What is the best way to organize content as an instructor?

[sbridge]

I understand Canvas's push for module organization for the student and I'm not opposed to it.  However I'm one month into school teaching 3 preps.  I am building my modules.  Everytime I go to add something to a module I find this:

Since I do bellringer "quizzes" 4 days a week, a Formative Assessment one day a week, and a Quiz on Friday, I'm essentially adding 6 "quizzes" each week to ONE class.  

IF I use Quizzes New, the actual assignments are also added...so I'm potentially adding 6-10 things per week to this course.  The list of items (in Assignments, Pages, Quizzes, you name it) is becoming huge to scroll through to find what I want to add as an instructor.

I've read numerous posts, blogs, and questions about folders in folders and it seems they all come back to suggesting using modules.  Am I missing something?  I'm trying to use modules and for the students its fine but even with naming devices this is a huge task and will only get more cumbersome as the semester rolls on.

Can anyone help me better understand how to organize my content?

Please don't tell me to make assignment groups, because I have to have the groups the same as my gradebook for our SIS sync.  I can't make an Ecology "Group" of assignments as that then doesn't sync into our gradebook as practice, lab or assessment.  Additionally, my Ecology unit is 5 weeks long, so even then its 50 pieces of content, minimum, not counting the "extra resources" I want to  post.

Here's an example of one of my Modules:

Thinking of having 18 of these is daunting...

[kmeeusen]

Hi  @sbridge 

Almost every published study out there recommends modularization as a best practice.  I have been using modules for 7+ years now, and have never had a student complain about them; however, when we first switched to Canvas from an LMS that used a folder structure with nesting capability, students who had experienced both systems commented that they liked modules much better.  Modules are much more accessible to students, and they can collapse unused or already used modules.  I have a blog about this in this Community you might want to check out at Share UDL Course Design Tips, Tricks, and Techniques I include several structure/organization examples in this blog.

Here is a link to a great article in Faculty Focus, A Modular Course Design Benefits Instructor and Students.

I hope some of this helps, and I am sure others will chime in.

Kelley

[sbridge]

Thanks Kelly, I actually read your blog as part of my research. My concern

is that I started modules for each week to keep the items inside the module

feasible without being overwhelming. This meant I would have 18+ modules

per semester, seemed like a lot!

I really wanted a module structure like this:

Ecology

- Week 1:

- Notes

- Assignments

- Labs

- Formative Assessments

- Week 2:

-

- Notes

- Assignments

- Labs

- Formative Assessments

Ideally the student could collapse the weeks they weren't using, but that

requires modules in modules which is not an option. My ecology unit is 5

weeks long....the "list" created when the 5 weekly modules are open is

overwhelming to students.

Another questions regarding modules. When I create a module in a blueprint

course, and then push it out to commons and import it into my honors course

(basics are then same, then planned to tweak the honors by adding to it) it

doesn't bring any of the content with...quizzes, assignments, etc. So I

find I have to rebuild anyway.

I tried this with my students this week:

The homepage leads to this:

Its visibly ugly but the student response was overwhelmingly "that's

better"

Is this considered modules?

I look forward to hearing feedback and would appreciate screen shots of

organization.

Thanks

On Mon, Sep 9, 2019 at 11:49 AM Kelley L. Meeusen <instructure@jiveon.com>

[kmeeusen]

Hi again,  @sbridge 

Ultimately, course design is up to you unless your school enforces some other standard. However, I can tell you that what you attempted with BluePrint courses is not how they are intended to work. BluePrint courses are intended to be "associated" and synced with courses within Canvas, not exported to Commons, then re-imported.  Here is some help in understanding how to use BluePrint courses, and you will need your Canvas Admin to help with part of the process.

• How do I enable a course as a blueprint course as an admin? 
• How do I associate a course with a blueprint course as an admin? 
• How do I manage content for a course associated with a blueprint course? 

There are also a series of blogs on BluePrint courses that you might want to check out at......

• Tips for Designing and Maintaining Blueprint Courses 
• Lessons Learned about Blueprint Courses: Introduction 
• Lessons Learned about Blueprint Courses: Getting Buy-In 
• Lessons Learned about Blueprint Courses: Replacing Course Copy Workflows 
• Lessons Learned from a Year with Blueprint Courses 
• https://community.canvaslms.com/groups/higher-ed/blog/2017/12/01/lessons-learned-about-blueprint-cou... 

Seem like a lot, but BluePrint courses are a rather complex process. Anyways, I hope some of this has helped.

Kelley

[Stef_retired]

 @sbridge , I just looked back at one of the old courses I used to teach and found that it contained 20 modules. Each one is organized with multiple text headers; a typical module contains around 10 items. This is admittedly only one person's experience, but I taught hundreds of students using this module design and they had no trouble navigating through the items.

[sbridge]

#StefanieSanders Out of curiosity...what grade level? I'm finding my

freshmen in high school with limited online "class work" and new to

chromebooks are struggling. This is NOT necessarily a Canvas issue but I

have found when I take grad classes via the university, the Module and

style that works at that level isn't as feasible with younger learners.

They don't have the motivation and cognitive organizational strategies they

need to move through massive amounts of content. I've told them everyday

for 4 weeks to CLOSE THE MODULES they aren't using and they still leave

them open and are scrolling through pages and getting lost. I hate to

"unpublish" old modules because they won't have them for reference but I'm

tempted....

On Tue, Sep 10, 2019 at 7:54 AM stefaniesanders <instructure@jiveon.com>

[Stef_retired]

 @sbridge ‌, good point! Although I had a number of 16-year-old dual enrollment students in my courses, the courses themselves were offered by a college, and the majority of my students were non-traditional; many were not digital natives, and some were not native English speakers. So it's different from your scenario, but probably just as challenging. The first week or two of every semester always involved some training—and I purposely designed the course grading scheme so that early assignments contributed only a small amount to the final grade in order to give my students a chance to get acclimated to the new tools.

[MarikaMcFall]

Has there been any more updates with this feature suggestion since 2019? Scrolling through ALL the modules, headings, and items to find the unit, heading (folder) and item a student wants is cumbersome, unnecessary and clumsy looking on the page. (Though they are capable, my freshman "can't find it". They say there is "way too much stuff". They need the organization, as do parents. Thanks.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @MarikaMcFall ...

You might try the indentation of module items in your course...to make things look a little bit more organized for you and your students.  I provided a more detailed response here for you:

Solved: Re: Nesting Blackboard folders in modules - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)

[MarikaMcFall]

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried that. It does not solve the issue. It makes the very lengthy list a bit easier to navigate, but does not reduce, condense, or simplify the list for navigation by parents and students.   

Is this being considered as a feature?  My district is adopting CANVAS for NEXT school year.  I am one of 50+ teachers piloting it this year and we are all frustrated with being unable to house resources in an organized and clean way for our students. (Not lengthy lists.)  Do you have a solution that houses, for example, all Unit 2 additional resources (extra practice, videos, practice solutions, etc.) in an organized and condensed way?  These would be examples of "folders" within a module that I want available and easy for students to find, but not mixed in with the daily required work.  I teach students from AP seniors to freshmen on IEPs who need help with executive functioning skills.  The "list" that modules creates is going to be confusing and overwhelming for them.

Thank you, again. 

[Chris_Hofer]

Good morning, @MarikaMcFall ...

Just a couple quick notes...  CANVAS doesn't need to be in all caps.  Also, I am not an Instructure employee, so I cannot speak to everything that they may have planned to implement in Canvas.  But, I can point you to the Product Roadmap - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com) where you can get a better idea of some of the things that they are working on for the future.

I totally get the need and/or want to be able to have folders within the "Modules" portion of your course.  I guess I would compare this to getting a new car.  I may really like a lot of the features of my new car, but I miss a feature I used to have with my previous car.  Or, I am considering moving to AZ soon, and I'm quickly learning that I might not be able to find a house that has as much square footage of living space as my current house in WI...so I am now having to try and get rid of stuff at my current home that I may not need in a new home.

All that being said, one option for you would be to keep your "Files" area of your course visible to your students.  Not all instructors want to keep this screen visible to their students, but in your case, you might want to do this.  Then, you could create folders within your "Files" screen...labeled with the same name as your module names.  You could then organize any of your files the way you wanted in those folders, sub-folders, etc.  Then, on your modules page, you could just include a link to the specific file...or you could create a content page with a link to the "Files" area of the course.

Since your status here in the Community is still a New Member, you may not yet be able to create a new Feature Idea, but this might be another consideration for you to suggest (once you do "more of the things" here in the Community).  Here are some Guides on how to create Feature Ideas:

• How do idea conversations work in the Instructure Community?
• What is the feature development process for Instructure products?
• How do I create a new idea conversation in the Instructure Community?

Here are a couple blog posts about the ranking system here in the Community:

• Welcome New Members - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)
• Updates to Community Ranks and Roles - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)

I hope this info will help a bit.  Sing out if there are questions...thanks!

[MarikaMcFall]

Thanks for the clarifications. I'll give the Files a shot. That may be a good solutions for those items that are not daily tasks or pieces of the lesson I may include in a Module.
Follow up question: Is there a way to look at other instructors' courses to see how they organize their materials for students?

[Chris_Hofer]

@MarikaMcFall ...

Yes...I can think of a couple ways that you could view content from another instructor's course:

• At the school I used to work for, we set up a custom "Viewer" role (which was based on the "Teacher" role with some permissions turned off).  The "Viewer" role allowed an instructor to view to view a course but not make edits to it.  So, your school's Canvas administrator could create a new role called "Viewer", and then you would be enrolled in your colleague's course with that new role.  Of course, you'd want to make sure that you're careful of potential FERPA issues if there are students enrolled in your colleague's course.
• Maybe a safer way to do something similar is to have a copy of your colleague's course imported into a blank course shell.  Then, you could be enrolled in that course as a "Teacher".  This option wouldn't require the creation of a new "Viewer" role as described above.  Once you get access to this new course shell, you can view the content whenever you want, and there wouldn't be students enrolled in it...as you are just looking at the curriculum content.

I'd say...run these ideas past your school's Canvas admin to see what he/she has to say.  They may be willing to provide some kind of access for you.  Hope this helps!

[JaredWall]

Have you ever tried adding a page to the top of each module that contains the links to all activities in the order you want them completed? You can add links to course items on a page and basically create a module overview (roadmap of sorts) that you can send students to to click directly into the activity or resource you want them in. You could even have a module at the top of the course with each of the module roadmaps in the order they will be completed. Makes finding things easy for students while allowing you the flexibility to create using links and embedded information.

[achatfie]

This may be a little outdated as a suggestion, but I organize my modules by week and make sure to move the current week to the top of the page (clicking on the three dots, selecting move module, and move to the top). This ensures that the most recent content is easiest to find, but also allows me to keep older materials for students to scroll through. 

[Shar]

Hi Stephanie Bridge,

I am a little late the conversation and you've gotten great advice from stefaniesanders‌ and  @kmeeusen ‌! I just want to chime in that yes, embrace the modules and pack those suckers up with whatever you need to have. It'll get to be a lot but after you have it built (and named) you don't have to create it again.

And yes, a blueprint course is meant to be the master/parent course with the content that gets pushed to the associated/child courses. So if I was still teaching in K-12, I'd use the blueprint to be my master that pushes content to my 6 periods of class and for the honors course, I could add or move things around but I know that everyone is getting the same basics.

As far as managing your course content, if you have the ability to create multiple Canvas courses at your school, you could create different sandbox courses for each of your units. Bridge-Sandbox-Ecology and then just have all your ecology modules built there and appropriately named knowing that you'll be importing that content into the course shell you use for your students. Again, if I was still teaching in K-12 and had to use the same Canvas shell for my students for the whole year (with multiple grading periods) I'd for sure have my own separate sandboxes for my main units of study so that I could work on those items in isolation before students see them and then import into the live courses.

By the way, what are you using as the homepage in your course? is the modules page or do you have a specialized landing page like you showed in the image screen shot with Unit C-2 Homepage? You could rotate out those as the homepage for the week/9-weeks.

Hope this reply helps and yes, embrace lots of items in your modules!
Cheers - Shar

[sbridge]

Thanks...as I move into my 3rd month I'm getting better! Still a long ways to go.  This seems great for courses where once you have it set up you can use it over and over...unfortunately my curriculum is dynamic in many areas and I see it as a lot of rebuilding every year...but time will tell.  Thanks for chiming in...blending peoples ideas has helped a lot.