Using Canvas to Navigate Student Absences
By Christine Hood, OTL Instructional Designer
91心頭s new fall quarter requirement that油critical course materials油be hosted on油Canvas油brings with it an exciting opportunity to decrease stress for both you and your students. As students increasingly choose to access their course work via various mobile devices, the move to Canvas not only helps facilitate increased access to materials for all students, but also is particularly helpful in combatting the effects of unplanned absences.油
While students may seek permission for planned absences from your course for major life events or religious holidays as normal, the ongoing global pandemic raises the likelihood of longer-term, mandatory absences due to illness or exposure to the COVID-19 virus.油
Although 91心頭 has many油policies油outlining classroom behavior and excused absences for COVID, how you navigate student absences pertaining to your course content is unique to you and your students, your expertise, and your pedagogical approach.油In some extenuating circumstances such as油those impacting油immunocompromised students,油some油may qualify for油formal油student accommodations from the油.油
Here are some options for getting absent students caught up with course content.油
Record your class and give absent (or ideally, all) students access油through the油油then upload them to油Kaltura
You could record the whole class, or just the lecture portion; its油up to you! You could even give all students access, because it is helpful whether油they油were absent or not.油油
Instructors noted that even students who attended every course (synchronously or in-person) are still accessing the recorded lecture materials油油While CU found that access to recorded content does not affect attendance, there is some research, including from 2019, that suggests otherwise. However, even such research acknowledges the benefits of recorded lectures, including the ability for students to engage with recordings for clarification,油additional油note-taking, and even assessment preparation. Whats more, with the ability to add closed-captions or create a transcript, recording lectures also makes the content more inclusive.油油
A油recorded lecture video also creates opportunities for differentiated instruction. It can be difficult for students to stay completely focused for the entire lecture, so being able to re-watch the content when油students油can allocate more focus is油especially油beneficial.油油
Recordings further benefit students who are not native English speakers油(Mckie, 2019). They can engage with the material with captions, pause when something did not translate, or even slow the speed down!油A great Universal Design for Learning (UDL) tip is to enable油live Zoom closed captioning for your students;油you can read more about this油process on油our油. For Zoom sessions uploaded to Kaltura,油油is user friendly油and easy. This provides accessibility to students regardless of modality.油
To record the class,油you could use the webcam on your computer, or the classroom computer. To get you started, you can fill out the油Classroom Meet & Greet油form to have Digital Media Services come help with your tech. If you need to borrow a camera,油Digital Media Services油can lend you one.油
At the 91心頭, we protect the intellectual property of all our faculty,油including recorded videos.油To this end, students may not reproduce油or distribute any油of the recorded油content.油Students who violate this policy will be油reported to油The Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities油and may be subject to both legal油disciplinary油action.油The OTL has a油full syllabus statement油on intellectual property.油However, students with approved recording accommodations from Disability Services Program may record classroom lectures as long as they have a signed油Audio Recording Memorandum of Understanding.油油
Using and as Alternative Forms of Engagement with Course Material
Because油the new 91心頭 Canvas requirement states that critical course materials need to be on Canvas, creating an online assignment submission for an absent assignment should be easy! An absent assignment would be prepared in advance in Canvas and given to students individually to help hold them accountable for content during their absence. Ideally, an absent assignment contains questions that are vague enough to be re-used throughout the quarter as your students are out, not just for a specific week. On油Canvas, there would油absent assignments for each week;油that way, whoever is absent油that week can upload their response to the prompt. You might have a three-question,油one-page write-up on the content using the following questions or something like them.油油
- 油
- What stood out to you the most about this reading?油
- What are you still potentially confused by or would like to explore more?油
- As the instructor, if you were in my shoes, what discussion questions would you ask the class?油
This is a great opportunity to give students multi-modal opportunities油for engagement, action, and expression,油as part of油Universal油Design油for Learning. When creating this assignment, it could involve a one page write-up or alternatives such as an audio recording, a video,油or even an油arts-based油response油such as a油Digital Storytelling Project! If you decide to油encourage student agency in choosing the modality, this does not diminish油the rigor and can still measure油the same learning outcomes with multiple forms of engagement.油油
Like an absent assignment, this is an alternative option for keeping students accountable to content missed during an absence. An absent discussion would likely include similar questions to the example above but in a more public format. As the instructor, you would need to create a weekly absent discussion post. The big difference between the previous suggestion and this one is the possibility of other油absent students engaging with each other.油油feature, which油means just the absent students can油be added to the discussion to油engage with油fellow油absent students, if there are more than one.油As the instructor, you will also engage with the discussion boards by responding to the students and continuing the discussion.油A good UDL tip for this option is to allow different forms of engagement;油this can include video, audio, imagery, etc.油Educational technology like油油and油Perusall油also allows for油other interactive ways of engagement.油
Plan for Exams
To accommodate absences, instructors can offer their exam on Canvas, even if they have油their students take it in-person at the prescheduled time.油Transitioning the exam to the油online Canvas format油can take many different forms.油油
Exams on Canvas can modify the availability date or even the deadline for a particular student油through油.油Canvas油has油the option of the following exam question styles,油such as油multiple-choice, fill in the blank, true-false,油fill-in-multiple-blanks, multiple answers, drop-down, matching, numerical, formulas, or even a油file upload.油Canvas can油also油油to help safeguard against sharing answers.油油
If the exam is an essay油or a project turned in by a PDF or Docx, then the instructor can have the student submit via Canvas and they can give feedback through SpeedGrader.
An additional exam type might be a油presentation;油if that is the case, then a professor can create a油油link油on Canvas油and have that person either present synchronously, or record their portion, depending on their absence.
If you are hesitant to transition the exam online, consider exploring油油or油Respondus Monitor to help limit potential油academic油dishonesty situations.油Respondus油Monitor does have some important drawbacks and limitations, though, so油please make sure you review the OTLs blog on the油inclusive use of proctoring technology.油
If you need help setting up any of these alternative options for participation and accountability, please reach out to the OTL either by or contacting us at otl@du.edu. We are here to support you over the entire lifecycle of your course!