[ORIENTATION] Course Overview

What is this course about, anyway?

This self-paced Canvas Instructor Orientation is designed to familiarize instructors with the need-to-know tools and features of Canvas prepare them for course design and delivery. We know instructors have a lot on their plates and this course was created with INSTRUCTORS in mind.

What this course is NOT.

This course is not a glorified tutorial. In other words, we won't show step-by-step processes in building a course from scratch. For one, every instructor approaches course design differently. And two, we’ve got thousands of guides and video tutorials that demonstrate (in detail) how to use the tools in Canvas (which we will link to, of course). Instead, we’ll highlight multiple ways you can leverage Canvas to design, deliver and manage your course, effectively.

Who is the intended audience for this course?

Wondering if this course is for you? Whether you are a seasoned online instructor or are getting ready to train others in Canvas, if you identify with any of the following statements below then your answer is “yes, this course is for you”:

  • I’ve never taught online before and I’ve no clue where to start in Canvas!
  • My supervisor just told me we’re transitioning to Canvas and I have to learn more about this platform - stat!
  • Oh, no! My courses start in a few weeks and I don’t know the first thing about transferring my course work into Canvas.
  • I’ve taught online many times and I could probably figure out Canvas on my own, but I need a smart, savvy overview to get me focused in the right direction.
  • I’m curious about leveraging Canvas for teaching. A good, solid overview is what I need.
  • I'm going to train other instructors on Canvas and would like ideas on what topics I should cover.

Whatever your reasons, we hope you find value in the lessons in this course.

How much time will this course take me, really?

This is a self-paced course, which means you can take as long as you need to progress through the materials. But we realize instructors have limited time to juggle their workload (let alone learn a new learning platform). If we were to quantify this course in hours, expect to spend between 2.5 to 3 hours on this course.