CANVAS – Our New Learning Management System

Tricia Lau Educational Support Services Jen Sharman Director of Knowledge Services Jackie Camilleri Deputy Head (Academics) Tim Ross Head of Digital Learning

The unprecedented times of 2020 saw the rapid deployment of asynchronous (distance learning) teaching to our students, and fast tracking of the Knowledge Services project to identify the School’s requirements for our digital learning environment. The resultant Digital Learning Strategy forms an integral component of King’s Online: Transforming the Digital Experience, having obvious synergies with both the King’s intranet, KingsNet, and soon to be released new public website. The School identified that a key objective in the successful delivery of digital academic resources to our students was the consolidation of these resources onto one platform. For this reason, the decision was made to move to CANVAS as a School-wide Learning Management System. The School has provided academic staff with Professional Learning opportunities throughout Term 3 and 4 to develop CANVAS skills and to begin to develop CANVAS courses. Feedback from our academic staff to date has been extremely positive. Several faculties in the Senior School have already started to deliver their CANVAS courses to students; from Term 4 2020, all Year 11 students have transitioned from iLearn to CANVAS to ensure consistency (throughout 2020 and 2021). From the start of the 2021 academic year, all students from Kindergarten to Year 11 will also transition to CANVAS.

CANVAS Our New Learning Management System

CONTINUED

Professional Learning Day Term 3 (Senior School and Prep School)

Topics covered during the sessions included:

• Course communication tools and organisation • Assessment marking tools and gradebook • Course design best practice considerations to optimise the student experience • Creating a blended learning course • Metaphors for Learning The aim of this professional learning day was for teachers and administrators to build depth of knowledge and experience in using a range of features in CANVAS and importantly, establish a common baseline of knowledge across the campuses. Delivered as a series of handson sessions with facilitated discussion, teachers and administrators became familiar and confident in the fundamentals of CANVAS specifically related to IB content delivery and assessing.

Professional Learning Day Term 4 (Senior School only)

Topics covered during the sessions included:

• Preparation (People, Notifications,

Publishing) • Announcements • Discussions and rubrics • Homework and rubrics • Creating School or Department based rubrics • Sharing of resources • Quizzes • Speedgrader The aim of this professional learning afternoon workshop was for teachers to feel confident about commencing to teach using CANVAS. Facilitated by external trainers (experienced teachers) from CANVAS, staff worked through the types of opportunities and challenges that are typically encountered in the first few weeks of going live with students in CANVAS. An optional session was also offered to staff which afforded them the opportunity to take a deeper dive into assessments using the quiz functionality and using rubrics for marking at different account levels.

In addition to the two formal Professional Learning days, the CANVAS@Kings Project Team offered a series of drop in sessions for individual staff or departments to hone their CANVAS skills. Regular training afternoons were also held for Tudor House and Prep School staff to ensure the level of knowledge and understanding of CANVAS was equitable across campuses.

What can be shared/learnt /put into practice here at King’s?

The success of CANVAS, like any platform, is heavily reliant on its implementation, level of staff engagement and ongoing support provided. While the decision to move to CANVAS was overall well received, staff validly voiced concerns regarding the pace of change, time pressures, training and ongoing support. To address these concerns, the CANVAS@Kings Project Team worked with each Deputy Head/Director of Academics, and in the Senior School each Head of Department as well, to design an implementation strategy suited to their specific needs. While some were keen to switch over to CANVAS sooner rather than later, others preferred more of a staged approach. To set the project up for success, the following support structure underpinned the implementation strategy:

• Establishment of a network of CANVAS

Champions across the School • Development in consult with the respective Champions, CANVAS templates by campus • Dedicated Department and professional development time to CANVAS • Relief and backfill arrangements • NESA accredited training • Ready access to both face to face and online support including a canvas@kings self-paced online course

Blended learning Opportunities

The concept of blended learning is seen as a set of strategies to leverage the best elements of face-to-face and online learning to provide students with a personalised and learner centred environment. Blended learning, commonly referred to as “hybrid” learning, aims at providing students with the opportunity to enjoy both the traditional and modern methods of learning, emphasising interactive, flexible and selfdirected learning. The move to CANVAS supports this learning well and underpins the way our staff teach and our students learn, now and in the future.

Ben Lum Computing Studies Department