Aspect of Lesson Design | What Should Be Found in a Quality Canvas Course | ☑ |
Course Information | At least one image that is representative of the course - Brief course description or introduction (link to a page with a longer description if needed)
- Clear “instructions” for participants: where to begin and what to do first. Also, how they will find their day-to-day activities from the front page as the course progresses.
- This could be included on the homepage OR as a link in the course navigation.
Student/Parent Resource Page - A link for both students and parents to access further information regarding material and or content information (ie. video tutorials, EM Family Letters, study links, helpful websites etc…)
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Organization | Course Navigation - Students can navigate to today’s lesson in less than three clicks
- Students can easily find previous lessons (use modules for organization)
Lesson Navigation - Lesson should be easy to follow and in a reasonable order.
- Uses fonts, headings, and/or icons to organize content
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Objective | Include the Objective: - “Students will...” statements identifying what the students will learn and/or be able to do as a result of the lesson
- Kid-friendly language
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Anticipatory Set/Connection to Prior Knowledge | In the Lesson Content: - A “hook” to new learning that helps students understand the focus (ie: Anticipation Guide, Quick Write)
- Connect new content to known content
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Teach and Engage | In the Lesson Content: Consider using pages here - Begin with direct instruction and gradually release independence to students
- Provide materials that offer multiple means of engagement, action and expression, and representation
- Look for materials that are engaging and that have the flexibility to give learners multiple avenues of access.
- Include formative assessment to check for understanding
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Assessment | In the Lesson: - Use formative assessments to gauge students’ levels of engagement. Adjust your methods and materials accordingly. Use the results to inform your instruction as well as to give learners timely feedback on their progress.
- Use flexible summative assessments to get an accurate picture of student skills and understanding as well as the effectiveness of the curriculum itself. Use these assessments to inform refinements to your next lesson as well as your overall teaching practice.
- Students should be given choice in displaying their understanding
- Always include a due date with assignments and quizzes.
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Course Content | - Various media resources
- Working links, files, and videos
- Content is not copyright protected
- Content should be rigorous and appropriate for the intended grade level, requiring students to reach higher levels of thinking such as the top levels of Webb's Depth of Knowledge (DOK) or The Triple E Framework, or the center of the The TPACK Model
- Use consistent and descriptive naming conventions for Modules, Pages, Discussions and activities (example: name the Module ‘Week 1: Pandas in the News’, not just ‘Week 1’).
- Use consistent heading formats and paragraph styles when adding and editing text. For best results and consistency as well as improved accessibility, use the default styles included in the Canvas rich content editor.
- Images can be included for visual appeal and should be relevant to the course.
- The course menu should be adjusted to include only the features that are appropriate for your course. (Example: if you are not using Collaborations, hide it in the Course Menu).
- Avoid using raw URLs that begin with ‘http://’ or ‘http://www’ on the pages (this includes video links).
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Information Literacy | - Incorporates opportunities to teach and allows students to practice good digital citizenship and information literacy
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Student Interaction | Lessons should include at least one of three forms: - Student-Student Interaction (Collaborative projects, discussions, etc.)
- Student-Teacher Interaction (Quality feedback)
- Student-Content Interaction (Engaging content and resources with which students must interact and not just read or watch)
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