Using Announcements in Your Online Course

Course announcements are one of the simplest and most effective ways to communicate with your class, whether you are teaching an entirely online, in-person, or a hybrid course. Particularly for online asynchronous learners, announcements offer a primary channel for regular information to be passed on from the instructor, and a significant tool for building a sense of instructor presence. In this article, we’ll cover some reasons you might send an announcement, a few good practices to keep in mind, and some options and tips particular to using the Announcements tool in Canvas.

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Hidden Gem: Canvas Chat

The Chat tool in Canvas is a very simple and low-bandwidth real-time communication option that, if used deliberately, could provide a quick and easy-to-access way to aid communication in your class, improve your presence as an online instructor, or be a convenient way to structure engaging learning activities in your blended course. 

This post will include a brief overview of the Chat tool, and cover a few ideas for incorporating it into your online or blended teaching plans.

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DEU EdTech Quick Tips – Issue 42

In this Issue: Successful Synchronous Strategies

    • Using Synchronous Sessions: Learning in Real-time
    • Synchronous Session Hack: Use Your Phone as a Document Camera
    • USask Instructor Engages Students with “Escape Room” Learning Activities
    • Get inspired! Share your synchronous success story
    • Articles of Interest for Synchronous Online Learning
    • DEU support and contact information

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DEU EdTech Quick Tips – Issue 39

In this Issue: Podcasting in Teaching and Learning

    • Podcasts as Assignments
    • Podcasts for and by Higher Education Professionals
    • Finding Podcasts to use as Learning Material
    • Consider the limitations of Podcasts
    • UCreate – One Button Studio at Media Production
    • TECHNOLOGY UPDATES:
      • New Recommendation: Migration of Formula Quiz Questions from Blackboard
      • Update Pending: LaTeX in Canvas
    • DEU support and contact information

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