SUNY Geneseo’s Canvas support team is excited to share three new opportunities with our user community. We are confident that the colloquialism “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” applies here, too, but we want you be the judge.
? Join us for coffee and conversations about Canvas. Catch a sneak peak of the latest feature releases coming to Canvas. We’ll identify how it impacts your workflow and, bigger picture, members of the Canvas support team will be on-hand to answer questions and discuss design recommendations to maximize efficiencies in your Canvas course management. Teaching faculty and staff who attend will be able to:
- locate the full Canvas release notes documentation within the Community;
- summarize the feature releases impacting teachers and learners;
- infer changes to one’s course management workflow;
- and incorporate new features in course design to fulfill learning outcomes.
The dates chosen for this workshop series coincide with the Canvas feature release schedule and begin this week on February 13th. Held in South 225, workshops will start at 9:00 AM on the following Wednesdays: 3/6, 3/27, 4/18 (Thursday), and 5/8. Registration is not necessary.
? Looking for help with Canvas? Try our new hotline! Best used for Canvas emergencies requiring an immediate response, the Canvas support team will staff the line, on weekdays, from 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM. If we miss you it’s because we are partnering with another user so please leave a message. Your message will automatically create a request for the Canvas support team.
? We invite you to partner with our instructional designers, both masters level professionals, for a deep dive into quality course design. We will focus on specific guiding questions and talk through their various answers. Participants are encouraged to bring a device on which to create something specific to course content. These workshops will begin at 3:00 PM on the dates identified below. Seating is limited so we ask that you complete a registration form and let us know if your plans change.
The workshop on April 1st will explore essential questions instructors should consider in the early stages of course design. Instructors who attend this workshop will be able to:
- articulate the importance of a substantive introduction to the instructor and course;
- establish resources necessary to facilitate learner success in your course;
- identify possible obstacles for accessing course content.
Tangible takeaways can include Pages, template Modules, introductory videos, and more. What do you want to make?
The workshop on April 8th will focus on context as it relates to the visual appearance and readability of course content. Instructors who attend this workshop will be able to:
- leverage Canvas’ rich text editor to incorporate various media;
- explain the importance of contextualizing information within course design;
- articulate the importance of, and duplicate steps to, authorize the Google LTI.
Tangible takeaways can include complete Pages rich with media resources (YouTube, Google Drive files, etc) and Module templates. What do you want to make?
The workshop on April 10th will explore universal standards surrounding Canvas-based course content from the learner’s perspective. Instructors who attend this workshop will be able to:
- become familiar with the challenges that learner might face when accessing Canvas-based content;
- discover options for creating a more user friendly learner experience;
- explore methods and technology that make their courses both accessible and engaging.
Tangible takeaways can include Discussion and Assignment templates inspired by real-world applications of course content, video, and transition of instructor-inspired content into an open educational resource. What do you want to make?
The workshop on April 24th will focus on establishing guidelines for managing student expectations and fostering community within a Canvas-based course. Instructors who attend this workshop will be able to:
- identify Canvas-based technologies to promote a learner’s sense of community;
- develop communication guidelines to include assignment feedback, response to learner inquiry, and Gradebook updates;
- facilitate opportunities for learner-to-learner, learner-to-content, and learner-to-faculty interactions.
Tangible takeaways can include netiquette standards, a “What you can expect from me” policy, instructor biography multimedia, and icebreaking activity templates. What do you want to make?
The workshop on April 29th will explore the Canvas Gradebook and opportunities for giving and receiving of feedback, at all levels, throughout the course. Instructors who attend this workshop will be able to:
- articulate the relationship between learning activities and the Gradebook;
- leverage the Canvas Gradebook to maximize grade transparency;
- duplicate steps necessary to associate a rubric to an assignment.
Tangible takeaways can include the adoption of Geneseo’s Canvas-based grading scheme, weighted Assignment Groups, and custom rubrics. What do you want to make?
Each of these opportunities can be explored individually but the whole is greater than the sum of our parts. Can you imagine the possibilities, for professors and learners, found in supplementing both workshop series with a teaching and learning emergency hotline? We can.
