Introduction

In, "Changing the conversation" av Shannon Riggs, “Thrive Online”, (Part 1 is published Open Access) Shannon Riggs describes how important preparation of course materials for the LMS is - "core competency" in blended learning environments:

"Online instructors, because they will not have students gathered in one place at one time to answer questions, should take special care that documents such as assignment directions are concise, thorough and clear and that these materials are engaging for the students. ..The preparation of course materials is a core competency for online educators since there are simply more course materials to prepare for online courses than for face-to-face course due to the absence of synchronous in-person meeting time."

One of the most important aspects of good online course design is the course navigation. How you structure your course will determine how your students go through the content. For example, it may be good to keep the navigation consistent from week to week. If your course is difficult to navigate, students will be confused and you will likely receive complaints as well as emails from the students asking for help.

Course modules are the backbone of your course navigation

Modules are where you organise your course objects into the bigger chunks of content. This content is presented to students in a sequential flow through your modules.

Modules allow you to create a learning path through your content. The links, reading resources, assignments and quizzes make up the specific stepping stones in your path so your students can easily step from one stone to the next. Organise all your contents in your "buckets" and organise a sequential path using modules. You may choose to group content into weeks, topics, etc. The module tool allows you to create an easy-to-use learning path for your students allowing your students and yourself as instructor to track progress.

An introduction to modules

This is a good video to help you to understand working with modules in Canvas. This video (4:05 minutes) is from U of MN | Academic Technology Support Services on Youtube.

All your course content via the Module menu:

The module overview is central to the course's navigation in Canvas. Please place a text on the website where you refer the students to "All course content is in modules". Under Modules, students will find all content pages, Tasks, Quiz and Discussions.

If you use requirements and conditions in Modules, you also give the students a "To do List". Modules are a storyboard for your course, a list of activities and resources and it is important to label them clearly and preferably to number them. Modules give you as a teacher an opportunity to guide the students through the course material in a certain order. For the student, the module overview serves as a checklist showing that they have done what needs to be done. Take a look at the modules in this course. The modules are numbered and the contents in each module are also numbered.

To make it clear to students what they need to do or have done (for example listening to a lecture), you can consider creating a “non-graded assignment” with a due date. The advantage for the student is that they see this in the course calendar. You can also create a calendar event with tips for when to finish reading a particular article, etc.

Each part of the course can be matched to an appropriately-named module in Canvas. The presentation for each module can be suggested in accordance with the sequence in the syllabus. The syllabus first says something about the content in the course. It corresponds to “Activities” in Canvas. These activities may consist of content pages with instructions on reading etc., quizzes or surveys with films and questions, assignments, discussions and more. Examinations can be entered as assignments or quiz (exam). Examinations can be the last section in each module.

To do - map your modules

To do: This Word file will help to give you an overview of your modules and the aim of the modules. Source for this is document Blendkit from University of Central Florida. CC-license. You may find it useful to use Padlet to create a map of your modules and content. Here is an example from this course

You may want to use the ACUE (Association of College and University Educators) Online toolkit resource called Module Road Map to document your road map for the module.

Don't forget: modules offer function not just structure

Every time you or a student enters your Canvas course, you come to the Home page. It contains all the current information, much like a combined message board and to-do list. But the course structure and most of its content can be found under Modules. Wherever you are in Canvas, you can always click on Modules in the menu to return to the course.

But Modules are functional - not just for visual presentation. By building your pedagogical intentions into the structure of your Modules, you can let Canvas help manage the busywork:

Lock a Module until a certain date
...or until a student completes prerequisite(s);
Require students to access items in order;
Provide different content to students depending on their performance;
Easily track student access/progress.

When you design with Modules, you integrate all your activities and resources into a coherent whole, rather than making students "click around" different siloed areas. Instead of first clicking to Files for a reading... then to Discussions to talk about the reading... then to Assignments to submit an essay... if all 3 items belong together, students should see them that way!

Top-5 checklist for creating modules:

Design Your Flow. A Module isn't a laundry list! The progression of items should make sense to a student, not just to you (see Myth #14 on the Bulletin Board :) .
Avoid Overload. Resources (like readings) can be embedded right inside Assignments, rather than listed as separate items. A Module with 10 or more items can start to degrade student motivation. (Optional reading: Wendy Mackay, "Responding to cognitive overload: Co-adaptation between users and technology" )
Build for Consistency. Consistency across Modules can help students with effective time management. They needn't be cookie-cutter, but if there's a consistent rhythm from week to week, make sure your Module structure reflects that fact.
Build Prerequisites and Requirements. Building your prerequisites and requirements, not just stating them, has two major benefits: Canvas can manage them for you, and you can easily keep track of student progress.
Include Checkpoints. Preview and Review items can be a useful way to prompt students to reflect, look ahead, give feedback, and generally notice the connections between one Module and the next.

Extra Reading to clarify

Wiley University Service: Page on Modular Course Design - text and video explanation

Source for some of the contents is credited to the Indiana Learning to teach online shared via Canvas Commons; CC BY 4.0

"The Indiana University Teaching Online Series (TOS) is a self-paced, adaptable, online resource delivered via Canvas to provide faculty members and other instructors a place to learn new skills or refresh previously-learned skills related to online course design and teaching. This version is adaptable to any institution and does not include IU-specific resources and information"