John, Chapter 5
Exploring Special Features
Extending the class day is a vital concern for teachers. Using Canvas on mobile devices, such as phones and iPads are an important dimension of achieving that goal. Pages 133-147 explore this using Canvas this way.
However, the real meat of this chapter is in Creating Collaborations (one of the 4 Cs) and Setting Up Outcomes. These two topics (including the discussion of rubrics (under Setting Up Outcomes) is where attention should be focused in working on this chapter.
When one is using Canvas, integrating outside apps will become important, but initially it is difficult to know what outside apps will be wanted. That simply adds to the complexity of learning Canvas.
Course analysis and evaluation is always important, but the text is discussing the analysis in terms of quantifying how Canvas was used as a technology. Course analysis and evaluation goes way beyond these considerations into elements of the course success on content attainment - but that is beyond what Canvas can do for you. Again, this will be more meaningful after one is established in Canvas, not at the beginning.
1. Using Canvas on Your Mobile Devices - Pages 133-147
2. Creating Collaborations - Pages 147-151
3. Setting Up Outcomes - Pages 152-166
4. Integrating Outside Apps - Pages 166-170
5. Course Analytics and Statistics - Pages 170-173
Extending the class day is a vital concern for teachers. Using Canvas on mobile devices, such as phones and iPads are an important dimension of achieving that goal. Pages 133-147 explore this using Canvas this way.
However, the real meat of this chapter is in Creating Collaborations (one of the 4 Cs) and Setting Up Outcomes. These two topics (including the discussion of rubrics (under Setting Up Outcomes) is where attention should be focused in working on this chapter.
When one is using Canvas, integrating outside apps will become important, but initially it is difficult to know what outside apps will be wanted. That simply adds to the complexity of learning Canvas.
Course analysis and evaluation is always important, but the text is discussing the analysis in terms of quantifying how Canvas was used as a technology. Course analysis and evaluation goes way beyond these considerations into elements of the course success on content attainment - but that is beyond what Canvas can do for you. Again, this will be more meaningful after one is established in Canvas, not at the beginning.
1. Using Canvas on Your Mobile Devices - Pages 133-147
- Specifics:
- Showing the use of Canvas on a mobile device would be difficult for you to show, unless we bring in iPads. However, I think most students and teachers might use Canvas from their phones. I do not have a way to show Android phones on the screen, though. So, I will not ask you to present your use of Canvas on a mobile device as part of your presentation.
- Using Canvas on a mobile device is important, though, as it takes up almost half of this chapter. So, please read the section on using Canvas from a mobile device and write about it in your review of this chapter.
2. Creating Collaborations - Pages 147-151
- Specifics:
- Set up a Collaboration to include in one of your modules with a small group or pair of students in your class.
- It would be difficult for you to edit or delete a Collaboration in your presentation, so I am not asking you to do that.
- Your writeup about this chapter not only should speak about how to set up a collaboration, but also about how to edit and delete a collaboration.
3. Setting Up Outcomes - Pages 152-166
- Specifics:
- Create an Outcome in the way your text describes.
- Create an Outcome Group in the way your text describes.
- Where you can find an existing outcome is problematic. If you were in a school setting, it is probable that a school district might set up outcomes for you to use. So, one is not expected to find an existing Outcome to demonstrate in your presentation, but one still should mention it in the writeup of the chapter.
- Creating Rubrics (pages 159-166)
- Specifics:
- Create a rubric that can be used with Outcomes your course.
- Add a rubric to an assignment
- Since using a rubric for an assessment involves using the SpeedGrader, one is not expected to do this in your course for presentation in class. It should be mentioned in your writeup of the chapter, however.
4. Integrating Outside Apps - Pages 166-170
- Specifics:
- Integrate an outside app into your classroom. As the text recommends, the Khan Academy would be an excellent choice (https://www.khanacademy.org/), but You Tube (or Vimeo) might be more familiar to you. The learning objective to this course is how to make a connection to an outside app, so the fact that You Tube is likely to be blocked in many schools is not important for this assignment. Since using You Tube is described in detail in the chapter, feel free to use You Tube
5. Course Analytics and Statistics - Pages 170-173
- Specifics:
- The learning course sites you have developed for this course are unlikely to have generated very much in terms of useful data for course analytics or statistical considerations. So, the class presentation is not required to present anything about course analytics or statistics.
- Course analytics and statistics ARE important, however. Your written report on this chapter should report on these two areas of Canvas use.