rislis@holmen.k12.wi.us <

[timothy_kohl]

I am one of five secondary tech integrators in the secondary schools in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The Oshkosh Area School District has been using Canvas for 4 years in grades 6-8.  We are not requiring it, but we have a lot of proficient users.  We would love to get more teachers on board now that parents are seeing the potential and asking why everyone is not using it.  We are also very interested in how districts use Canvas for proficiency grading, standards based grading, and personalized learning.  These have been struggles for us because of the points based gradebook and quizzes.  

Our team would love to chat more about anything that will help us move our Canvas usage to the next level.

Tim Kohl

[rislis]

Think we should arrange our own Canvas Webinars using Conferences? I'd like to eventually do some site visits, but we can do so much online, too!

Perhaps the first item on the agenda could be best practice suggestions? PD? Favorite tools?

[tiffany_morgan]

Hello!

I'm the Canvas administrator for Iowa Learning Online. We are a supplemental program in Iowa supporting schools and homeschool families by offering fully online high school courses taught by Iowa-licensed teachers. We've been with Canvas for about 4 years now (Moodle prior to Canvas) and really enjoying it. Hoping to learn from and connect with other Canvas admins!

[jacobsc]

HI!  I am the Canvas administrator for West Des Moines Community Schools.  We are in our second year of district-wide adoption.  Love the idea of connecting with other K12 institutions in the Midwest and would be happy to host/plan events if anyone is interested in starting one!

[tammy_mcclimon]

That would be great it you guys to get something going. I know Iowa City

would be interested.

I would be will to help organize also, but Central DeWitt is too small to

get it going on our own.

Thanks,

Tammy McClimon

On Thu, Dec 13, 2018 at 1:39 PM jacobsc@wdmcs.org <instructure@jiveon.com>

[tiffany_morgan]

Hi Carrie and Tambalyn

I know I would be interested in an event and helping however I can. We can share with ILO teachers for their interest. 

Thanks!

[rislis]

Okay - trying to get this ball rolling, folks! I created a public Canvas Course that you can join by going to holmen.instructure.com/login/canvas and click Need a Canvas Account. In the next window, click "I'm a Student," to join the course.

The Join Code you'll use is PFXG8G

 I have started a discussion, thinking we could run a Conference to get to know each other better. I think there's a lot we could learn before we invest in on-site visits.

What do you think? Hope to see you all online soon!

Lisa