Rethinking Teaching with Available Canvas Tools

Our school rolled out Canvas with training last school year and expectations for usage this school year. We have learned a lot as we have moved forward. There has been some frustration and also some excitement with this new learning management system. I received an interesting message from a Canvas salesperson this weekend who thanked me for my post "New to an LMS? Take the time to revamp for high agency learning". He said his background was in sales when he joined the Instructure/Canvas team and he wished he had access to this post when he started because he felt it would have helped him understand what Canvas can do for educators better. I do believe we are in a world where new technology-based platforms enter the market exponentially. With this, people are trying to decide how best to embrace these platforms for what they do. It isn't just educators in this struggle. I hear business owners, marketing directors, and whole industries trying to figure out what is next in the circles I am in regarding the increased saturation of voice speakers such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. I heard a leading CEO for a media company say "our industry has to stop trying to force what we do into these new platforms. It's time for us to rethink what we do to adapt to these new platforms." Bazinga! The same holds true with education and access to learning management systems. Some of the frustration I hear teachers have with our LMS has to do with the fact that much of what they do is non-digitized and being fit into Canvas to fill the requirements. There is no shame in that game because often we don't know how to change something until we get to know the platform well. I think many of our teachers are beginning to be in the space of looking for other options. Below are a few options that teachers can try to change their curriculum in a way that fits the platform...not because this is the correct thing to do but because of frustrations from trying to do things the way they have in the past. The purpose of this post is to help educators see built-in ways inside Canvas to enhance learning in the classroom with the tools at teacher disposal.

• Discussions. Discussion boards are a great way to get ideas flowing. If you create discussions in Canvas you can have students discuss documents, links, YouTube videos, or just about any discussion starter you can think of. When setting up a discussion, you have multiple ways to create it to best meet your classroom needs. For instance, you can allow threaded discussions so people can respond to each other. You can also set it up where students can't read other comments until they post their own first. You can even put students in assigned groups for discussions (a great way to differentiate).  Discussion boards are a great way to give the quietest student a voice. 
• Collaborations. Perhaps your students have been collaborating in Google docs for a long time, but did you know you can set up collaboration opportunities right in Canvas? You can assign groups to work on a Google doc, presentation or spreadsheet by clicking on the "Collaborations" tab inside your course. You can set up your collaboration groups on the fly or set up groups first and then assign the collaboration to that group. 
  
• Group Assignments. When creating an assignment in Canvas under the Assignment tab for your course, you can actually choose the option to make it a "Group Assignment." This then allows you to click to choose to give each member of the group their own grade or you can give every group member the same grade automatically when you grade the assignment. 
  
• Media Recordings. Did you know that your students can create media recordings (both video and vocal) for assignments? Teach a foreign language and want to check for fluency? Have students upload themselves speaking. Teach dance, pottery, band or chorus? Have students upload a video to show their processes. Are your students going to present in class? Have them practice at home so you can give improvement feedback before the actual event. 

          Did you know you, as a teacher, you can also leave media recording comments inside 

          Speedgrader? That's right. Instead of typing out your comments, use your voice and inflection

          to share your thoughts in the writing process with your students. 

• Outcomes. What are Outcomes? Outcomes allow the administration and faculty to track mastery in a course. Users can import Account, State, and Common Core Standards into an account and course. Another useful thing about using outcomes is that you can set assignments/quiz access based on the finishing of prior assignment/quizzes. This can allow students to move at their own pace for some units or assignments. It can also allow you to see if they are truly meeting the standards without leaving gaps in their learning before moving on to the next part of the curriculum.

• "Use Outcomes to:
  • Align Quizzes and Assignments to different kinds of mastery
  • Run reports at the account-level about student artifacts of learning mastery
  • Assess student progress through calculation methods
  • Track student progress on a learning outcome or overall in the Learning Mastery Gradebook
  • Align accreditation or other core standards to programs of study, courses, or student assessments" (pulled from Canvas website)
  • Focus students' attention on the most important skills and activities in your course (find existing outcomes or create new ones)
    

Educating in the Moment of Urgency

Lately I've been thinking about the impact urgency has on the educational process. There are times curve balls are thrown at our otherwise normal day and we have to adjust to move forward or to help others move forward. It seems there are three big categories that cause a sense of urgency to come out:

• When things fail. Whether it be the wifi going down, a lesson plan flopping, or a student dealing with a broken relationship. Failure often brings on an immediate need to educate differently. 
• When things need a quick response. Sometimes it is a deadline, sometimes it is a waiting student or boss, other times it is understanding of a potential issue that needs resolved before it becomes a failure. 
• When people procrastinate. We want the quote "Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part" to be true but honestly it just isn't. Part of life in the world of education is dealing with the crisis of procrastination.

This year as I have worked to aid our teachers in implementing the Canvas LMS I am realizing that much of what I do happens because of a sense of urgency. This sense of urgency changes who I am as an educator. When I have time to sit and develop a process or idea, there is more substance and value to what I create or think up. When I am constantly feeling the need to put out fires, I never feel truly in control of myself or the path of my day. Truthfully, it is the nature of the beast right now but I've had this huge realization of how it impacts educating our students. 

When things don't go as planned, the teacher has to kick a field goal when they were really hoping for that touchdown. While it is still possible to win a game with field goals, the task is harder because you are still going through all the same motions but making less points at the end of the possession. (Forgive the football analogy but it is football season and I am a fan). A field goal feels like a letdown to the coach much like a change in lesson plan feels to a teacher. 

There are times we are not in control of the urgency in our classrooms or school systems, we feel reactionary at best. No one wants to remain in that sense of internal conflict but how we respond to urgencies impacts the culture for those we come in contact with as well. If I moan and complain because I don't like something, I'm influencing others to feel the same. If I'm constantly pushing back and refusing to make a quick response, the stalemate can cause a snowball of repercussions. When I am just not preparing enough for a situation I am forcing others to succumb to my frazzle. 

None of us wants to have to make decisions that are not well thought out and that is what urgency can lead to. Finding ways to minimize urgency in education is the ultimate goal but to also set concrete goals when finding ourselves in that frenzy is helpful as well. Here are 3 things that help me when I am in a situation that I did not sign up for but can't be ignored:

• Enjoy the punt. There is beauty in the kick. Something didn't go as planned? It was a big giant flop for the day? I give it 10 minutes and if I can't fix it in that time, I go to plan B...whatever plan B might be. But always remember there is value in your plan B as well, plan B's can win games. Don't get so caught up in what didn't work that you miss out on what does work. Always strive to fail forward. 
• Weigh the outcomes. When I was growing up, my mother had these decorative brass scales that sat in our living room (the room for company) and no one was allowed to touch them. When I need to make a quick decision I think of those scales. Against my mother's wishes I mentally start placing the pros and cons in the appropriate side of the scale and I weigh the consequences of my decision. I know there will be things I didn't consider but sometimes I just need to know I have done my best at discernment and I make a decision after thoughtfully weighing the choices. 
• Be the hero. Procrastination of others that impacts you can be frustrating because there is a face associated with the issue- someone we can blame. I've often found that procrastinators live in a constant level of panic that I can't even fathom. If you want to feel like you are a super hero, help a procrastinator in the midst of procrastination. Most the time they realize their lack of planning doesn't have to be fixed by you so they are very appreciative of your willingness to drop things to help them. 

After a few weeks of being in my new position, I can tell you that there is a lot of satisfaction in helping others in the midst of educational urgency. I can also tell you that I want to do everything in my power to get people out of that kind of culture or reactivity. I believe we are better educators when we find our balance between urgency and getting stalled in overthinking. We all fall somewhere along the spectrum and learning how to move one direction or the other and discerning how best to react in situations benefits not only us as educators but our students as well. Educating in the moment of urgency has ripple effects that can cause lasting impact.