- Copy your previous Canvas course forward, or;
- Apply the Faculty of Education template or ETS Starter Course.
- If you aren't as confident with Canvas as you'd like to be, schedule a training with the ETS Team.
- Chat with an ETS Learning Designer about your course
- Have a look at the ETS Showcase to see what is possible teaching online.
- Prepare your Library Online Course Reserves (LOCR).
- Use the Online Course Design Readiness Guide to make sure you have all the right elements in place.
- Publish or un-publish Modules, Assignments and Discussions to hide and show specific items in your course before students have access.
- Check the course due dates are accurate and use Student View to make sure everything looks as it should for your students.
- HINT: You can also submit an assignment as a Test Student and practice grading and providing feedback.
- Publish your course so students can access it when the term starts.
- Use Faculty Service Centre (FSC) to send a message to your students, notifying them that the course is ready to access.
- Use Canvas's Announcements feature to send a welcome announcement.
- Participate in a 'Let's get to know each other' activity, where you can start establishing a learning community and modelling good online discourse.
- Post an Announcement in text or video at the start of every week to both introduce the next week’s topic and to wrap up the previous week, making sure to highlight relevant course events and student discourse.
- Participate in online discourse (e.g., discussions, group chat, etc.). Instructors do not need to respond to every student, as online courses should be more about student discourse. The instructor should contribute to push the conversation forward, or to bring the conversation back, if it deviates.
- Hold online office hours as needed through a web conferencing platform such as Bb Collaborate Ultra or Zoom.
- Provide timely feedback to your students on their assessments. You can use voice or video feedback options in Canvas. Students appreciate this as it feels like you are meeting with them individually.
- To ensure students are progressing through the course and engaging on the same activities together you can:
- Lock Modules and release on the appropriate date or;
- Manually publish modules on the appropriate date (note that any assignments in these modules will also be hidden until publised);
- Check results for the initial Learner Experience Survey provided. This can inform how to adapt the design of your course and your instructional strategies for the rest of the term.
- If multiple students have similar questions about an assignment or activity, update the instructions for these items to ensure clarity for other students.
- Check results for the final Learner Experience Survey. This can inform how to make changes to your course for the next offering.
- Chat with an ETS Learning Designer if you'd like to have a look at data that can help to inform your iteration work.