2 years with Canvas for everyone at University of Copenhagen, CanvasCon 2018 #UCPH

Annette Q Pedersen
E-learning consultant since 2008
Faculty of Humanities, UCPH
Background in teaching adults (Danish
language mostly)
annettep@hum.ku.dk
@anetqedu

One LMS for everyone since 2006
199X? -2006
Different local LMS-systems across campuses
(voluntary use)
2006-2016
One common LMS across UCPH
“you ought to use it”
(Clean cut: summer 2016)
2016-2018
Canvas as the one common system
“you should use it”
25/04/2018 5

All data imported ‘auto-magically’ since 2007
All courses gets created before each semester
with students, teachers and KU-templates.
Data is imported and updated (nightly?) from
the administrative systems.
Notice: It’s a one-way flow!
= no real grading in Canvas, exams are held in
another IT-system (‘Digital Eksamen’)
25/04/2018 6

......with “samples” (vareprøver)
Regular specifications +
Sampling the systems with pre-
defined use cases:
5x I am a student, I would like to...
6x I am a teacher, I would like to...
Procurement 2015-16
(focus on usability)

The force of good usability!
25/04/2018 8
https://www.flickr.com/photos/helico/405632849/

25/04/2018 9
https://www.flickr.com/photos/brickset/37284970554/
Oh, I can do that?
That’s really cleaver!
I’m going to use this in my
course, I want my students
to practice X...
*Orv, det er smart!!

25/04/2018 11
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pollas/17648965802/
I tried out the peer-review
function, and now I have a
question... I see there’s a
function to do X, do I
just go ahead and...
My students are uploading
their images and
commenting on each other’s
stuff, but then how do I... I am setting up a
quiz, what is the best
question type for X?

Even the risk-averse try out new things!
25/04/2018 12
https://www.flickr.com/photos/clement127/8420027368/

More teachers do more things!
Teachers are happy about both functionality and usability:
“It’s much easier than the old system!”

But we also have some issues...
(cue dramatic music!)
25/04/2018 14
https://www.flickr.com/photos/helico/405632849/

(Lost in) Translation
25/04/2018 15
Is your assignment
apologize?
Let’s just say...
some very strange Danish happened!

Most common support question:
Teacher 1:
I’ve set up the assignment right, but the students insist they
don’t have an upload button. The system is broken?!
25/04/2018 16
Oh yes I’m sorry, Americans are a
bit obsessed with grades, so if
you make an assignment
ungraded, the system won’t allow
the students to upload anything...

We’re really not into grading during the courses...
25/04/2018 17

STUDENTS HAVE TO HAND IN
UNGRADED ASSIGNMENTS
ALL THE TIME
25/04/2018 18
PLEASE, JUST GIVE THEM A
%*!#%! BUTTON!

Yes, I know... there are workarounds, but...
25/04/2018 19
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rfdphoto/16349017535/in/album-72157650445792685/
Teacher Researcher

Teacher 2: I can’t read my quiz and survey results
– the file is broken?! (Canvas is stupid!)
25/04/2018 20

.CSV FILES IN EUROPE ARE
SEPARATED BY SEMICOLON,
NOT COMMAS
25/04/2018 21
PLEASE JUST #%§!#!% FIX IT!
(UTF8 would be great too, so letters Æ, Ø and Å doesn’t
come out as √¶, √∏ and √•, thanks!)

We did make the manual no one wants...
25/04/2018 22
(In 4 versions, depending on your setup)

Teacher 3: I set up the Peer Review in groups, but it doesn’t
work.
25/04/2018 23
I’m sorry! Yeah, that just
doesn’t work...

I’ll stop shouting now...
...promise!
25/04/2018 24

26/04/2018 25
We’re making even greater
grading, new gradebook,more
averages, grading more stuff...
How about making peer review
work for groups?
Or allowing students to upload and
share their work (outside discussions)
make quizzes themselves etc
Mkay, whatever?!

Challenge: Large classes (Part Canvas, Part dataflow)
25/04/2018 26
Our setup puts one “teaching activity” (what leads to
the same exam) in ONE room in Canvas.
Danish 1st year:
200 students
1 series of lectures for all
(5 lecturers)
7 classes taught on different
days, by different teachers
Law 1st year:
800 students
1 series of lectures for all
(1 professor)
25 classes taught on different
days, by external lecturers

26/04/2018 27
But you can just use groups, right? Groups from room ”Naturressourcer og økologi”

Large classes...
25/04/2018 28
If only sections could function like groups!
...assign things to section
...a section could exist in more than one
place (Cross-list, copy and/or move)
We’d like:
a lecture series room for everyone
+ a class room for each class

Some things really need fixing
(Please, it’s been 2 years!)
25/04/2018 29

25/04/2018 30
Usability, Flexibility, Creativity
& Ease of use
Some examples...

Modules by activity
25/04/2018 34

Embedding media is easy (Flipped Learning class, Chemistry)
25/04/2018 35

Others use the calendar to organize their course
25/04/2018 36

Videos: UCPH teachers explain how they structure their rooms
25/04/2018 37
https://obl.ku.dk/ku-absalon/course-examples/

But teachers need to work on room structure, or else...
25/04/2018 38

Flexibility
– LTI integrations...
25/04/2018 39
Office 365 (collaboration)
Google Docs (collaboration)
Urkund (plagiarism)
Lacuna (collaborative notetaking) (single courses)
Badgr (gamification with badges) (single courses)
Upcoming...
Peergrade.io? (because it will allow better peer review and in groups)
Labster?

25/04/2018 41
So we are quite happy with Canvas!

Canvas support page
25/04/2018 43

”Oh, I really have nothing to do
Hmm wonder if my LMS has
gotten a new feature lately?
Said no university employee, ever.
25/04/2018 44

26/04/2018 46
obl.ku.dk/absalon
(support, videos, contact info)
annettep@hum.ku.dk
@anetqedu & @anetq

2 years with Canvas for everyone at University of Copenhagen, CanvasCon 2018 #UCPH

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