145 Canvas Course Design Templates – 11.30.2018

In the November 30, 2018 Active Teaching Lab, participants experimented with how Canvas course design templates can be used to take the bite out of January back-to-school prep. Lab contributors showcased professionally designed, plug-and-go Canvas course templates that allow instructors to devote time and brain power to content, not Canvas. Attendees discussed the pros and cons of available template options and how they can simplify course setup. Preview the templates here.

Takeaways

• The templates are the product of an interdisciplinary team collaboration and, thus, reflect intentional design informed by experts in both pedagogy and academic technology.
• The templates provide time-saving structure while remaining flexible enough to adapt to the needs of a variety of fields.
• The templates are mobile compatible so that information is clearly conveyed whether students access the course on a laptop or on their phones. Ease of mobile viewing can encourage students to check your course more regularly since they can do so on the go.

For more information on and to get started with Canvas templates, visit the session’s activity sheet.

Video

The Active Teaching Lab is a Faculty Engagement program with sessions held on Thursdays from 1:00-2:00pm (room 302) and Fridays from 8:30-9:45am (room 120) in the Middleton Building (1305 Linden Dr.) during fall 2018. Check out upcoming Labs or read the recaps from past Labs. We build interdisciplinary conversations that are more emergent than a presenter and more dynamic than a panel — a conversation with colleagues sharing challenges, solutions, and experiments on topics selected by a variety of stakeholders.

Sign up for regular Lab announcements by sending an email to join-activeteaching@lists.wisc.edu.