Entries by Center for Academic Innovation

NameCoach – A new tool for Canvas

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NameCoach for Canvas - a tool for building community in the classroom.

NameCoach is a new tool introduced in Canvas in Fall 2021. It allows students and instructors to record their preferred way to audibly speak their name, as well as provide a phonetic pronunciation. 

In Canvas, NameCoach is automatically enabled on the left-hand navigation bar. Selecting it will bring up the list of students’ names and preferred pronunciations.

Being able to call students by their name, with the correct pronunciation is a powerful tool in both the online and face-to-face classroom. Research supports that even small measures, like calling students by name, builds rapport, may increase participation, and increases students’ feelings of engagement with the class.

For more information about NameCoach, see the ITS Teaching and Learning page.

Learn more about NameCoach and all the Canvas tools offered through ITS Teaching & Learning.

Encouraging student participation in synchronous videoconference sessions

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How this will help: Identify ways that you might encourage active participation in web conferencing sessions. Know where to find resources related to creating participatory environments. The basics When groups including classes meet in real-time online via a video conferencing tool, it’s tempting to just use the time for a presentation or a question and […]

Creating authentic assessments

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How this will help: Define the term authentic assessment. Describe the value of authentic assessments. Brainstorm ideas for authentic assessments that might work in your online course. The basics Multiple choice questions often can’t tell an instructor everything they want to know about students’ learning. Thinking about what you, as an instructor, want to measure […]

Using collaborative reading tools

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How this will help: Introduction to social annotation reading tools. How to use social annotation in an online class. The basics We know students may struggle to engage with assigned readings. To help remedy this, social annotation tools offer collaborative opportunities for reading, highlighting, and discussing texts online. What is social annotation? Social annotation (SA) […]

Alignment of your assessments and learning objectives

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How this will help: Define what is meant by alignment when describing course design. Describe how well aligned courses support student learning. Brainstorm possible assessments that align with your learning objectives. The basics When designing about the activities and assessments your students complete, both for practicing new skills and to demonstrate what they’ve learned, make […]