1. Communicating With Your Students

One of the best things about Canvas is the way it can help you stay in touch with your students. Canvas provides various tools for communication, and each is useful in a different way. Here is an overview of the communication options available (Note: you can click on the linked text to delve deeper into those methods). Since communication is essential in creating a community and connection for your students, make sure that you and your students set Canvas Notifications Links to an external site., so everyone is assured to receive all important messages.  

Send Announcements:
Announcements help you reach a large number of students at once and is the fastest way to
communicate with your entire class from within Canvas.

Use Announcements to:

• Introduce your topic for the week. Outline what will be covered (learning outcomes) in the form of written content/ Links to an external site.
• Links to an external site.Remind students about upcoming deadlines or changes.
• Announce important events that may be of interest to your students.

Email Your Students using Canvas:
An effective way to communicate with your students is through email, which is something most people are already familiar with.  The Canvas "Inbox Links to an external site.” is essentially e-mail.  It allows you to send messages to all students Links to an external site. or individual students Links to an external site. in the course without having to leave Canvas. Set your notification settings so that you will be alerted to these e-mails immediately in your PCC email.  You can respond to Canvas e-mail directly from your PCC e-mail account, you do not need to go to the Canvas Inbox to respond.

Use Email in Canvas to:

• Provide updates about the course.
• Communicate individually with students.
• Receive completed coursework/assessments from student.  Keep in mind that students may not have access to a printer or scanner at home.  Students should be able to complete required activities/assessments utilizing standard applications such as Microsoft Word.

2. Delivering Course Content
One of the most critical aspects of a remote course is the quality of its content.  Your content is what provides the stimulus for student learning, engagement and interactions. In your traditional classroom, you share your content with students through lectures, PowerPoint presentations, class discussions, assigned readings or activities, and a variety of other instructional strategies. There are a host of content creation tools available within the Canvas system so you can effectively deliver your course content.  

Upload Your Files/Course Documents:
You can share course documents and information with your students using the Files feature Links to an external site. in Canvas. The Files area provides a place to store all your course materials. Make sure that any files not intended for student Links to an external site. viewing remain unpublished.  Make sure you do publish those you intend students to view.

Use Canvas “Files” to:

• Add files such as Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoint slides, or spreadsheets.
• Upload many documents at once Links to an external site. in to your course using bulk file uploads Links to an external site..
• Organize your course content Links to an external site..
  
  

Arrange Your Course Content in Modules:
Another way to organize your course content is by using Modules which makes it much easier for students to identify what is expected from them. Modules are like a table of contents for your course with headers and sub-sections.  Learn how to Create and Organize Modules in Canvas.

Use Modules to:

• Create structure and consistency for students. A week-by-week format makes it much easier for students to understand expectations for the week, and to find the required content, activities or assessments for the course.
  
  

Record Your Lectures on Video or Create Screencasts:
Video is an easy way for you to pre-record and share lecture content with your class. Learners can lose focus if your videos are at the long end of the spectrum. It’s better that your videos or screencasts are not more than 10 minutes. In Canvas, you can create a Video Links to an external site. right there within many of its tools, including Announcements.

Screencast-O-Matic is another tool in Canvas that allows you to record and edit your lectures by either recording what you are doing on a computer screen, videoing yourself, or even both!  Here’s how you can access Screencast-O-Matic at PCC. Links to an external site.

Use Videos and Screencasts to:

• Record lecture content you would have conveyed in your on-ground classroom.
• Provide structure to lecture content, by recording in small chunks or by topic.
  Create short videos or screencasts, and then purposefully have discussions or a quiz before students view the next segment.   

3. Fostering Student Engagement

Research provides evidence for the connection between higher student engagement and persistence and retention in remote learning. Encouraging student engagement is especially important in the remote environment where students might feel more disconnected and isolated.

Hold Discussions:
Discussions in Canvas provide an easy way for you and your students to start and contribute to conversations about relevant course topics. Discussions can also be created as an assignment that can be graded, and which integrates with the Canvas Gradebook. See this video to learn how to create a Discussion in Canvas.

Use Discussions to:

• Follow-up on a question or conversation that began in your face-to-face classroom, and/or has emerged in your remote classroom.
• Allow students to debate amongst themselves ideas presented in class, while still in a supervised setting.
  Use student input on the discussion boards to enhance and improve the effectiveness of class sessions.

Host Live Lectures:
Many remote instructors use a mix of synchronous and asynchronous activities to engage students in their course. An ideal tool for hosting synchronous meetings and office hours with your class is ConferZoom Links to an external site.. You can use ConferZoom to conduct presentations and meet with your students using webcams, audio, and desktop sharing abilities.

Use Live Lectures to:

• Convey your lecture content.
• Facilitate discussions about the content.
• Have your students work with each other in Break-out Rooms Links to an external site..
• Record and post lectures for students.
• Connect with your students for online office hours* or special study sessions. It is recommended that you continue offering office as hours remotely on the same times/days you had on campus.

ConferZoom Tips:

1. Hold your office hours at the times and days already scheduled for this term.
   
2. If you do not have access to a computer with a camera or a computer off-campus, note that ConferZoom can be run from a smartphone, or device like an IPad. 
3. Employ privacy measures so that your ConferZoom sessions are free from unwanted visitors.
4. Links to an external site.Office Hours can be conducted directly at ConferZoom.org, or using the ConferZoom Canvas Integration.  See the Canvas Instructor Guide for ConferZooom Links to an external site. for more information.
    
   • If using ConferZoom directly, one idea is to create a Home Page Links to an external site. (landing page) in Canvas, where you provide all important information about your remote class including your contact information and the link to your ConferZoom Personal Meeting room (your virtual office).  The link to access your Office Hours will be the same for all students and for all office hours sessions.
     
     

4. Assessing Student Learning

In remote instruction, a variety of assessment strategies can be employed at the beginning, middle, and end of the course. The best practice is to have frequent and varied assessments rather than infrequent high stakes assessments.  The goal is to employ assessment strategies that require students to engage in higher order thinking. This also enhances academic integrity in the remote classroom. It is much harder to cheat when assessments are in the form of projects, presentations, inquiry, reflections, peer-evaluation, or group work, for example. If quizzes or tests are used, then short essay, fill in the blank, and randomized questions are advisable. Remote assessment can be accomplished utilizing many of the tools available within Canvas.

Quizzes and Tests:
You can create a variety of tests and quizzes using Canvas' Quizzes tool.  It has many features you can employ such as limiting the date/time quizzes are available to students. You can place time limits on exams, randomize questions, and force completion if students navigate away from Canvas.  To learn more about creating Quizzes in Canvas see the Quizzes Overview Links to an external site. page.  Keep in mind that some students may require accommodations for test-taking including extended time limits Links to an external site..

Use Quizzes and Tests to:

• Conduct formative and summative assessments
• Gauge learner progress through ungraded quizzes
• Provide students with opportunities for self-assessment
• Get student feedback about the course
  
  

Assignments:
By utilizing the Assignments tool in Canvas, your students can turn in essays, research papers, projects, and video presentations online.  It also enables you to grade and attach feedback as well. 

Use Assignments to:

• Create an Assessment for online submission.
• Apply rubrics to your assessments Links to an external site..
• Check for plagiarism Links to an external site. using Turnitin
• Grade student work online, and provide student feedback using the Canvas