When ISD announced that they would be adopting Canvas to help our schools better meet the needs of our kids during the Covid-19 pandemic, I was relieved and thrilled. One of my key gripes during our time with this district was that the online presence of teachers, via their online pages, was erratic, unorganized, difficult to navigate (for parents and students) and uneven in quality and usefulness.
Canvas will go a long way to solving that problem.
It provides a standard, one-stop shopping approach to teacher's
websites, in addition to allowing a versatile set of options for
managing online learning. Even after Covid-19 is in our history books,
Canvas will be a useful tool for teachers and students... and for
parents. I promise it will be one of the good things that come out of
this pandemic.
But,
like all things new, this will involve some growing pains, for
students, for our teachers, but also for parents. We often have a
harder time learning new "stuff", while our kids adapt relatively
quickly. (I still haven't figured out SnapChat...)
I am an enthusiastic user of Canvas, both as an online instructor for
10 years but also as a parent of kids in colleges who use this system
for their own classes. That said, I understand that this will be intimidating and yet one more thing for over-stressed parents to have to learn. But if you put in the time now, it will be so worth it, for you and for your child.
The
resources in all of these blog pages are a good place to start. Please
review them at your leisure. Each are open to comments and questions
and discussions about the information included. While I don't want to
flood everyone with information, as new resources become available, I
will post them.
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Orientation tour
This is a very *basic* look at the Canvas Platform. It's short, to the point, and will give you place to start before moving onto more in-depth resources.
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Three Keys to Online Success
1. Time Management
Organize your time: Use a planner, your phone, a white board (the Canvas Calendar helps a lot!), or any method you are comfortable with to make a schedule for class assignments, including all due dates and exam dates. Include your fixed responsibilities such as work, family obligations, and any personal appointments in your calendar as well.
Self-awareness: Don’t over-schedule your time. Be realistic and allow for breaks and free time so that you don’t feel guilty taking breaks and to ensure you do not get burnt out. The best time to do your virtual coursework is when you have the most energy. Online learning is difficult enough without trying to accomplish it while not at your peak performance level.
2. Computer Requirements
Canvas: Your course will be hosted through our District's online learning management system, Canvas. Your courses should be available on the first day of the class. Make sure to bookmark the Canvas website as you will need it often throughout the term.
Browsers: Canvas works best in Firefox or Google Chrome.
3. Communication Online
Netiquette is a set of reminders as to how to behave in an online setting. (See below.)
[Adapted from the College of the Canyons online learning page.]
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Netiquette Rules to Learn By
