Things to Consider in the New Year!

As we enter the new year, this Friday Five is 5 observations made regarding our Canvas use and a consideration for each...

1. Quizzes left open...

Each time you make a quiz you can set the Available From and To time and you can set a time limit. If you do not set these items, students may gain some unfair "advantages." For example, they could begin a quiz before you want them to and they can leave the quiz open as long as they want in order to take it "at their leisure".  For security purposes, it is a best practice to set a time limit and to take advantage of the time restrictions. (UPDATE: Please also note that you can set a password (access code) for a quiz. The password can be changed between classes. For more info, scroll down to "Set Quiz Restrictions" in the link above.) Also, refer to the October 6, 2017 Friday Five for a post on using Quiz Logs. Using and sharing this feature with students is a great deterrent.

2. Assignments that have no due dates and then...

somewhere else in Canvas (either in the daily agenda or an Event on the Calendar) there are directions telling the student to complete the assignment by a certain date. This practice creates more work for both the teacher and the student. If an Assignment has a listed due date, the course calendar automatically will have the due date and assignment details added. The assignment will show up on the student's To Do List. Also, remember that you can differentiate due dates on assignments in the Assignment settings. This will put the correct due date for each period (section) on each student's calendar based on the period s/he is in!  Want to reference the assignment on a Page, in a Module, or in an Announcement? No problem, just link the assignment to any of these features. 

3. Reluctance to collect work in Canvas...

Speegrader, speedgrader, speedgrader! If you haven't collected work in Canvas, do yourself a favor and make a New Year's resolution to try! With Speedgrader you can quickly zip through work and leave quick, specific feedback. Then by sync your assignment score to PowerSchool, you will truly improve your workflow. 

4. Missing Modules...

The Year 2 goal for Canvas use is organizing materials in Modules. Refer to the Year 2 Goals Module in the professional learning course for more details, tips, and examples. The beauty of Modules is that they allow for all the different components of Canvas and your course to be neatly organized by unit.  This not only benefits your students but also creates a great course template for you to use in the next school year.

5. Unused items left in Course Navigation...

Canvas can help you provide your students with easy access to course materials, information, and resources. Why not create a cleaner interface by hiding unused features found in Course Navigation? If you aren't using an item such as Collaborations, Chat, and Attendance (to name a few), hide them by following these directions. Also, remember my previous posts about the value of hiding Pages and Files!