This Template allows you to organize your UVACanvas course using Modules organized by week.

Use the following steps to set up your Canvas Course.

Step 1: Shrink your Course Navigation Menu

The Course Navigation menu is the vertical list of links on the left side of your Canvas course that serves as the primary navigation tool for students. By default, it includes links to various course areas such as Modules, Assignments, Discussions, Grades, and more.

Curate these links by hiding unused tools to help students quickly find what they need while preventing confusion about which course areas they should access.
Hide them by adjusting your "navigation" list in your course settings. Only the items that do not have the "crossed off eye" will appear on the Student's screen.

Turn on: Always

Turn on always: Syllabus--for current listing of upcoming due dates
Turn on always: Modules--shorten earlier explanation
Turn on always: Grades and Assignments
Turn on always: SensusAccess--so students can convert files for digital accessibility ruling

Turn on: It Depends

Turn on: Quizzes, Discussions, Announcements, Online Meetings (If you are using them in the course)

Turn off

Turn off Files
Turn off Pages

Read for Help: How do I hide/show item on the Course Navigation Menu?

Read for Help: How can I view what students will see in my Canvas course?

Step 2: Explore the Learning Advantages of a "Modules" Structure

Why Use a Modules Structure

We recommend adding a weekly modular structure, in addition to having a Home Page with "weekly buttons". Let's consider why.

Reduces cognitive load. The short answer is to help reduce the cognitive load required to navigate through Canvas and to enhance executive functioning (student's ability to organize, prioritize, plan and act). Our students are novices in our disciplines: terminology, threshold concepts, and disciplinary ways of thinking are unfamiliar and produce high cognitive load.
Sequences how students engage. Research in the instructional design of LMS such as Canvas, indicates that the human brain can be overloaded when too many options are presented to novice learners. Novices, when first introduced to new content, often prefer a linear, sequential presentation of new information and benefit from patterns and routines: what will I be expected to do in the beginning, middle, and end of the week (OEI Course Design Rubric; Grant, 2021; Quality Matters, Wenzel et al., ).
Time-oriented modules are more student-centered and provide a visual map of the course and how the content/assignments will fit together over the week (before/during/after class) and the semester. Organizing thinking and creating a "study plan" for the month is critical for student success. We recommend setting up time-oriented modules (Week 1, 2, etc.) instead of course-activity modules (Readings, PPTX, Assignments). Time-oriented modules, because of their linear format from Week 1-15, help novice learners begin to mentally organize topics and unfamiliar concepts over time which helps students map their studying behavior more efficiently. When studying for exams, students can also see the "Table of Contents" that the module titles represent.

Example: Time-Oriented Modular Structure

Week 1 (Sept 5, 7): Periodic Table and Nomenclature

Week 1 Outline and To Do List

Week 2 (Sept 12, 14): Atomic Structure

Week 2 Outline and To Do List

Week 3 (Sept 19, 20): Mole Concept

Week 3 Outline and To Do List
Test 1 (In-class, Sept 20)

This Template's Use of Weekly Modules

This Course template is organized using Modules to allow students to navigate the course in a weekly structure. After completion of these instructions, each Module will contain course content that is required for that week in a Before/During/After Class format by week.

There are 18 Modules included in this template:

1 Introduction Module that students complete prior to accessing Week 1, to orient themselves to your course
16 Weekly Class Topic Modules for Weeks 1-16 of the semester, including Finals Week
1 Digital Accessibility Module intended for faculty use only that includes an annotated Word Doc template explaining how to create accessible Word Documents

Step 3: Add Content and Tasks to Your Course Introduction Module

Start by adding pre-course activities to the Course Introduction Module. What tools will orient students to your course, your Canvas structure, and your class routines? The Course Intro module is also a handy tool to re-direct students to during the semester when they are emailing you questions about course basics: "Great question! Navigate to the first/top Module in Canvas, and click on "How to see my instructor's annotated comments on my graded assignment".

The Introduction Module in this template includes the following resources:

Syllabus: This links to the Syllabus tool in your Canvas course site
Using this Canvas Course: Guidance for students on how to navigate and use the Canvas site (communication, course structure, policies, etc.)
Help at UVA: Highlights academic, health and wellbeing, safety, and financial university resources to help ensure equitable access and success for students.
About your Instructor: Gives students a chance to get to know their instructor, including contact information, availability, and a brief introduction.
Course Q&A: A discussion board for students to ask course-related questions, share answers, and learn from each other with instructor support and guidance
Introduction Module Quiz (Optional): A quiz at the end of the Module to confirm students understand the information and know where to find it

Next, set the Intro Module as a pre-requisite so that students cannot advance to the Week 1 module until completing the Intro Module (Making it a pre-requisite is optional. Use your discretion).

Read for Help:

How do I use and create the Modules and nested items? (Note: this help page fails to suggest the use of "Weekly Outline and To Do" page)
How do I add prerequisites to a module?

Step 4: Customize the Labels of your 16 Weekly Modules

Label each module "Header" with the week #, dates, and organizing topic.

Examples:

Week 1 (Aug 25, 27, 29): Foundations of Basket-weaving
Week 1 (Sept 5, 7): Periodic Table and Nomenclature

Read: How do I edit or delete a Module?

Step 5: Customize each Weekly Overview and To Do Page

Consistently make the "Weekly Outline and To Do List" the first item in every module. This consistent page helps establish the "learning routine" which we discuss more, below.

The most commonly recommended learning routine to help students with their executive functioning in your course is the Before/During/After class routine.

Edit the Weekly Outline and To Do page to clearly describe your Before/During/After routine.

Write your Learning Objectives: Consider using various levels of Bloom's taxonomy verbs (e.g., define X, describe Y, apply Z to this context, analyze X, calculate Y using Z).
Add the Bullets for Before/During/After Sections: Customize the 3 sections for the weekly routine: sequentially list, in bulleted or numbered format, the work to be completed for the Before, During, and After Class categories.
Hyperlink to the Files/Pages/Assignments: You have likely imported or will create assignments, files, and pages. In each of the 3 sections (Before/During/After), be sure to link to the appropriate Canvas assignment, quiz, etc. Providing this direct linkage here on the Overview Page helps the student avoid the "hunt-peck" method of scrolling through the 20-100 items we as instructors often put into a course. If you are not importing Canvas assignments etc., and need to create them, use the following instructions:
- Read: How do I create a new page in a course?
- Read: How do I create an assignment?
- Read: How do I create a quiz with individual questions (Classic Quizzes)? or How do I create a quiz using New Quizzes?
- Read: How do I upload a document in the Rich Content Editor?
- Make sure to replace all yellow highlighted XXXXXXX fields with custom text. Or if you do not wish to utilize these fields, you should delete them entirely and not leave them unedited to ensure a better experience for your students.

Example Weekly Overview Page

Learning Objectives

Learning Objective 1
Learning Objective 2
Learning Objective 3

Before Class (Sept 7)

Read: Chapter 1. Periodic Table
Submit: Reading Guide 1, Periodic Table

During Class (Sept 7)

View/take lecture notes: Wk1.PeriodicTablelecture.pptx
Handout: Annotated Periodic Table
Submit: Wk1 Application Activity Elements

After Class (Sept 8)

Submit: Wk1.ElementsQuiz by Friday noon
Read: Chapter 2 and begin study guide for next week (Sept 12)

Read for Help: How do I edit a page in a course?

Read for Help: How do I create hyperlinks to user, group, or course files in the rich content editor?

Read for Help: What features are specific to Gradescope, Classic Quizzes, and New Quizzes?

Step 6: Add Tests and Major Projects to Weekly Modules

Avoid the temptation to make modules into "document repositories" where you just upload files or link assignments.

Because the Weekly Modules main page serves as a sequentially organized "Table of Contents" for your course, consider Test and Major Projects as well as the Weekly Overview to visually highlight the points in time when highly-weighted tasks are due. The major project deadlines and Tests are also linked on the Weekly Outline and To Do page.

Example Module Structure

Below is a sample module structure where the first line represents the Module and the bulleted text represents the course content items added to that Module.

Week 1 (Sept 5, 7): Periodic Table and Nomenclature

Week 1 Overview and To Do List

Week 2 (Sept 12, 14): Atomic Structure

Week 2 Overview and To Do List
Term Paper: Topic selection due (online, Sept 14)

Week 3 (Sept 19, 20): Mole Concept

Week 3 Overview and To Do List
Test 1 (In-class, Sept 20)

Example Module Structure. See information above.

Step 7: Check Digital Accessibility

In the U.S. the ADA law and out UVA policy require us to make our course and course materials digital accessible. Make your course digitally accessible by following the guidance in the Digital Accessibility in My Course module. This module is only for you as the faculty member, to provide you with helpful hints of how to use the accessibility features of Canvas, so remember to unpublish this module.

Read for Help: How do I hide/unpublish a module so that students cannot see it?

Step 8: Set Your Homepage

Your course homepage serves as the central landing page and first impression for your students.

You have the option to:

set the Modules landing page as the homepage,
OR design a Homepage of your own.

Designing Your Own Homepage

You're welcome to create your own homepage or personalize the custom homepage design in this template. If you would like to create your own homepage, we recommend using DesignPlus to help you with page design, as it contains templates and other pre-made content you can add to your pages. You can open the DesignPlus sidebar menu by pressing Alt-Shift-D (PC) or Option-Shift-D (Mac) on your keyboard.

Our template homepage includes several key elements to help students successfully navigate and engage with your course:

Welcome Message

The prominent welcome header message helps create an inviting atmosphere for your students and to build a sense of belonging in the course. Include a very brief (1-2 sentence) description of what your course is about.

Important Links

The top navigation menu provides quick access to frequently used course materials and important resources. The links we've provided by default include the Syllabus, Using this Canvas Course, Help at UVA, and Course Q&A.

About this Course

Under this heading, students will find essential course details including meeting times, location, and instructor information.

Weekly Overview Buttons

The weekly overview buttons allow your students to jump straight to each week's overview page in your Modules. It's included to guide your students through your course and allow them to quickly jump to a particular Module from the homepage.

Using the Homepage in the Template

If you choose to utilize the Homepage that is included in the template, you will need to remove it from the "For Instructors: How to Use This Template (DO NOT PUBLISH)" Module so that students will be able to see it. We included the Homepage in the Module initially so that you could easily find it upon first accessing the template.

Also note that you cannot easily add or remove the custom buttons to the page without directly editing the HTML code. You can only change the button text and links from the Rich Content Editor.

Read for Help: How do I create a new page in a course?

Read for Help: How do I set a Front Page in a course?

Read for Help: How do I change the Course Home Page?

Step 9: Unpublish/hide from students and Publish the Course

In addition to hiding the Digital Accessibility Module, you will also want to unpublish this Page, as it is only for you as the faculty member. This will hide it from your students, but it will still be visible to you.

Last, you will publish the course so your students can view and access the content.

Read for Help: How do I publish or unpublish a page as an instructor?

Read for Help: How do I publish a course?

Step 10: Streamline Accommodations Using Canvas

Test Accommodations and Assignment Deadline Accommodations:
- In Canvas, how do I change the length of a test, the test date, or Canvas assignment due date/time, for one or several students who have accommodations?
- Instructors are strongly recommended to make arrangements for students to take tests in their School/College. If this cannot be arranged, or a student has an accommodation that specifically states they are to take tests in SDAC, then read the SDAC Faculty and Student Exam guidance for faculty, including use of the Exam Portal.
Alternate formats Accommodation (e.g., Braille, ePub):
- How to Convert a Document Using Sensus Access tool in Canvas
- UDOIT is a tool now integrated into Canvas. Scroll down to the section labeled "Request alternate formats" in the UDOIT User Guide
Adding Captions to Videos:
- Read the LTS Helpguide for How Can I Make Video or Audio Accessible?
- UVA quick-guide to Captioning and Transcriptions for digital accessibility compliance
Notetaking Accommodation:
- Consider creating a graded notetaking "Discussion Board" for which students get credit for taking/posting Class Notes on the dates their group is assigned to be notetakers. (a very minimal amount of credit, say 1-3 pts total).
  1. Calculate how many class periods you have in the semester: you meet T/R over 15 weeks, the class will meet 30 times.
  2. Create small groups of students. So, if you have 30 students, you might create 10 groups of 3 students each; each group will end up taking class notes 3x during the semester. Rotate which group takes note each class period over the course of the term.
  3. Create a graded Discussion Board for Notes that you will assign to a single group for the first day of class. For the 2nd/beyond class sessions, you can "duplicate" the assignment in Canvas and then just change the due date and which group of students it is assigned to for each class session date.
- If you have worked it out with SDAC that you are posting your pptx or your own notes for the accommodation:
  - Consider the UDL option and post them for all learners in the "During Class" section of your Weekly Class Overview in this Canvas Template.
  - If you do not wish to share the notes/pptx with the entire class but only with the student(s) w/that accommodation, simply: (1) create a non-graded "Assignment" where you will attach the pptx or notes files,(2) Edit the Grading type to be Not Graded, and (3) assign it to only one student; (4)Duplicate the "non-assignment Assignment" for each class session. The assignment should show up in the Student's list of Canvas Assignments Due Soon list. Email LDT for assistance.

Further Research on Digital Course Design and Learning Theory

Borgemenke AJ, Holt WC, Fish WW (2013) Universal course shell template design and implementation to enhance student outcomes in online coursework. Quarterly Review of Distance Education 14(1): 17–23.

Dykman, C. A., & Davis, C. K. (2008). Online education forum: Part two-teaching online versus teaching conventionally. Journal of Information Systems Education, 19(2), 157.

Garbrick, A., & Reid, R. (2016). Penn State: Canvas User StudyLinks to an external site.. Penn State University.

Huun, Kathleen & Hughes, Lisa. (2014). Autonomy Among Thieves: Template Course Design for Student and Faculty Success. Journal of Educators Online. 11. 10.9743/JEO.2014.2.4.

Ifenthaler, D., Masduki, I. & Seel, N.M. The mystery of cognitive structure and how we can detect it: tracking the development of cognitive structures over time. Links to an external site.Instr Sci 39, 41–61 (2011).

McMullan, T., Williams, D., Ortiz, Y. L., & Lollar, J. (2022). Is Consistency Possible? Course Design and Delivery to Meet Faculty and Student Needs. Current Issues in Education, 23(3).

Scutelnicu, G., Tekula, R., Gordon, B., & Knepper, H. J. (2019). Consistency is key in online learning: Evaluating student and instructor perceptions of a collaborative online-course template.Links to an external site. Teaching Public Administration, 37(3), 274-292.

Sweller, J. (2006). Why Understanding Instructional Design Requires an Understanding of Human Cognitive Evolution. In H. O'Neil & R.S. Perez (Eds.) Web-based Learning: Theory, Research and Practice (1st ed., pp. 279-294). Routledge.

Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J.J.G. & Paas, F. (2019). Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design: 20 Years Later.Links to an external site. Educ Psychol Rev 31, 261–292.

University of Waterloo, Queen's University, University of Toronto, & Conestoga College. Chapter 3: Quality and Course Structure and Content. In High Quality Online Courses: Links to an external site.How to Improve Course Design & Delivery for your Post-Secondary LearnersLinks to an external site.. (their compilation of research resulted in publication of this very instructor-friendly guide, licensed under
a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International LicenseLinks to an external site., except where otherwise noted.