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Communication, Community, and Student Engagement in the Online Classroom

September 24, 2021
The most difficult task in transitioning from on-ground to online teaching is determining the best way to emulate the community and engagement inherent in a face-to-face classroom.Consider this: Your online classroom can be even more engaging than an on-campus classroom. Simple tools, such as discussion forums and announcements, can elevate your classroom immensely.

Managing Files in Canvas

February 13, 2024
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.

Written Assignment Best Practices Guide

March 03, 2023
Formal writing requires sustained focus on content and close attention to detail. For these reasons, written assignments can be an effective assessment tool in graduate courses when they are thoughtfully and purposefully designed. This guide provides recommendations for faculty who are looking to harness the pedagogical benefits of written assignments.

Accessing Open Educational Resources

September 24, 2021
While Open Educational Resources (OERs) can take on many forms, including assignments, videos, and articles, open textbooks have provided students with more affordable options for accessing and purchasing required course materials.

Five Need-To-Know Rubric Grading Tips

October 13, 2021
Rubrics provide a framework for students, helping them submit stronger assignments while decreasing confusion as they write and create. While leveraging Canvas to provide clear, efficient, and consistent access to rubric, take a minute to learn a few settings, saving yourself valuable time and a possible headache.

Copyright

September 27, 2021
From time to time instructors may want to include in their courses copyrighted materials like images, print content, audio recordings, or videos. The University of Minnesota Libraries define copyright as “the area of law that deals with creation, ownership, sale, and use of creative and expressive works.”

Presentation Best Practices Guide

December 28, 2022
Many online courses focus on written communication skills, featuring discussion posts, papers, and case study reports among other assignments. However, oral communication and presentation skills are just as integral to students’ success, and, indeed, many employers list presenting as one of the most desirable skills for job candidates (Suhadi et al., 2021).

Improving PowerPoints

September 28, 2021
Sharing information via PowerPoint presentations is a long-established strategy in higher education. Designing PowerPoint presentations for online courses can pose unique challenges; however, best practices can help overcome these hurdles. With time and attention, faculty and instructional designers can create engaging and purposeful presentations with lasting value.

Leveraging CSV Downloads

April 29, 2024
The majority of an online instructor’s course facilitation will occur within the learning management system (LMS). However, there are some tasks that can be improved or streamlined by downloading comma-separated value (CSV) files from Canvas. Running an online course requires balancing a lot of names, assignments, and deadlines, so using Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or another spreadsheet software can assist with course management.

Why and How to Give Extra Credit

June 14, 2024
Granting extra credit opportunities can be controversial. Despite studies showing that students typically have positive feelings toward instructors who allow for extra credit opportunities (Myers & Hatchel, 2019), instructors have an understandable list of concerns about the practice (Cohan, 2018; Dunn & Halonen, 2019). This piece presents some common pros and cons around extra credit and items to consider when implementing extra credit.