Today’s tech tip is about how to use the Home Page of your Canvas courses as a way to connect students to the subject you teach and to the college they attend. We teach a diverse student population and they often don’t see themselves represented in the textbooks we use for our courses. If the visual examples used in course materials tend to exclude certain groups, students notice and that may lead them to decide not to pursue certain courses or occupations because they don’t see themselves doing those jobs.
To help students connect to our subjects, we need to evaluate the materials we use and identify gaps in representation. One way we can address those gaps is through using our Home Pages in our courses as a way of showing students a wide variety of people in our fields that will allow students to see themselves in those occupations. This helps to make our classes relevant to our students.
Home Pages are also a way to connect students to Delta College, informing them of events and services that are available and letting them know that they are part of the campus culture. It is part of regular effective contact and students greatly appreciate the effort!
Read more about making connections with your students using your Canvas homepage in this document, and check out the Women’s History Month Events Calendar, below, in case you’d like to use that for your Home Page in March!
-Lynn Hawley
