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...

A new feature in the FeedbackFruits (FbFs) Peer Review tool allows students to request an accessible version of the document they are assigned to review. Because peer review might be configured so that submitter and reviewer are anonymous, the request for an accessible version of the document goes to the instructor who manages the request . But wouldn’t it be better if all students were aware of these practices before they begin the assignment? Instructors can use this as an opportunity to reinforce accessibility practices, creating a classroom community that practices accessible practices. Ensure your assignments are accessible to all students from the start by learning the benefits of accessible design . In order to proactively manage requests for accessible documents and other resources, it is important to model good accessibility practices and encourage your students to do the same.  Accessible Documents When creating an assignment, include resources that show students how t...

Do you use collaboration in your classes? Do you find that peer interactions boost learning? Do you wish there was an easier way to manage peer learning? FeedbackFruits, a new Canvas-integrated tool at the University of Minnesota, may be able to help.  Why peer learning? Research indicates that peer assessment is effective, leading to gains in both meta-cognition and transferable skills (Topping, 2017). Further, it’s been found that online peer feedback may be even more effective than offline or in-person peer feedback (Jongsma, Scholten, van Muijlwijk-Koezen & Meeter, 2022). In practice, however, instructors find that the logistics, planning, and facilitation of peer learning are challenging. At UMN, instructors and staff have long acknowledged that while they wished to use peer learning strategies, the available academic technologies were often making the process more difficult. The urgent need for improved collaboration learning tools emerged out of a process to identif...

Do you use media (video and audio) in your courses and share them with your students via Kaltura in Canvas? Did you know it is possible to search inside Kaltura media? A keyword search of all the videos in a course's Media Gallery allows students to quickly find content they need to review. Content Kaltura Can Search Captions and Translations All media added to Kaltura receives auto-generated captions. A keyword search scans captions and delivers timestamped results. Click the timestamp to jump straight to the relevant point in the recording. Similarly, it’s possible to search within translations. Slide Text and Chapter Contents A keyword search finds text in “chapters” within media in Kaltura. When videos are created using Kaltura Capture while doing a screen capture of a PowerPoint presentation, text in the slide deck is added to chapters in your media in Kaltura, which allows viewers to find specific passages in the recording more easily. Kaltura Unified Results Whether your k...

Have you ever noticed the “External Tool” option in Canvas and wondered what that’s about? Instructors use external tools to extend the functionality of Canvas to deliver course content, facilitate student activities, assess student progress and connect to the Canvas gradebook – all without students needing a new login and password for each vendor.  What “External Tools” are sometimes called “third-party tools”, “Learning Tools” or LTIs (Learning Tool Interoperability). Common external tools integrated into Canvas include VoiceThread , ChimeIn 2 , Kaltura Video Quiz and textbook publishers such as McGraw-Hill and Pearson .  When When you wish to augment your course, check the full list of external learning tools already integrated into Canvas . If the tool you want is not on this list, beware of vendor claims of how easily and quickly you can integrate it with Canvas . All tools must first undergo a rigorous vetting for security, privacy, data retention, and operational sust...

Do you host office hours to answer questions and deepen student learning?  Are struggling students, who would really benefit from office hours, not attending?  Would you like to increase attendance and enhance participation?  Change the name Retitle 'Office Hours' to 'Student Hours' to increase attendance. Students have disclosed that they thought 'Office Hours' refers to when instructors are physically on campus and that the time is dedicated to their own research and class preparation. Students mistakenly assume stopping by is an interruption! Changing the name, or at least emphasizing to students that this time is set aside for them , may increase attendance.  Vary the Format Through Canvas you can set appointment blocks where students schedule one-on-ones or you can set open times for students to drop in. Read, Canvas: Use the Calendar to Schedule Office Hours for specifics. Consider dedicating time slots that are open to drop-ins and allow multiple studen...