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Leveraging White Space

October 13, 2022
Good page design requires balance between white space, or negative space, and positive space. Positive space encompasses all aspects and types of content; on a course page, these objects might include an introductory paragraph, video thumbnail, infographic, callout box, opinion poll, or provocative quotation. Relative to these course components, white space might seem like a nice-to-have. Because it promotes clarity and reduces distortion, however, white space is just as important to instructional page design as content.

Ten Ways to Open the Gate to Accessibility

September 24, 2021
According to the United States Census Bureau, over 57 million Americans, nearly one in five people in the U.S. population, report living with a disability. To make certain all your students can have a successful learning experience, it is important to take steps to make the online learning environment accessible. Find below ten strategies for making your online course space accessible to all users.

Infographic Considerations

September 27, 2021
An infographic is a visual that combines text, graphics, diagrams, and graphs to present information. When used effectively, infographics can be a powerful tool to guide students through the learning process. “Infographics ask for an active response from the viewer, raising the questions, ‘What am I seeing?’ and ‘What does it mean?’” (Krauss, 2012, p. 10). Infographics also present information in an organized way, which can improve students’ critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis skills (Yildirim, 2016).

Don't Leave Your Learners Behind: Start Tackling Web Accessibility Now!

October 17, 2022
If you’re an educator, you're probably familiar with the concept of accessibility, which often manifests in the classroom in the form of accommodations requests to meet specific students' needs. If you're an online educator, you've hopefully heard about web accessibility, which requires adhering to specific guidelines when designing and providing materials via the web, reducing the need for student accommodations by anticipating and removing potential barriers to learning.

Using Hotspots

September 24, 2021
A unique way to share information, images with hotspots offer online learners the opportunity to interact with course content. Learners can click or hover on particular parts of an image and receive pop-ups giving them more information. Hotspots represent information in a particular context; thus, they fulfill the multimedia principle—use words and graphics rather than words alone—and the contiguity principle—align words to corresponding graphics (Clark & Mayer, 2016).

Offering Extensions in Canvas

April 12, 2024
Due dates are a useful pedagogical tool. They help students keep pace to complete the course, populate the To-Do List and Calendar with reminders for both instructors and students, and allow Canvas to work more predictably and efficiently, among other benefits. However, there inevitably come times when a student needs a different time frame than the standard allotment to complete work. This guide will help walk through the considerations needed to extend the due date on an assignment. (Note: Extending the due date of an assignment, discussion, or quiz is different than adding additional attempts at the work. For more information on adding attempts, see the Envision piece Two-Stage Extensions: When a Canvas Quiz Has Limited Attempts and an Availability Date.)

Two-Stage Extensions: When a Canvas Quiz Has Limited Attempts and an Availability Date

April 12, 2024
When a Canvas quiz has a limited number of attempts and an availability date, there are two sets of actions instructors usually need to take to provide a student with an additional attempt or extension on the quiz. First, the instructor will need to add a new quiz attempt for the student. Second, if the availability date has passed or is about to pass, they will need to extend the availability of the quiz. This short guide will walk you through both stages of the process.

Using Synchrony and Asynchrony to Support A Guest Speaker

May 10, 2024
Hosting a guest speaker is not only a great pedagogical tool; it’s also a vivid example of the ways one mode of interaction can enrich the other in a multimodal course. Guest speakers can participate in a class synchronously (e.g., by participating in a synchronous session via online conferencing tools or in person) and/or asynchronously (e.g., by recording video or participating in asynchronous discussion boards). Students find asynchronous guest speakers easier to access, while synchronous speakers offer more opportunities for back-and-forth interaction between students and the guest (Alebaikan, 2016).

Five Ways to Succeed as an Online Instructor

September 24, 2021
Whether experienced or new to online teaching, following these tips on online instruction can make the process more intuitive. The online environment may seem vastly different from the classroom, but these tips will make it feel natural, allowing you to improve student experience, increase teaching efficacy, cultivate engagement, and ensure successful course management.