Intro to Canvas Inservice

Intro to Canvas – What is the purpose of this class?  You will be able to use this presentation to share with your teachers at your school as a means of introducing Canvas to them and the purpose of using a Learning Management System (LMS)  You will participate in introductory training, which will enable you to develop content in Canvas for yourself.  *This training does prepare you to provide training to your teachers, but there is not an expectation that you will train your teachers at this time (unless you and your school decide to)

CANVAS - What is a LMS?  Canvas is a Learning Management System (LMS). An LMS is software that is used for the delivery of online or blended learning courses and digital content.  It has the capability for course management and administration, progress tracking, communications resources, and grading/reporting.

Why Canvas now?  SAUSD has a goal of developing online curriculum and digital learning resources for use in:  The classroom, in blended learning environments and as a digital resource for teachers.  More features than a teacher webpage, and can support work with students who have 1:1 chromebooks.  Future online learning opportunities for students.  A future district virtual school program.

Canvas: May, June Training Plan (DRAFT)  Introduction to Canvas – Site Leads May 6 and 7 or May 13 and 14 – 3:00 – 5:00 at District Office  Introduction to Canvas – Open to all teachers June 8 and 9– 3:00 – 5:00 at Villa School Library

Canvas: August Training Plan (DRAFT)  “CanvasCon” user conference for SAUSD, IUSD, HBUSD, and Culver City August 4 (more information to follow)  Intermediate Canvas – Site Leads August :00 – 11:00 or 12:30 – 2:30 at District Office  Introduction to Canvas – Open to all teachers August 28 staff development day

Key Features of Canvas:  User friendly  Ability to support a variety of learning objects, such as video and interactive resources beyond text content  Integration with the applications we use the most, such as Aeries, Google, Gooru, etc.  Social features, including chat, video- conferencing, online discussions, etc. to facilitate communication and collaboration.

Benefits to students & teachers  Course content for student access online  Provide student- student and teacher- student collaboration online  Students can access and review course content 24/7  Students can submit coursework online to teachers  Teachers can access content, submitted assignments, communication with students and parents, and grading in one place  More features than a webpage  Accessible to teachers online

Sample Homepage View

Sample Course View

FAQs  Will Canvas connect with Gooru? Teachers may integrate collections from Gooru into a course for students to access directly in Canvas.  Will Canvas connect with Google Apps? The Google Drive Web service allows you to integrate Canvas with your Google account. Teachers and students may link to Google Drive and embed apps in coursework. Once logged on to their Google account, changes users make to the drive will be reflected in Canvas. In addition, group projects may be undertaken using the “Collaborations” feature in Canvas for Google Drive integration.

FAQs  What type of support will I receive in developing my Canvas classroom? Beyond staff development, elementary and secondary teachers will be provided with a course template or “shell” in which to begin adding their content. Some basic components of the shell would include pages for assignments, file sharing, student or staff discussion threads, a calendar, and links pages for storage and retrieval of digital or online resources.  Is Canvas replacing other platforms we use, such as Gooru and Google Apps for Education? No. A learning management system, such as Canvas, is meant to work with our existing resources. Many of our current tools integrate with Canvas to some degree. Think of it as “hub” for a lot of what we already use.

FAQs  Can this be used for staff development or is it only intended for student use? Beyond classroom use, additional functions include creation and storage of resources for professional use and Web page creation.  Will my students be automatically added to my Canvas account now? Currently (this spring semester) students are not in your Canvas account. Beginning in summer school, student accounts will be accessible in Canvas for teacher rostering.  Can I access it anywhere? Yes. Canvas is a Web-based service and all records are backed up on central servers so that you may access it from multiple devices with internet access.

FAQs  Will Canvas work on mobile devices such as iPads or Chromebooks? Canvas may be accessed with these devices, but some features such as speedgrader app, assignment/quiz creation, and conferences and collaborations do not officially work on Safari and Chrome mobile browsers.  What about the gradebook? We are not implementing the gradebook at this time – we are currently using the Aeries gradebook.