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How Canvas Supports Learner-Centred Assessment
By Roberta Campbell-Chudoba This post is part of a series about using Canvas to integrate the eight Learning Technology Ecosystem Principles. You can find more about these principles here; in this post, we look at the eighth and final principle. Inclusive of learning-centred assessment: Learning and feedback are iterative, and assessment comes from multiple sources, including self, peers, teachers, and outside experts. Effective assessment practices follow from a learner-centred teaching approach, with practices designed to produce evidence of the kind of learning you want to measure, aligned with the learning outcomes for the course. Feedback needs to be both affirming and corrective in order for any of us to learn, and if…
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How Canvas Tools Can Enable Connection
By Roberta Campbell-Chudoba This post is part of a series about using Canvas to integrate the eight Learning Technology Ecosystem Principles. You can find more about these principles here; in this post, we look at the seventh principle. Designed to enable connection: Learners exist in accessible networks, and connect to the experiences, concepts, people, and ideas that they need. The importance of connection Research across disciplines – from anthropology, to developmental psychology, to cognitive neuroscience – demonstrates that our sociality is interwoven with our learning processes. Important factors in social pedagogy and in establishing a social learning space include building a sense of belonging and a sense of community, and instructor…
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Managing and Facilitating Discussions in Canvas
By Roberta Campbell-Chudoba This is the third post in a series of four about using discussions in Canvas to support student learning. Once you’ve settled on why and how discussions will be used in your course and have set up the initial discussion(s) and specific guidelines for posting, let students know your plan for how you or a TA will be moderating the posts. Your involvement in discussions, especially initial ones, is vital for guiding the direction for learning – reading, commenting, encouraging, and sometimes redirecting the conversation, helps foster consistent and substantive dialogue between students and with you. Considerations around your involvement, dependent on the types and number of…
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Setting Up Discussions in Canvas
By Roberta Campbell-Chudoba This is the second post in a series of four about using discussions in Canvas to support student learning. Discussions can be set up from within a module, or from the Discussions index page found by clicking on the Discussions link in the course navigation menu on the left of the course screen. Choose ‘Discussions’ as the option for adding one within a module, or click on the +Discussion button on the Discussions Index page, top right of the screen, as below. First, choose a title that is clear and indicative of the discussion’s focus and then give explicit directions for posting. Consider including the following…
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Creating Discussions in Canvas to Support Student Learning
By Roberta Campbell-Chudoba The technical creation of a discussion in Canvas is relatively straightforward and intuitive. What requires deeper initial consideration is how using the discussion tool will support student learning. Here, we look at the necessary planning for setting up purposeful discussions, then the post that follows, we’ll go through the technical aspects of discussion set-up. This is the first post of four in a series on using the Discussions tool in Canvas. Why use discussions? Substantial research over the past 20 years indicates discussion forums can be places where high quality discussions take place, to rival the quality of in-class discussions and include contributions from all students. As…
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Just the Right Amount of Workload
In the story of Goldilocks, the main character tries bowls of porridge that are too hot and too cold. Finally, Goldilocks settles on a porridge that is just the right temperature. Figuring out the right, or adequate, amount of work for students is a Goldilocks opportunity – tweaking and adjusting to find the right mix, amount, consistency, and taste. The video below summarizes how we can reflect and plan for an appropriate amount of student workload. We were inspired by conversations in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources. How much work are we asking students to do in the remote context? More/less than in face-to-face, more/less engagement, more/less synchronous, asynchronous,…