NET+ Canvas Newsletter
June 2023
In this version of the NET+ Canvas Newsletter, learn about the latest updates from Instructure about Canvas, comments and feedback from the Canvas Advisory Board, as well as best practices in Canvas use around the Internet2 Community.
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Instructure Updates
The latest from Instructure regarding Canvas product offerings.
Driving Student-Centric Learning with Human-Centered Design
Students are changing how they define academic success. In response, higher education institutions are shifting to a consumer-based approach, prioritizing student demands and needs. Modern students seek a healthy school-life balance, skill-based learning opportunities, and promising educational investment returns. In an effort to meet demands, institutions are implementing human-centered design strategies to provide students with a quality academic experience, driving student-centric learning. Human-centered design is an innovative problem-solving tool producing solutions based on human science pedagogy. Administrators, educators, and instructional designers are implementing human-centered principles to refine the learning process. Read more here.
Engaging Faculty with Cohort-Based Professional Development
Duke University consistently ranks among the very best and serves more than 17,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students combined. Seeking an all-in partnership and a more robust learning platform, Duke University adopted Canvas LMS and its service desk, as well as Canvas Studio, Canvas Credentials, and Impact by Instructure. Learn how the all-in partnership supports Duke's tradition of a strong ecosystem approach. Learn more here
Badging and Credentialing: The Universal Language of the Future
A shift in upskilling and reskilling is imperative to match the labor demand of the coming era, not only for organizations but for academia preparing the future of the workforce. Learn how badging and credentialing can help organizations and job-seekers create a universal language for upskilling and reskilling to help identify and close skills gaps. Read more here
7 Ways Canvas Partnerships Support Unique CBE Needs
At a time when student and workforce expectations are evolving, more institutions are shifting to competency-based education to provide students with greater access. With a focus on skill mastery, CBE programs offer flexibility in how they are administered, student-centered learning approaches, and personalized pathways that allow students to progress at their own pace. While Canvas LMS is the foundation of a learner-centered CBE experience, Instructure’s vast partner ecosystem provides more options to deliver exactly what institutions need, from curriculum management to SIS integrations to discipline-specific learning tools. Read more here
Click here for all things Higher Education by Instructure.
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Canvas Advisory Board Updates
Upcoming Meeting: July 12th, 2023
The next Canvas Advisory Board meeting will be on July 12th, 2023. Agenda items will be finalized and posted during the 2 weeks leading up to the meeting.
A complete listing of all Canvas Advisory Board meeting agendas can be found here.
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Meeting Recap
The agendas for our upcoming 2023 meetings have been published for your viewing. Please note, these are working documents and subject to change so please check back for any updates on a regular basis.
Thank you to all who participated in this month’s meeting for your insightful feedback, ideas, and discussion! Should you have any questions or want further information around the work being done by the NET+ Canvas Service Advisory Board or a copy of the Partner Program Report, please don’t hesitate to visit us at https://spaces.at.internet2.edu/x/7BOJCQ or contact us at netplus@internet2.edu and we will be happy to respond.
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NET+ Canvas Program Update
Service Advisory Board Goals for 2023
Goal #1
Continue to have timely discussions about Customer Experience as it relates to Instructure products and services, the NET+ Canvas program, our community, as well as future Instructure M&A conversations.
Deliverable: Continue to update/refine Canvas Institutional Profiles for effective collaboration within the program.
Deliverable: Bring to light community needs that are not being addressed otherwise in these areas.
Goal #2
Instructure to conduct semi-annual product roadmap discussion and a review of the R1 Peers/I2 product feature request list.
Deliverable: Continue to develop and refine, with Shaun Moon and Kevin Turco, a strategy and process for I2 and R1 Peer universities to provide Instructure with actionable information on pain points and unmet needs. The strategy and process should be synced with Instructure's product development cycle and allow Instructure to clearly communicate status and progress back to the universities.
Goal #3
Initiate advisory board input on Instructure’s platform strategy as it relates to third party vendors and data integration/mash-ups.
Deliverable: Focused discussion with Kevin Turco and Karl Lloyd.
Deliverable: Focused discussion on what universities are doing with Canvas data and live events. What action do the data feed?
Deliverable: Implement this goal's outcomes effectively within the Canvas Institutional Profiles for further collaboration.
Goal #4
Continue Instructure product strategy discussions with Jared Stein.
NET+ Canvas - HELPFUL LINKS
Around the Community
Commentary from I2 Canvas users: advice, best practices, feedback.
R1 Peers
The Canvas Peers Research Universities Group (or R1 Peers Group) brings together representatives from large public and private research universities to share best practices around using Canvas and the surrounding ed tech ecosystem to support teaching and learning. They also collaborate closely with Instructure (Canvas vendor) and sit on the Internet2 NET+ Canvas Service Advisory Board to improve the Canvas platform and user experience for research universities. This group represents more than 250 members from 45 institutions of higher education and research across the United States, and around the world.
For context, recently the R1 Peers Group has collaborated in the following areas:
- Tier 1 support
- Archiving
- 3rd party integrations
- Pain points
- Data privacy
LRS Standards SIG
The Learning Records Store (LRS) Special Interest Group (SIG) assembles use cases for an LRS, creates an LRS reference architecture, and develops implementation/engineering best practices. The SIG promotes open standards that enable data from a variety of teaching and learning tools to be included in the LRS.
This group is chaired by the University of Washington and meets monthly on the fourth Wednesday of the month, however the LRS SIG is currently on hold. For more information or to join this group, please reach out to Matthew Buss (mbuss@internet2.edu). Thank you.