This is a Guest Post and forms part of our My Canvas Tips series.

Snapshot

Name & Title: Noha Mohama-Akkari, Extension Educator/lecturer

The school/department you teach for: Office of Extension and Extended Learning and Dept. of World Languages & Literatures

Discipline: Arabic Language

Class size: Ranges 1-27

Anything else you think we should know about what and how you are teaching: The IT department offered the opportunity to learn about Canvas through instructional videos and training. This helped me get an idea about Canvas prior to using it to prepare my courses. Also, ODEL instructional designers and online course developers helped me create my first online course.

Here are a few tips I find helpful and interesting using Canvas:

Tip #1: SpeedGrader

Description: SpeedGrader in the Gradebook is very interesting to use. I like it because I move smoothly and easily from one student to the other, and I add my comments either in writing or audio recorded, depending on the nature of the assignment. Sometimes students submit a reading assignment, or a skit where I have to record my comments and feedback, so it’s helpful to have the students listen rather than read. Arabic is a language where they must listen and correct their pronunciation.

Tip #2: Message Students

Description: The other function I like in Gradebook is to message students who did not complete the assignment. This function provides a shortcut to the Inbox. I write one message to several students, yet the message reaches each student individually. Thus, students do not have to know who completed the assignment and who did not.

Tip #3: Rubrics 

Description: Setting up the rubric has multiple functions that offer different ranges to grade each section. This allows the student to get a broader view and understanding of the required assignment.