Welcome — I'm glad you are here! Think of this as your first day of "class" in a new course. We are going to spend some time learning a little more about our course topic, becoming familiar with our course environment, and getting to know each other.
You may find that this educational environment takes more initiative than traditional face-to-face instruction. This is a "paced" course, which means that there is an established start and end date and that you will interact with other students throughout the course. To keep on top of things, you will need to pay close attention to the course schedule that is listed on our syllabus in Canvas. Throughout the course, plan on communicating with me and the other students in the class on a regular basis.
As described on our syllabus, the course materials consist of a textbook and a required course Web site that contains the on-line "lectures" and communications tools, such as message boards and an e-mail system.
The course is 15 weeks in length, including an "Orientation Week" that comprises Week 1. This course has 21 modules of study ("lessons"). As a class, we will work through these modules together at a rate of approximately two modules per week. Within each module you will find on-line lecture materials, as well as both individual and group activities.
Action Item: Before we proceed any further, please be sure you reviewed all of the orientation materials, including those located in Canvas.
If you have questions at any time during this lesson, please feel free to post them to the Course Introduction Discussion Forum. (Click on the Home tab in Canvas to access our course discussion forums.)
Let me take a minute to let you know what my expectations of you will be at the end of this couse. This is as important as the pedagogical information that I provide for you as a formal description of the course. By the end of this course, you should know at least three things:
So, as you go through each module, please keep these goals in mind and always attempt to relate what you are learning to at least one of them. Above all, it is my desire that you will end this class speaking a new language, called “phase.” Learning and speaking a new language is always fun … please have a lot of it!
This page provides information about Canvas, Penn State's online learning management system.
If you are new to Canvas, it is strongly recommended that you complete the PSU: Canvas Student Orientation [1].
You may also want to review the Canvas Student Guide [2] to acclimate yourself further, and watch the following (6:47) video:
200 - Canvas Overview for Students [3] from Canvas LMS [4] on Vimeo [5].
In this video, you will get a brief overview of the Canvas user interface. The Canvas user interface has three main components: the Dashboard, Global Navigation, and Sidebar. The Dashboard is the first thing you see when you log into Canvas. It provides a high-level overview of all your courses. The Dashboard has two different viewing options, the course view or the recent activity stream. The Dashboard course view includes a course card for each of your favorite courses. Each card can include up to four tabs, which represent the four main Canvas features for student course activity: Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, and Files. These tabs mimic visibility and order in Course Navigation, so, for instance, if an instructor hides the Announcements link, the Announcements tab will not be displayed. The total number of activities are indicated on the appropriate tab with a number icon. You can directly access these recent activities by clicking the tab.
You can change a couple settings for your course cards by clicking the card Settings icon. First, you can create nicknames for your courses to help you organize your dashboard. In the Nickname text field, enter the nickname for your course. Click the Apply button. The new nickname will appear. Course nicknames appear in the Dashboard, Course Navigation Menu, course breadcrumbs, and notification e-mails and only changes the name of the course for the individual user who created the nickname. If users need to know the original name of the course, they can hover over the nickname and the original name will appear. To remove a nickname, open the card settings and remove the nickname. The Nickname field will display the original name of the course. Click the Apply button to save changes. You can also change the color of your course cards. In the card settings, select the color you would like to assign to the card. You can also enter a HEX code for any color. Then click Apply.
To view the recent activity stream, click the toggle to the right. The recent activity stream view contains a stream of recent notifications from all your courses, including announcements, discussions, assignments, and conversations. New or unread activities are shown by the blue indicator dot. You can view the details of each activity by hovering in the notification area and clicking the Show More link. To collapse recent activity, click the Show Less link. You can directly access your recent activities by clicking the link. To remove a notification, click the remove icon.
Another interface component is the Global Navigation, which is a static menu on the left side of the page that gives you direct access to your courses and other information in Canvas. This menu is accessible from any page within Canvas. To modify your user settings or profile, click the Account link. You can also specify your notification preferences, upload personal files, or manage ePortfolios here. Click the Logout link to Logout of Canvas. To hide the slideout menu, just click the menu link again or click the close icon. Click the Dashboard link to return to the Canvas Dashboard at any time.
By clicking Courses, you can access your individual courses or view a list of all courses in which you are enrolled. Here, you can customize the courses that display on your Dashboard and in your Courses list by clicking the stars next to the course names. Click Groups to access any groups in which you are enrolled or to view a list of all your groups. Click the Calendar link to view the global calendar, which shows an aggregated view of all assignments and events from each of your courses. The Inbox link will take you to your Conversations. You can compose and send new messages to other students and teachers here, or view any existing conversations. And click the Help link to access help resources, including the Canvas Guides, the Canvas Community, or Canvas Support. If you ever have a problem with Canvas, be sure to click the “Report a Problem” link to get help from a support agent. This link may not be available to all Canvas users.
The last interface component is the Sidebar. On your dashboard, the sidebar includes a To Do list, Coming Up feed, Recent Feedback, and a View Grades button. The To Do list helps you keep track of assignments that you need to complete. Click any assignment link and Canvas will direct you to the appropriate page. You can also click the close icon next to any item to ignore the assignment. The Coming Up feed lists upcoming assignments and events within your courses. Under Recent Feedback, you will see the latest comments from instructors or peers on previously submitted assignments. Click the View Grades button to quickly access the grades for any of your courses. Note that when viewing Canvas with a small screen resolution, any sidebar content aligns with the bottom of the page.
Now, let’s visit a course and take a look at the course interface. The course interface consists of 4 main components: the Course Navigation, the Content Area, the Breadcrumb Navigation, and the Sidebar. The course navigation menu provides links to the different areas of your course. Your instructors have the ability to customize this menu, so it may vary slightly from course to course. This menu can be collapsed by clicking the menu icon. The content of the course will be displayed in this Content Area. The Breadcrumb Navigation shows your current location within a course and allows you to easily move to a previous screen. The Course Sidebar is similar to the Canvas Sidebar. It includes a View Course Stream link to see recent course activity, as well as your To Do list, Coming Up feed, and Recent Feedback comments.
You've now completed this Canvas Overview for Students. For additional information on this or any other topic about Canvas, just visit guides.canvaslms.com. You can also ask questions and engage with other Canvas users by visiting community.canvaslms.com.
The Canvas Help Center provides extensive, up-to-date documentation [6] on making sure your computer is configured properly for Canvas. Failure to follow these recommendations may result in significant issues while viewing materials, taking assessments, and using drop boxes. Use of unsupported browsers is at your own risk.
Profile and User Settings let you control your personal information in Canvas. Take a few minutes to personalize your Canvas profile by following the instructions below.
| Task | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Personalize your Canvas Profile |
|
| Set your notification preferences |
You have the option to select how, when, and for what information you would like to receive notifications. This can be very helpful when keeping track of items such as discussion posts, assignment due dates, and exams. Visit the Canvas Notification Preference Support page (link is external) [8] and follow the instructions for setting up your notification preferences. The video below this table provides additional information. To ensure that your Canvas e-mail messages forward to your regular e-mail account immediately, check the "Notify me right away" option (the checkmark) for each item under "Conversations" in Notification Preferences. |
| Set your timezone |
|
| Download the Canvas App | For information on using the app by device, please see the following:
|
The following video (4:28) provides information about Canvas Notification Preferences.
112 - Notification Preferences [11] from Canvas LMS [4] on Vimeo [5].
Click for Transcript of Notification Preferences in Canvas
In this video, you will learn about Notification Preferences, which help you manage the frequency and mode in which you receive notifications from Canvas. Canvas supports notification through e-mail, SMS text message, and other external services. Canvas users can choose to receive notifications immediately, daily, weekly, or never.
To get started, click the Account link in Global Navigation. Then click Settings. In the User Settings and Profile Picture video, we discussed Ways to Contact in the right sidebar. To see how to add e-mail addresses and phone numbers to your settings, please refer to that video. Ways to Contact will play a role in where Notification Preferences are sent.
Web Services will also play a role in Notification Preferences. If you scroll down to the Other Services section, you will see a list of services that you can link to your Canvas account. When you register with other web services, you allow other users to connect with you via web services. You should already have accounts with any of the web services you wish to use before registering them in Canvas. By default, Canvas does not disclose your information to other users within the system unless you give consent. One of the services you can connect to is Twitter. By connecting to Twitter, you will receive notifications via Tweets according to your notification preferences. To connect to Twitter, click the Twitter button. A window will pop up asking for permission to connect your Twitter and Canvas accounts. To allow this, click the Authorize Twitter Access button. If you are not already logged in to your Twitter account, you will need to enter your login information. You will then be redirected back to Canvas. This process will be similar for each web service provided. You will see your Twitter information in Ways to Contact under the Other Contacts heading in the sidebar. You will also notice that the Twitter button appears in the Registered Services column. Remove a Registered Service by clicking the remove icon next to the service. A popup will appear to confirm that you want to unregister the service. Click OK to unregister. The web service will then appear in the Other Services column. After unregistering an external service, you can reregister it at any time. You can follow these steps to connect to or disconnect from any of the external services. Or, for detailed instructions on how to connect to specific external services, please refer to the Canvas Guides.
After you have added Web Services, you will want to set your Notification Preferences, which you can do by clicking the Notifications link in the user navigation on the left side. On this page, you can select how and when you want to be notified when various events occur within your course. Notification preferences are divided into activity categories: Course Activities, Discussions, Conversations, Scheduling, Groups, Alerts, and Conferences. Along the top of the page, you will see your different contact methods; your e-mail addresses, phone number, and other registered services, like Twitter, in this case. You will need to go through each category and set how and where you want to be notified. When you hover over a cell to change your preference, four icons will appear.
1. By selecting the Checkmark icon, you will be immediately notified of any change for the activity.
2. By selecting the Clock icon, you will be notified daily of any change for the activity.
3. By selecting the Calendar icon, you will be notified weekly of any change for the activity
4. By selecting the X icon, you will not be sent notifications for the activity.
The notification preferences you set here will apply to all of your courses. You should also notice, on the bottom of the page, a note indicating the day and time when your weekly notifications will be sent. This time varies between users.
You've now completed this video tutorial on Notification Preferences. For additional information on this or any other topic about Canvas, just visit guides.canvaslms.com. You can also ask questions and engage with other Canvas users by visiting community.canvaslms.com.
How you define and achieve success in an online course like this one? It depends on your goals and perspective. A 19-year-old undergraduate student who registers for an online course in the hope of earning an easy “A” is unlikely to be successful, no matter how adept he or she may be with information technology. However, Palloff and Pratt observe that “in general, distance education has been applied to and seen as most successful in the arena of adult and continuing education” (Palloff and Pratt 2001, p. 109).
“Much of the research done on successful students in distance education programs suggests that students who are attracted to this form of education share certain characteristics, including that they are voluntarily seeking further education, are motivated, have higher expectations, and are more self-disciplined. They tend to be older than the average student and to have a more serious attitude toward their courses, education, and learning. They are what most would consider to be nontraditional students.” (Palloff and Pratt 2001, p. 109)
This is not to say that younger students can’t succeed in online classes. Indeed, “most [undergraduate] students today are older, are working, and need more flexible schedules” (Palloff and Pratt 2001, p. 109). The question is, assuming that a student is motivated to get the most out of an online class, and that the class is well-designed and led by attentive instructors, which attitudes and behaviors increase the student’s chance of having a satisfactory experience?
Swan and colleagues (2000) surveyed approximately 3,800 students enrolled in 264 online courses through the SUNY Learning Network. Of the 1,406 responses received, the researchers analyzed data associated with 73 courses for which there was a 40 percent response rate or greater. Among their findings were statistically significant correlations between student satisfaction and (a) perceived learning gains; (b) interaction with instructors; and (c) interaction with fellow students. Additionally, respondents who rated their own level of activity in online classes as high also tended to report higher levels of satisfaction.
Research results like these, along with lessons learned in our more than ten years of experience in distance learning, leads us recommend the following three study habits that will maximize your chances for success in your online class:
1) Devote sufficient time and effort. Time-on-task is a necessary--if insufficient--condition for learning (Gibbs 1999; Chickering and Gamson 1987; Bransford et al 2000). Schedule several blocks of time during each week to study the text, to work on project assignments, and to read and contribute to discussions.
2) Communicate effectively. Post succinct, specific questions and comments with informative subject lines. Whenever appropriate, share questions and comments with the entire class (through text commenting or discussion forums) rather than using private email. Read others’ questions and comments and replies. Compose project reports with the same care and skill that you’d hope your instructor or employer would devote to a letter of recommendation on your behalf. Be civil. If frustrated or angry, wait until the next day to post a message.
3) Approach learning reflectively. Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses as a learner. Students who develop strong “metacognitive” skills tend to be the most effective learners. Also, those who are able to relate what they learned to situations outside the classroom (real or virtual) are most likely to retain that knowledge (Bransford, J.D. et al 2000).
Bransford, J. D. et al (Eds.) (2000) How People Learn: Brain, Mind, and Experience. Washington, DC: National Research Council.
Chickering, A. W., and Gamson, Z. F. (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. AAHE Bulletin, 39(7) 3-7.
Gibbs, G. (1999) Planning Your Students’ Learning Activities. In McKeachie, W.J. (Ed.) McKeachie’s Teaching Tips, 10th Ed. Pp. 20-33. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Palloff, R. M. and Pratt, K. (2001) Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Swan, K. et al (2000) Course Design Factors Inflouencing the Success of ONline Learning. Proceedings, WebNet 2000 World Conference on the WWW and Internet. San Antonio TX, October 30-November 4.
This page provides information about Canvas, Penn State's online learning management system.
If you are new to Canvas, it is strongly recommended that you complete the PSU: Canvas Student Orientation [1].
You may also want to review the Canvas Student Guide [2] to acclimate yourself further, and watch the following (6:47) video:
200 - Canvas Overview for Students [3] from Canvas LMS [4] on Vimeo [5].
In this video, you will get a brief overview of the Canvas user interface. The Canvas user interface has three main components: the Dashboard, Global Navigation, and Sidebar. The Dashboard is the first thing you see when you log into Canvas. It provides a high-level overview of all your courses. The Dashboard has two different viewing options, the course view or the recent activity stream. The Dashboard course view includes a course card for each of your favorite courses. Each card can include up to four tabs, which represent the four main Canvas features for student course activity: Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, and Files. These tabs mimic visibility and order in Course Navigation, so, for instance, if an instructor hides the Announcements link, the Announcements tab will not be displayed. The total number of activities are indicated on the appropriate tab with a number icon. You can directly access these recent activities by clicking the tab.
You can change a couple settings for your course cards by clicking the card Settings icon. First, you can create nicknames for your courses to help you organize your dashboard. In the Nickname text field, enter the nickname for your course. Click the Apply button. The new nickname will appear. Course nicknames appear in the Dashboard, Course Navigation Menu, course breadcrumbs, and notification e-mails and only changes the name of the course for the individual user who created the nickname. If users need to know the original name of the course, they can hover over the nickname and the original name will appear. To remove a nickname, open the card settings and remove the nickname. The Nickname field will display the original name of the course. Click the Apply button to save changes. You can also change the color of your course cards. In the card settings, select the color you would like to assign to the card. You can also enter a HEX code for any color. Then click Apply.
To view the recent activity stream, click the toggle to the right. The recent activity stream view contains a stream of recent notifications from all your courses, including announcements, discussions, assignments, and conversations. New or unread activities are shown by the blue indicator dot. You can view the details of each activity by hovering in the notification area and clicking the Show More link. To collapse recent activity, click the Show Less link. You can directly access your recent activities by clicking the link. To remove a notification, click the remove icon.
Another interface component is the Global Navigation, which is a static menu on the left side of the page that gives you direct access to your courses and other information in Canvas. This menu is accessible from any page within Canvas. To modify your user settings or profile, click the Account link. You can also specify your notification preferences, upload personal files, or manage ePortfolios here. Click the Logout link to Logout of Canvas. To hide the slideout menu, just click the menu link again or click the close icon. Click the Dashboard link to return to the Canvas Dashboard at any time.
By clicking Courses, you can access your individual courses or view a list of all courses in which you are enrolled. Here, you can customize the courses that display on your Dashboard and in your Courses list by clicking the stars next to the course names. Click Groups to access any groups in which you are enrolled or to view a list of all your groups. Click the Calendar link to view the global calendar, which shows an aggregated view of all assignments and events from each of your courses. The Inbox link will take you to your Conversations. You can compose and send new messages to other students and teachers here, or view any existing conversations. And click the Help link to access help resources, including the Canvas Guides, the Canvas Community, or Canvas Support. If you ever have a problem with Canvas, be sure to click the “Report a Problem” link to get help from a support agent. This link may not be available to all Canvas users.
The last interface component is the Sidebar. On your dashboard, the sidebar includes a To Do list, Coming Up feed, Recent Feedback, and a View Grades button. The To Do list helps you keep track of assignments that you need to complete. Click any assignment link and Canvas will direct you to the appropriate page. You can also click the close icon next to any item to ignore the assignment. The Coming Up feed lists upcoming assignments and events within your courses. Under Recent Feedback, you will see the latest comments from instructors or peers on previously submitted assignments. Click the View Grades button to quickly access the grades for any of your courses. Note that when viewing Canvas with a small screen resolution, any sidebar content aligns with the bottom of the page.
Now, let’s visit a course and take a look at the course interface. The course interface consists of 4 main components: the Course Navigation, the Content Area, the Breadcrumb Navigation, and the Sidebar. The course navigation menu provides links to the different areas of your course. Your instructors have the ability to customize this menu, so it may vary slightly from course to course. This menu can be collapsed by clicking the menu icon. The content of the course will be displayed in this Content Area. The Breadcrumb Navigation shows your current location within a course and allows you to easily move to a previous screen. The Course Sidebar is similar to the Canvas Sidebar. It includes a View Course Stream link to see recent course activity, as well as your To Do list, Coming Up feed, and Recent Feedback comments.
You've now completed this Canvas Overview for Students. For additional information on this or any other topic about Canvas, just visit guides.canvaslms.com. You can also ask questions and engage with other Canvas users by visiting community.canvaslms.com.
The Canvas Help Center provides extensive, up-to-date documentation [6] on making sure your computer is configured properly for Canvas. Failure to follow these recommendations may result in significant issues while viewing materials, taking assessments, and using drop boxes. Use of unsupported browsers is at your own risk.
Profile and User Settings let you control your personal information in Canvas. Take a few minutes to personalize your Canvas profile by following the instructions below.
| Task | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Personalize your Canvas Profile |
|
| Set your notification preferences |
You have the option to select how, when, and for what information you would like to receive notifications. This can be very helpful when keeping track of items such as discussion posts, assignment due dates, and exams. Visit the Canvas Notification Preference Support page (link is external) [8] and follow the instructions for setting up your notification preferences. The video below this table provides additional information. To ensure that your Canvas e-mail messages forward to your regular e-mail account immediately, check the "Notify me right away" option (the checkmark) for each item under "Conversations" in Notification Preferences. |
| Set your timezone |
|
| Download the Canvas App | For information on using the app by device, please see the following:
|
The following video (4:28) provides information about Canvas Notification Preferences.
112 - Notification Preferences [11] from Canvas LMS [4] on Vimeo [5].
Click for Transcript of Notification Preferences in Canvas
In this video, you will learn about Notification Preferences, which help you manage the frequency and mode in which you receive notifications from Canvas. Canvas supports notification through e-mail, SMS text message, and other external services. Canvas users can choose to receive notifications immediately, daily, weekly, or never.
To get started, click the Account link in Global Navigation. Then click Settings. In the User Settings and Profile Picture video, we discussed Ways to Contact in the right sidebar. To see how to add e-mail addresses and phone numbers to your settings, please refer to that video. Ways to Contact will play a role in where Notification Preferences are sent.
Web Services will also play a role in Notification Preferences. If you scroll down to the Other Services section, you will see a list of services that you can link to your Canvas account. When you register with other web services, you allow other users to connect with you via web services. You should already have accounts with any of the web services you wish to use before registering them in Canvas. By default, Canvas does not disclose your information to other users within the system unless you give consent. One of the services you can connect to is Twitter. By connecting to Twitter, you will receive notifications via Tweets according to your notification preferences. To connect to Twitter, click the Twitter button. A window will pop up asking for permission to connect your Twitter and Canvas accounts. To allow this, click the Authorize Twitter Access button. If you are not already logged in to your Twitter account, you will need to enter your login information. You will then be redirected back to Canvas. This process will be similar for each web service provided. You will see your Twitter information in Ways to Contact under the Other Contacts heading in the sidebar. You will also notice that the Twitter button appears in the Registered Services column. Remove a Registered Service by clicking the remove icon next to the service. A popup will appear to confirm that you want to unregister the service. Click OK to unregister. The web service will then appear in the Other Services column. After unregistering an external service, you can reregister it at any time. You can follow these steps to connect to or disconnect from any of the external services. Or, for detailed instructions on how to connect to specific external services, please refer to the Canvas Guides.
After you have added Web Services, you will want to set your Notification Preferences, which you can do by clicking the Notifications link in the user navigation on the left side. On this page, you can select how and when you want to be notified when various events occur within your course. Notification preferences are divided into activity categories: Course Activities, Discussions, Conversations, Scheduling, Groups, Alerts, and Conferences. Along the top of the page, you will see your different contact methods; your e-mail addresses, phone number, and other registered services, like Twitter, in this case. You will need to go through each category and set how and where you want to be notified. When you hover over a cell to change your preference, four icons will appear.
1. By selecting the Checkmark icon, you will be immediately notified of any change for the activity.
2. By selecting the Clock icon, you will be notified daily of any change for the activity.
3. By selecting the Calendar icon, you will be notified weekly of any change for the activity
4. By selecting the X icon, you will not be sent notifications for the activity.
The notification preferences you set here will apply to all of your courses. You should also notice, on the bottom of the page, a note indicating the day and time when your weekly notifications will be sent. This time varies between users.
You've now completed this video tutorial on Notification Preferences. For additional information on this or any other topic about Canvas, just visit guides.canvaslms.com. You can also ask questions and engage with other Canvas users by visiting community.canvaslms.com.
Now that you have had a chance to learn about the course and the online learning environment, you need to introduce yourself and to get to know the rest of the class. Please complete the activities below and then continue with the remainder of the Course Orientation.
Now I would like to know a little about who you are, your background, and what interests you have related both to this course and in general. I expect to have lots of interaction from all of you and look forward being part of a dynamic learning community.
Complete a short student survey that will tell me about your course needs and expectations.
< Note: these directions need review >
Links
[1] https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1780857
[2] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-4121
[3] https://vimeo.com/74677642
[4] https://vimeo.com/canvaslms
[5] https://vimeo.com
[6] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1284
[7] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1285
[8] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1286
[9] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1559
[10] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1666
[11] https://vimeo.com/75514816
[12] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-3537