When to use Canvas
Canvas is designed to function as a course鈥檚 designated website, so the short answer to this question is that Canvas still can, and should, be used for the majority of your course content.听 Instructors are expected to upload the course syllabus to Canvas and use its Gradebook for assignments. Beyond these core functions, Canvas also works best for a number of other classroom practices.听听
- Exams: Whether you elect to use (and whether or not you decide to use ), exams, especially mid-terms and finals, should be facilitated through Canvas.听听
- Assignment submission and instructor feedback: Courses with an emphasis on written work can use the feature to provide feedback on and grade student work. The recent also allows for easy file-sharing.听听
- Formative assessment and peer feedback: For courses that practice formative assessment, or in which larger projects are scaffolded into a series of steps that includes peer and/or instructor feedback, Canvas allows for the dissemination of feedback via , , and .听
- In Digication鈥檚 latest update, known as ePortfolio assignments can be scaffolded into i and based on point values that will then sync with the Canvas gradebook. However, this option only makes sense if students are using these assignments to build out a larger ePortfolio project, as assignments are added to a template or to the student鈥檚 existing ePortfolio. Additionally, Digication does not have the capabilities to sync written feedback with Canvas just yet.听
- Readings and Instructional Materials: Uploading readings and other instructional materials to Canvas not only makes it easy for students to access those materials at any point in the term, but also allows (and, in a way, encourages) supplementing readings with other types of content and media, which supports the of providing multiple means of engagement for students.听
- Discussion boards: Canvas鈥檚 boards are great for getting students to interact with each other and the instructor, engage with course materials, and demonstrate knowledge of the course subject matter beyond simply participating in face-to-face discussions.听听
- Scheduling Zoom: Courses that utilize can use Canvas to schedule meetings for the whole class, group work, or office hours.听
- Kaltura videos: The allows you and your students to easily create and share videos, including (which offer useful analytics on the back-end for instructors).听听
- This is also a great option to use if students are recording and adding videos to an ePortfolio鈥攙ideos and audio can be recorded directly within Digication, but Kaltura has a more robust set of like the ability to for recorded videos, that, once recorded, can easily be .听
- Modules: Using to organize course content by day or week creates an ease of navigation that allows students to access all the relevant content in one place. If you鈥檙e tired of students asking or messaging you with questions about where they can find something, using Modules thoughtfully is your best bet.听
All of which may now have you asking, 鈥淪o if Canvas does all that, what are we supposed to use Digication for?鈥澨
When to use Digication
Fundamentally, Canvas is the ideal system for creating and managing student work within the classroom. Digication, on the other hand, is the ideal system for 鈥渁ny assignment that wants to reach an audience beyond the classroom,鈥 in the words of Madison Sussman, an Exhibits Librarian and Assistant Professor at DU. Sussman, who was part of a working group that tested out Digication鈥檚 capabilities this past spring, believes the program is especially good for facilitating exhibit/showcase-style assignments. 听
These types of assignments include:听
- Museum-style digital exhibits that synthesize multiple media modalities, such as text, video, audio, images, graphics, and more.听听
- Capstone projects that collect student artifacts from a class, or even across a whole program, and offer a space for students to make connections and reflect on their growth and future goals.听
- Community-engaged works, such as oral histories, or reflective assignments in which students document and reflect on experiences, such as internships or volunteer work, outside of the classroom.听
- Research projects, especially those that benefit from, or even require, data visualization.听听
- Digital resumes or CV鈥檚, especially when you would like to document and demonstrate your work via images, videos, hyperlinks, and other media, rather than simply referencing a project as a line in your resum茅听
In short, Digication is best used as a supplement, not a replacement, to Canvas. Think of Canvas as the place to conduct and enhance the day-to-day business of your class. Think of Digication as the place to get students doing the kind of work that encourages them to think about, create for, reflect on, and engage with the world outside the classroom.听
