Best Practices for Designing Engaging and Effective Canvas Courses

When designing a Canvas course, follow these practices to create a dynamic and engaging learning experience for your students. Focus on these three fundamental principles of effective course design:

1. 1. Dynamic Course Homepage:
      Create an engaging and informative homepage that serves as the central hub for your course. Include a welcoming message, course objectives, important announcements and a course schedule. Enhance the homepage with visuals, videos or other multimedia elements to make it more appealing and interactive.
   2. Structured Learning Modules:
      Organize each learning module with a clear structure that guides students through the content. Start with an overview of the module’s goals, provide educational materials (such as readings, videos or presentations), include interactive activities or discussions and conclude with an assessment or assignment. Clearly state the learning outcomes for each module to help students understand what they’ll achieve.
   3. Consistent Course Organization:
      Maintain a simple, consistent layout to help students easily find and access course materials. Use modules to group related content, assignments and resources. Provide clear instructions and labels for each section, and ensure a logical flow from one module to the next.

Remember, these are just a few best practices. Effective Canvas course design also involves aligning your course structure with learning objectives, considering the diverse needs of your students and continuously refining your course based on student feedback and assessment results.

NOVA Course Designers can assist with implementing the best practices for your Canvas courses. Book an appointment today!

—Johnna Denny, CETSS