MEETING 6: What We'll Do

Robot 6Today is the day we start building out one full module. Building a full module is your proof of concept. It will give you an idea of how much time it will take to build out all of your other modules so that you can budget your time accordingly. That is why, in deciding which module you want to build first, it is a good idea to choose one that is fairly representative. It also gives you a chance to test out the technologies you plan to use to ensure they work the way you anticipate. 

One of the first things we will focus on is the module landing page, the page that is linked from your homepage each week. This usually has an overview section that contextualizes what you will be doing that week, a list of what you want the students to read or watch, along with a list of what they need to do that week in terms of assignments, discussions, or other activities. We will also be talking about best practices for getting your content into Canvas.

What to Bring

  • An idea of which module you will choose to build out and any notes you have about what will be needed.
  • Notes about any tools you think you might need for conveying content. (We might have talked about this when we looked at the (Gadget Finder.)

What We'll Do

  • We will begin by looking at examples of:
    • Module Landing Pages
    • Basic Page Layouts
  • We will consider best practices in content delivery based on the nature of that content and look at examples of:
    • Lectures
    • Tutorials
    • Discussions that include content
  • We will also look at ways to organize Canvas Content Pages. This is always a challenge, especially since the Canvas Rich Text Editor is a bit clunky.
    • We will start by looking at some graphic design basics along with some common errors and how to fix those.
    • We'll cover some basic methods of image editing and making banners.
    • Then, we'll take a look at a few "Code Cheats" in Canvas for those times when you want to get your text to wrap around an image and other frustrating scenarios.
    • Then you will continue building out your module.

What to Do Before We Meet Again