It’s the start of the semester: how do you know that your students are ready to learn? Setting a clear learning path for the first four weeks of the course is critical for student success. This post offers strategies that connect learning analytics to classroom practice at the beginning of the semester and provides an instrument to implement those strategies.  It draws on the Unizin Stepping Stones Learning Analytics Curriculum, a cross-institutional effort to prepare faculty to use learning analytics ethically and effectively. Guidelines for using learning analytics We use learning analytics to improve instructional practice, and students are our partners in this process. Take a thoughtful approach, and ensure that your use of learning analytics aligns with ethical principles and educational goals.   Keep in mind, learning analytics must: Benefit the learner. Learning analytics should not focus solely on deficit models that target underperforming students or those cons...

As we begin the semester, there are many factors that we, as instructors, are considering to establish and maintain a classroom atmosphere and Canvas site that empowers better learning. This article focuses on the Canvas Gradebook and how you can use it to support student learning (and make your life easier). We have taken the seven principles of Teaching with Access and Inclusion and turned them into specific actions you can take now and throughout the semester to foster an atmosphere that empowers learning. Teaching with Access and Inclusion Principles Course and Gradebook Design Decisions Integrate diversity – establish difference as inherently valuable by including and supporting diverse voices throughout the course. Recognize student effort for checking/updating their Canvas profile picture , name, pronouns , and/or Name Coach pronunciation as graded activities ( see sample activity ) Expand access – proactively consider accessibility and reduce the nee...