Course Development Tips

Canvas Tutorials Course Development Tips

Instructor Getting Started Module

Overview of Course Design

Instructors will use Canvas for online courses and hybrid courses and can choose to use Canvas for traditional face to face courses. It is important to design the course for the format you are currently teaching. This is especially true for online and hybrid courses.  There are many resources available for faculty in the Canvas Commons.  This includes the following resources to help you build an online with the needed support structures in place. Feel free to customize the content as desired.  See the following guides for details on using the Canvas Commons and the starter course.

View the development tips below to gain a better understanding of how to use Canvas with each course format. Click a tab to view.

Online Course Design

Teaching online can be a rewarding experience for instructors and students. Instructors who teach online often find new ways to improve the design of the online course.  When an course is properly designed and managed, it can be just as beneficial for students as traditional course. In fact, many students claim that they actually learn more in the online courses because there is more interaction between them and the instructor. 

Teaching online can be rewarding experience; however, converting course curriculum for online course delivery requires careful planning and preparation time. Review the video and tips below to help you make this smooth process. 

8 Lessons Learned from Teaching Online Links to an external site.from EDUCAUSE Links to an external site.on Vimeo Links to an external site..

Quick Overview of Video Content

Below are the main topics of the video above. 

  1. Provide High Touch over High Tech - Use all the communication options available to you to communicate with your students. 
  2. Use Digital Storytelling - Weave course content into stories to help students remember the content. 
  3. Use Technology Intentionally - Think carefully how you will use Canvas and other technology in the course. 
  4. Leverage External Resources - Use library resources and open educational resources to help fill out your course content. 
  5. Make Your Expectations Explicit - Make sure all assignment directions are clear and to the point so students will understand how to complete the assignment successfully. 
  6. Do Fun and Unexpected Activities - Keep students motivated by posting fun announcements on regular basis. 
  7. Login Regularly - Make your instructor presence know in the course on regular basis. Let students know what your response time will be to messages sent in Canvas. 
  8. Give Students Personal Feedback - When grading assignments be sure to give students personal feedback so they can improve their work in your course. 

Hybrid Course Design

At Lake Land College a hybrid course is defined as a course for which regularly scheduled classroom time that is replaced consistently throughout the semester by required activities completed at distance and managed online. The face-to-face component must be between 1/2 and 2/3 of the total course hours. For example, a course may meet 50% face-to-face and 50% online. Please note that other institutions may use other terms such as blended learning or flipped classrooms to describe this type of course. In Canvas you can use Mastery Paths feature in assignments to allow students to work at their own pace so you can devote more class time to providing students with more individualized help. For more details on the requirements of a hybrid course, you can view the Hybrid Course Proposal form on the campus S drive. Students will attend weekly course meetings on campus and should check the course details in IRIS for dates and times when the class meets. View the resources below to learn more about hybrid courses. 

Traditional Course Design

This format is the traditional face-to-face class where instructor and students meet on regular basis a couple of times week. Instructors teaching traditional courses are not required to use Canvas; however, Canvas can be useful tool for giving students access to their grades and course content. Instructors who do decide to use Canvas should give students detailed information on the first day of class how they plan to Canvas in the course design. Review the following guides for details on how to organize content and create a gradebook. 

Evaluating Your Course Design

If you have been teaching online for a while, it may be useful to evaluate your course design against a course rubric. A good course rubric to use is the Quality Online Course Initiative (QOCI) Rubric Links to an external site. designed by the Illinois Online Network Links to an external site. from the University of Illinois, Springfield Links to an external site.. Use the rubric to evaluate your course design. The rubric is divided into the following sections. 

  1. Instructional Design - Make sure your course content aligns with the course outcomes. Instructors can use Design Tools to build the course structure. 
  2. Communication, Interaction, and Collaboration - Be sure to use the communication tools in Canvas to provide students with frequent updates on what is going on in the course each week. 
  3. Student Evaluation & Assessment - Use the assessment tools (Assignments, Discussions, & Quizzes) in Canvas to create your assessments. Be sure to specify your assignment requirements in the course syllabus. You can set assignment drop rules or weight grades from the assignment page index. See How to Create Assignments for more information. 
  4. Learner Support and Resources - There are several resources available in the Canvas Commons to help you support students. You can download Design Tools Course template from the Canvas Commons You can use module requirements and prerequisites to require students to complete the getting started module. See Using Modules to Organize Content. 
  5. Web Design - Make sure course content is structured so it is easy to navigate and accessible. See Accessibility Guidelines and How to Make Your Course More Accessible for tips on creating accessible content. 
  6. Course Evaluation - Ask a trusted colleague to review your course with the same rubric. Make any changes needed to make improvements to your course design.