TILLING THE SOIL

Modules are like a table of contents with headers and sub-sections that link to other Canvas elements. Modules offer an easy way to organize your class to make it easy for students to identify what is expected from them. They can be used to organize multiple pages, files, discussion boards, quizzes, and assignments into a more coherent whole.

Course modules are typically organized by topic or chronologically by week. They can provide a clear roadmap for the course, especially one that unlocks gradually for a self-paced learning experience. Within a module, use text headers to further divide content in an intuitive way, for example, to separate readings from lecture materials.

Here are the main benefits of organizing your course content into modules:

Creates a clear path through all of the course materials for students to go through.
Tracks each student's progress through the modules via the View Progress button.
Can be set to open automatically at a certain date and time.
Allows instructors to set Prerequisites and Requirements for how students get access to course content (e.g. you can set up week 2 module to only be visible to students who complete every assignment in the week 1 module, but be careful with this!)
Makes it easy to copy and adjust your course from year to year or semester to semester.

PLANTING AND PRUNING

Below is an example of how a module could be Organized:

There are many ways to make your modules more organized and help student find information and follow the follow of the module better.

Using Text Headers and Indenting

Text headers guide student navigation by giving simple instruction/hints on how to navigate the module
Be consistent with text header titles
Break up the module to show content and student work, days of the week, in class and out-of-class work, etc.
Indenting helps guide students through the module
Be consistent with use

Resources

How to add a text header?Links to an external site.

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Naming Conventions to with all Canvas Content

This course has been following Naming conventions to help keep you as the student on track and know where you left off if you didn't finish a module completely. If you look at the Page Title you will see a number next to the name of the page. This is the order that the page appears in the module.

Modules and items with modules have a thoughtful naming convention
- ex. Chapter 2: Population Distribution and Migration, NOT just Chapter 1
- ex. Week 1: May 23-27 or Monday, May 23rd
Be consistent with use
Should be able to read heading in module and know what each item is

Adding Fun to the Content Titles

The purpose of this is to add visual elements to the modules view
This is particularly important for younger learners so you can say things like, "click on the book"
Keep it simple, just one emoji/title
If adding emojis to any item that needs to be synced to Powerschool (assignments, discussions, and/or quizzes), add emojis at the END of the name! Module names don't sync, so the emoji can be at the beginning.

Adding Emoji to Modules

Pull up the emoji keyboard in the following ways

Right-click (or two-finger click) and select Emojis and Symbols from the menu

On a Mac --> Control + Command + Space bar
On a Window --> Win + . (period key) or Win + ; (semicolon key)

DIGGING DEEPER

Need more information? Check out these Canvas Guides!

How do I add course content as module items?
How do I add a text header as a module item?
How do I add an external tool as a module item?
How do I add an external URL as a module item?

Click Next to move on to the "2.14 | Try Creating Modules 🌿"