Beginning of Course PracticesThese checklists are created by the Training Services Department at Instructure. The Beginning-of-Course Checklist is a starting point for ensuring your course is ready to go for student access at the start of a new course term. | |||
How To Use | |||
A ★ is an Essential practice and a ★★ rating indicates a Best Practice criteria. Features that may or may not be utilized at the Institution will also be listed as If Applicable. Relevant help guides are linked throughout the text. | |||
| ★ | Set Up Account NotificationsTo ensure you receive communication from Canvas, set up your Notification Preferences and contact method in your Canvas Account. | ||
| ★ | Customize Course Detail SettingsIt is important to be aware of the many different options residing under Course Details in Course Settings. Selecting More Options will open up a menu of extra features to turn on and off, such as allowing students to post their own discussion threads. | ||
| ★ | Simplify Course NavigationFor optimum course experience, hide unnecessary course navigation links. | ||
| ★ | Choose Home PageThe Home Page is the first impression of a course. Select the Home Page option that best fits the needs of your course. | ||
| ★ | Verify Students in the People LinkSelect People to verify your Canvas roster (teacher, student, TA, etc.) for accuracy. | ||
| ★ | Publish Course and ContentCheck visibility of individual items and Modules as a whole. Don’t forget to publish your course. | ||
| ★ | Review Course in Student ViewReview your course content from Student View to experience your course from a student perspective. ∗ Note: Some third party tools may not have student view functionality | ||
Best Practices ★★ | |||
✔ | Practice | ||
| ★★ | Select Favorite CoursesCustomize which course cards are displayed on the Dashboard by “Favoriting” courses based on preference, current term, quarter, semester, etc. | ||
| ★★ | Add SyllabusAdd the current syllabus to your course. | ||
| ★★ | Manage FilesUpload and review course folders and files. Manage the visibility of content by Publishing, Unpublishing or Restricting Access to folders and files. | ||
| ★★ | Set Up GradesVerify the Gradebook is arranged according to your grading policy and your syllabus. | ||
| ★★ | Adjust Course Settings (If Applicable)Visit the course Settings to check your Course Details, Sections, Apps and Feature Options. Feature options allow you to choose when you want to enable new feature releases. | ||
| ★★ | Verify Calendar (If Applicable)Check the Calendar tool to verify Assignment due dates and Events scheduled for your course. ∗ Note: The Calendar displays graded/published Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions and Events with due dates | ||
| ★★ | Set a Profile Pic (If Applicable)Set a profile picture that represents yourself in your Canvas Account. Students will be able to see the image displayed in the Inbox, Announcements, Discussions, and People tab. | ||
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Completing the POCR review process for my Psych 02 (Statistics for the Social Sciences) course was a challenging and rewarding experience. The process made me view my course through a new equity lens to make sure all students had the accessibility to be successful in the course. I learned a lot from the process and my skills on CANVAS were sharpened. I am able to use the information I learned from the POCR review and apply it to other courses that I teach.
I would highly recommend the POCR process for any instructors seeking to take their online course to the next level. Having gone through the process twice, I can say with confidence that my online courses are more organized and student-centered than ever. This process really allows you to dive deeply into online learning and provides you with the opportunity to develop a course that takes into consideration the varying learning styles of students.
I thought my classes were pretty well organized and dialed in until I went through the POCR process. I was able to raise my online course to a much higher standard. The process is very structured and clear and for me it revealed several areas that needed improvement. The support team were all amazing and very well organized and more importantly, they understand how challenging it is to design a class while teaching. I would encourage every instructor who teaches online to consider the POCR process.
Moving my Eng 1B through POCR made me rethink every choice I make in my online teaching. Is this the most effective way to structure a lecture? Is this the most impactful and relatable assignment? Have I taken enough steps to ensure that no student gets lost? Looking at my class with fresh eyes has made my class more organized, accessible, and engaging for my students.
At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic required faculty to become proficient at executing virtual instruction, I found the POCR process to be invaluable to my goal of designing effective hybrid and asynchronous courses that supported my students’ success. I frequently receive positive feedback from students describing their appreciation for varied elements of our courses spanning content presentation, interaction, assessment, and accessibility which I attribute largely to the professional development that I have received through the POCR process.
By going through the POCR review process, my class is more accessible, presentable, and organized. Students liked accessing this class which was organized and manageable.
