Guest Post by Valerie Gomez, LMSW
Lecturer, School of Social Work

I am someone who loves to adopt new technology. In October 2020, that excitement was featured in a Canvas Champion blog post; I was eager to share what I loved about Canvas because I felt like this learning management system was more intuitive. After an honest conversation with students from my class, I learned that my enthusiasm for the new platform was perceived by others as expertise rather than an invitation to ask questions. When speaking about this with a colleague, they confirmed the same thing. I made the assumption that my colleagues and students were adopting Canvas at the same level as me. Spoiler alert: they were not. When we are younger, we go to the doctor and they ask, “Where does it hurt?” I evolved that question with the same intent that helped me as an instructor and colleague to help people connect with the platform, “Where is the Canvas pain point?”

In the Classroom

As a best practice, I give a “tour” of my Canvas site on the first day of class for on-campus students and do the same for my online students with a 5-8 minute video in a “Get Started” module. My lesson learned after using Canvas is that the tour is not enough. No matter how intuitive or obvious you think your class site is, it’s not for your students. You may still get an email saying, “where do you find…?” Students have shared with me that since instructors set up their Canvas differently in each class, it is difficult to remember where things are.

Tips:

1. On-campus – Around midterms, I always plan a 30-45 minute check-in/dialogue with students about the class, content, and how they are doing. I integrate the Canvas pain point question into the dialogue and the vocal ones will speak up. For those who will not speak up, I will state my observations with a question. For example, “I noticed that many people did not fully articulate item 2b of Assignment X, can you tell me more about what was unclear?” Then the students who may not usually speak up will share (e.g., they couldn’t find it, they did not know how to view the rubric in Canvas, etc.).
   My check-in this semester took one hour since it corresponded with Winter Storm Uri and students needed to dialogue about it. At the end of this conversation, students articulated their relief, and I gave them another “tour” of our class Canvas site. It was negotiated that I would have time at the beginning of each class for open dialogue about the upcoming assignment(s), but my expectation was that I would not review what they could read independently. Their job was to read and come prepared with questions and during each class since our check-in, their questions have been more thoughtful or have facilitated appropriate dialogue.

2. Online – Based on the commonly asked questions via email or individual student meetings, I integrate Canvas-friendly reminders and tips in my weekly video check-ins. This too always leads to fewer questions and higher quality work.

After the acknowledgment of student feelings and providing more information, I have seen an increase in their Canvas use via New Analytics (formerly Course Statistics). They are willing to ask more direct questions and there is a significant decrease in late work.

With my Colleagues 

When I applied this question, where is the Canvas pain point, I learned that most colleagues missed at least one feature in TRACS and were unsure of how to replicate the same function or were still adapting. If a colleague felt frustration like this in pre-pandemic times, they would walk over to the next office or down the hall and a colleague would help. Now, if an individual does not know the answer, frustration may be felt in isolation or towards the platform. To combat this frustration, here are a few tips:

1. My go-to resource is the Canvas Community. You can type a question or phrase into the Canvas search box and the question has been likely been asked and answered, with screenshots! I used to go back and forth trying to coordinate a time to troubleshoot. Now, I send an instructional link through this existing resource that does not require a meeting and it helps my colleagues troubleshoot the issue. I also use this personally for the functions that I do not use every day but at least once a semester (e.g., how to add extra credit points).
2. In recurring meetings (e.g., a committee meeting), ask the organizer if it is appropriate to have an agenda item that allows colleagues to troubleshoot Canvas questions. If it is an issue that would take more than five minutes, it may need to be taken offline or you may have to troubleshoot with ITAC. Did you also know you can also ask questions or schedule a one-on-one meeting with the Office of Distance and Extended Learning (ODEL)?

Unprecedented change has been the only constant during the last year. This is a friendly reminder to give yourself grace. Even though we have been using Canvas for some time, it is still new to all of us–faculty, staff, and students. I hope the next time technology is frustrating, you will ask yourself, your colleague, or your class–what is the pain point?–so you can find the resource (human or technological) that will help you build more connection.