Course Development
Quicklinks
Course Development 101
Course Development FAQ'S
How can I learn more about Canvas?
Below are some resources to get you started:
FAQs:
Do you have any tips on how to build a course in Canvas from scratch?
What do I need to know about importing Bb content into Canvas?
What's the best way to organize the content copied over from Bb?
What can I do about the other courses that I don't teach in the Fall? You could request a Developmental and Special Course Shell to streamline organizing content in Canvas.
What kind of training is there for Canvas? I couldn't figure out how to navigate it.
How can I make my content more accessible?
Some accessibility issues are easier to fix than others; here are some ways you can get started:
Ensure that images have an alternative description that can convey the full meaning of the image.
Fix heading issues in Word documents (the syllabus is a great document to fix).
Select the text you want to make a heading. Select Home and choose the heading you want from the Styles group.
Always choose "Heading 1" for level 1 headings, "Heading 2" for section headings, "Heading 3" for subsection headings, etc. "Normal" is used for paragraphs.
Scanned PDFs are just images of text that can not be read using a screen reader.
Avoid scanning book pages and instead, make a request to the library to get a pdf copy to put in e-reserves.
If you must use a scanned document, make sure it is readable and use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) in Acrobat or Word.
Adobe Acrobat’s EDIT PDF tool uses OCR to recognize and convert text images to text.
Opening the PDF in Microsoft Word will also use OCR to convert it to text.
The conversion will most likely have mistakes.
Add Headers to Document Data Tables
Adding headers to your tables improves how your students navigate tables, especially if they use a screen reader.
Visit the Accessibility Checklist or the Improving Course Accessibility with Anthology Ally training for a quick-start reference to creating more accessible course content.
How can I use Respondus 4.0 to create tests instead of the Canvas In-built tool?
Although Canvas provides an online test creation tool, it is sometimes difficult to print exams from this platform or import/export tests to other courses or Learning Management Systems (LMSs). Respondus 4.0 Test Authoring offers an offline creation tool that makes it easy to author exams and then publish them to an LMS (e.g., Canvas). With Respondus, PC users can also format and print exams/surveys directly from the software, retrieve exam questions from Canvas, and save tests as word files for formatting and printing - very useful for accommodations and OER.
However, Respondus 4.0 is not compatible with Mac OS computers and can only be used on a Windows PC. As an alternative, the Canvas Exam Converter and the Canvas Quiz Converter offers a convenient way for Mac users to build their exams. It allows using Microsoft Word to create a file that users can upload into Blackboard to create a set of questions for use in exams and quizzes with minimal reformatting.
How can I determine the type of results students receive after a test is submitted on Canvas (Test feedback options)?
As an instructor, you can select the Quiz feedback options that will be available to the students after a test is submitted on Canvas:
You can choose to allow students to view their answers, any automatic feedback generated by the quiz for correct or incorrect answers, and which questions they got wrong. Quizzes default to this option, so if you do not want students to see their quiz responses, deselect the checkbox.
As part of this option, you can restrict students view of the quiz results to Only Once After Each Attempt . Students will only be able to view the results immediately after they have completed the quiz—results include both their responses and the correct answers.
Notes:
Students will still see their quiz score upon submitting a quiz when this option is enabled. Because of this, this option may not be appropriate for quizzes that require manual grading, such as essay questions, where students may need to access the quiz results multiple times to see an updated quiz score.
When a quiz is saved with the Only Once After Each Attempt option, you can use the Moderate Quiz feature to give students additional views to their quiz results.
Correct Answers: You can allow students to see correct quiz answers after completing the quiz. This setting enables a green Correct tab on every correct answer for the entire quiz. Quizzes default to this option, so if you do not want students to see the correct answers, deselect the checkbox.
As a part of this option, you can also control when and for how long students can see the correct answers by setting dates (and specific times, if desired) in the Show and Hide fields.
To show answers immediately after quiz is submitted, leave the Show and Hide fields blank.
To create a date range to display the answers, set a start date in the Show field and an ending date in the Hide field.
To always show answers after a specific date, set a date in the Show field.
To hide answers after a specific date, set a date in the Hide field.
Note: If the Only Once After Each Attempt option is selected, it will override any show or hide dates or times. If you want to show or hide correct answers on any specific date or time, the Only Once option should not be selected.
How can I create a Canvas Test Using Excel?
Instructors can create Canvas tests in Excel using this tutorial from Northwestern University on adding quiz questions to Canvas by converting CSV files into QTI zip files.. The tutorial is based on tools created by Kansas State University.
What is Top Hat and How can I use it?
Top Hat is an amazing active learning platform (approved within the College of NSM, with Blackboard integration) that helps professors engage students before, during and after class. Top Hat fosters an interactive and dynamic experience for students regardless of how courses are delivered, while providing them with a real sense of campus community that’s been so dearly missed.
Top Hat also provides one-on-one instructional design services to prep courses, train and work directly with instructors all the way through the semester.
Benefits of Using Top Hat
- Leverage students’ devices to increase participation and gauge student comprehension through real-time feedback
- Automate attendance, participation tracking and grading
- Upload your slides easily and embed interactive questions
- Involve every student in live discussions
- Adopt/Create Low-Cost Customizable Textbooks that are interactive and engaging
- Integrate grades directly to Blackboard
How can I use Top Hat? Top Hat can be used through any mobile device by texting, any smart device through their app, or a web browser. Please refer to the following links and resources to learn how to get started with TopHat:
Teaching with Top Hat | Quick Start Guide for Instructors | System Requirements |
| Top Hat Support.
How can I use Anthology Ally to improve the overall accessibility of my online course material?
Instructors can email an instructional designer to request to have Anthology Ally activated in any of their courses that contain content. Once Ally has been activated in a course, you will begin to see colored gauges to the left of content that has been scanned by the system. Clicking on these gauges open an overlay that identify accessibility issues with the content, why accessibility for the file is important, and how to improve accessibility. Ally provides three helpful features to improve accessibility:
On the student end, Blackboard Ally provides students with accessible alternative formats such as audio and electronic braille for faculty-uploaded content. For example, students can download a text document as an audio file, a scanned PDF as a text file, or a Word document as an HTML page. Click here for more information.
On the faculty end, Anthology Ally uses a gauge accessibility indicator to point out where document formatting can be modified to improve accessibility. For example, if a low red indicator appears next to an uploaded file, the instructor can click the indicator to learn more about the warning and how to fix it. Click here for more information.
Also, on the faculty end, Anthology Ally generates a course accessibility report that acts as a complement to the existing accessibility indicators. It provides an accessibility summary and overview at the course level.
For additional information, please watch the overview video, or download the Blackboard Ally guide.
How can I teach and develop quality and effective online courses based on best practices?
Visit the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Office of Educational Technology Website to register for a self-paced course designed to help faculty develop effective online courses. The course may be completed in 4 – 8 hours, excluding the time needed to complete the learning activities.
How can I develop my ability to understand how my students learn and the best ways to teach them?
Visit the Reflections on Teaching website to find a compilation of resources that you can use to document your teaching effectiveness or get ideas for new teaching strategies and methods.
The semester is about to begin, how do I create a Syllabus?
A syllabus template which can aid you in the creation of your syllabus, and meets the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for online documents is available here. The document would need to either be saved to your own Google drive or downloaded as a Word document to be edited.
When you put a syllabus or other course files in a cloud storage provider (e.g., GoogleDrive, OneDrive, iCloud) you can share them in Blackboard. The advantage of cloud storage for instructors is the ability to make a change to a file on the cloud and see that change reflected on Blackboard without having to transfer the file yourself every semester.
Additionally, instructors also have access to the syllabus builder to create a syllabus on Blackboard Learn.
Where can I find assistance to create accessible content?
The NCDAE (National Center on Disability and Access to Education) has developed one-page accessibility resources to assist anyone who is creating accessible content. Learn more.
Are there any tools that can help me evaluate the design of my online or blended courses?
Blackboard offers an Exemplary Course Program Rubric which contains a set of criteria and descriptions to obtain valuable insights in your course evaluation processes. Additionally, the Quality Matters program provides instructors and course developers with Higher Ed Rubric Standards intended to guide you through the development, evaluation, and improvement of your online and blended courses. Learn more about Why Quality Matters.
Additionally, a Quality Matters Rubric Checklist has been adapted from the QM Rubric to assist you in self-assesing the design and building of your online courses.
I want to create an instructional video, but I don't know where to begin
Video is a great learning tool! To effectively integrate video into your course, you must first determine a specific learning outcome and create an activity that uses the video in support of that objective. A User Guide to get started with creating instructional video and publishing to your course is available here.
Where can I find resources to bring 3D printing to my classroom?
PrintLab and Create Education, provide creative lessons to help instructors integrate 3D printing into their course curriculum.
