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Managing Files in Canvas
Students and instructors alike benefit from consistent file management in online courses. Ensuring that students can readily locate and access the files they need serves to promote engagement and completion of course requirements. Similarly, consistent file management helps instructors to navigate through and update materials efficiently and to avoid introducing file-related errors. This post outlines recommendations and key considerations for optimizing file management within your online course. While recommendations and considerations related to Canvas-specific functionality are threaded throughout, you will also find broadly applicable tips pertinent to multiple learning management systems.
LMS Analytics: Supporting Your Students With Data
With the help of tools like Canvas New Analytics, faculty can leverage learning management system (LMS) data to hone their instructional techniques and improve their online students' experience. In this piece, we provide an introduction to learning analytics in online higher education and detail some analytics best practices.
Navigating Canvas New Analytics
At the end of 2019, Canvas rolled out New Analytics, a new version of their former analytics tool, Course Analytics. By Canvas' own description, New Analytics retains the core functionality of Course Analytics while offering a simplified user experience. In this post we share our recommendations for leveraging New Analytics to support students.
Increasing Engagement With Announcements
Announcements are an essential aspect of online course engagement. When surveyed, students rated “sending regular announcements or email reminders” as one of the most beneficial engagement tactics that an instructor can employ (Martin & Bolliger, 2018, p. 216). In Canvas learning management system (LMS), announcements have a distinct advantage over inbox messages or whole-class emails, as announcements allow students to locate important course information in one convenient location, chronologically arranged. In contrast, email or inbox messages can become much more unruly, rendering information harder to find—especially after the course ends. In addition, most students should receive an email every time an instructor posts an announcement.
Five Instructor Feedback Essentials
Providing student feedback is a key component of an instructor’s role and an important part of effective instruction. Research shows that ongoing feedback keeps students engaged and improves their morale, motivation, and learning (Best, et al, 2014). Yet, providing high quality feedback can be a time-consuming commitment, especially in courses with large class sizes or numerous written assessments. Instructors should keep in mind the tools, structure, and best practices that can help them provide feedback.
Student-Generated Content
Student-generated content — materials and tasks created by learners for other learners — can strengthen engagement by providing students an opportunity to express creativity, practice critical thinking, and increase ownership of learning. Developing student-generated content requires learners to produce an instructional artifact, demonstrating new knowledge alongside existing understanding. Student-generated content can include a variety of formats:
The Power of Retrieval Practice
Faculty aim to impart lasting knowledge and skills, but sometimes, learning doesn’t stick. One of the most powerful techniques for enhancing students’ long-term retention is retrieval practice, the process of actively recalling information to mind rather than passively reading or reviewing it. In this piece, we’ll dive into the evidence behind retrieval practice, provide strategies for how to incorporate it into online courses, suggest ways to frame its utility to students to ensure they fully reap the benefits of this learning strategy, and describe specific types of retrieval practice activities.
Types of Retrieval Practice Activities
By incorporating regular retrieval practice into your online course, you can ensure that key takeaways are actually being taken away by students to use in the future rather than being left behind due to lack of use. The following are some specific activities that can help move learners from a hazy recollection of something toward more clarity and permanence.
Accessible PDFs
Developing and delivering accessible instructional content—meaning content that students with and without disabilities can readily engage with and use—is essential to the success of an online course. While many accessibility standards and guidelines are broadly applicable, there are also specific considerations unique to different content formats and delivery modes. In this piece, we present recommendations for enhancing the accessibility of PDFs for students.