Course Essentials
Course Description
This training certificate program will prepare you to begin to use Canvas to bring quality online classes to your students. Over the next few weeks through these units, we will learn about the OEI Course Design Rubric, Accessibility, and Regular Effective Contact while building or augmenting a course that you will be teaching online in an upcoming semester. This interface will also mirror your students' experience as a means for you to consider and obtain a varied perspective between teacher and learner.
Why this course is important to you?
This course gives you a valuable foundation in teaching with Canvas and teaching online. This course is meant to be starting place where you can begin your journey into online education. Completing this course will also certify you to teach online or hybrid courses at any of the three college in the San Mateo County Community Colleges District.
OUR Teaching Philosophy
Bianca's Teaching Philosophy
I love teaching as it is the opportunity to learn collectively from each and share experiences. We all have different elements of our teaching "special sauce" that makes us unique. Inspiring others, sharing best practices and engaging in community is where I've learned some of my best teaching strategies. My role as teacher/guide is to design and facilitate intentional learning experiences that help my colleagues (all of you) thrive. I believe that learning is flexible, iterative, and everchanging. My goal is to encourage you to think critically about your craft, reconnect to your passion for teaching, and support your journey of discovery.
Allison's Teaching Philosophy
I love teaching because I love the idea of helping others to find opportunities and possibilities in their lives. I believe that learning and expanding our knowledge gives us the resources to improve our lives and the lives of our families. I love the idea of playing even a tiny role and helping you all do that. My goal is to meet you where you are and help you to grow and improve in whatever way you need to at this time. I don't believe that learning is a one size fits all activity, and I want you to feel comfortable in bringing your own unique voice and experience to our work in this course. I see the impact of our work in this course as infinite, rippling out to, in turn, improve the lives of you, your students and their families for generations. That thought inspires me to get to work! :)
Textbook
There is no textbook required for this course, but it is packed full of links to how to guides and resources for you to review for more information. Be prepared to bookmark and keep track of resources that you might want to refer back to in the future.
Technical requirements
Fairly recent Mac or PC (not more than three years old) with a current operating system.
Current browser (Chrome or Safari are preferable)
Stable internet connection
Canvas Sandbox
What is a sandbox?
Your sandbox is an empty course shell that you can use to experiment with Canvas. It's a great place to build your course while you're learning to use to Canvas and later on, you can use it try out new tools and techniques that interest you.
When will I get my sandbox?
We have created sandboxes for you already, and you should see an invitation to those in your email inbox and in Canvas. Be sure to accept that invitation to access your sandbox. You might see your sandbox on your Dashboard. It will be called '[yourusename] QOTL sandbox'. If you don't see your sandbox on your Dashboard, you can click on Courses on the left global navigation bar and then click on 'All Courses' to see a list of all of your courses. Your sandbox should be listed at the top of your courses list. Email us if you have any questions about your syllabus, or if you have trouble finding it.
Computer Readiness
This is a list of basic computer system requirements to use Canvas. It is always recommended to use the most up-to-date versions and better connections. Canvas will still run with the minimum specifications, but you may experience slower loading times.
Because it's built using web standards, Canvas runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, or any other device with a modern web browser. Chrome or Firefox are recommended, but not Internet Explorer.
The Computer Readiness Test will test your current browser for plugins and versions to help you navigate general websites. You may want to update your browser.
Canvas also has mobile apps!
To access this course and others as a student, download the Canvas App for iOS or Android. Your students can also download this app to access their Canvas courses on their mobile devices.
You can also download the Canvas Teacher app for free on your iOS or Android device(s) to access your sandbox and other courses as a Teacher. This app allows you to grade student work and communicate with students on the go. Visit the Canvas Teach App Release Notes for information about using the Canvas app.
Recommended Free Software
Student Canvas App: available on the App Store or Google Play. Type “San Mateo Community College District” when you search for your institution.
Adobe Reader: Some of the documents in this course will be available to you in the PDF format. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader software on your computer, you can download it by going to Adobe Reader.
Pronto: for informal communication, consider downloading the mobile app.