Lesson: Organization and Time Management

 

Lesson Pages

• Overview & Objectives
• Lesson
• Questions & Comments 

 

 Sizing Up the Barrier 

A common refrain among practitioners in online learning environments is that students benefit from a course only as much as their effort allows. In a vague sense, this is probably true in that the autonomous nature of online learning requires far more self-direction, self-organization and time management for students than in-person classes typically do. Indeed, research has indicated that time spent in study in online settings does significantly predict learning outcomes (Arguedas, Daradoumis, & Xhafa, 2016 Links to an external site.; Wu, 2016 Links to an external site.). However, given the sharp increase in required autonomy for students moving from live to online courses (and particularly asynchronous online courses), many students struggle to make the adjustment without support. In effect, students who are quite capable otherwise may struggle with the organization and time management requirements of online learning. These skills fall under the scope of the term "executive functions." This challenge is further exacerbated by the fact that the part of the brain associated with executive functions is the slowest to develop, with full maturity not occurring until about age 25. The bottom line is: offering supports for executive functioning is a common need for traditional college-aged students, especially in an online environment.

 

 

Consider the following hypothetical case to better understand the challenge that some students experience in transferring from in person to online learning (note, this video is also used elsewhere in this course).

 

 

How can instructors intentionally address the support needs of students who struggle with time management and organization, particularly, in the Canvas learning environment? That's the focus of this lesson.

 

Methods

We advocate a two-part approach to supporting students' organization and time management on Canvas: (1) quality course design on Canvas, properly using such features as the Syllabus, calendar, and assignments functions and (2) explicit instruction in time and organization methods for students. The combined effect of these two enables users to utilize the native features of Canvas to facilitate easy organization and increased time management necessary for success in online learning.

Part One: Quality Course Design

Posting Assignments. One of Canvas' greatest strengths over Blackboard is its ability to centralize such things as calendars, assignments, and announcements for individual users. That is, students' Canvas calendar should show all assignments and other posted events for all courses in one central location (the calendar tab). Likewise, from the dashboard, Canvas users can see all due and upcoming assignments for all courses simultaneously. The best part of this is that so long as instructors are creating assignments using Canvas' assignments function in courses or directly on the calendar, this benefit is automatic. However, instructors should be cognizant that posting assignments only through printed handout, as announcements, via external link, via downloaded document or via email will not activate this feature.

 

 

Developing Syllabi on Canvas. Another way that Canvas networks content is through the syllabus. It may be tempting to simply upload a ready-made document version of one's syllabus to Canvas. However, using Canvas's native syllabus tool allows for heightened interaction among different parts of the Canvas course and increased functionality for students. By entering information, assignments and events from the Syllabus directly through the Canvas syllabus tool, not only is the syllabus populated, but Canvas will automatically populate the calendar, assignments and discussions with the content indicated in the syllabus. For this reason, it is an excellent idea to spend a good deal of time at the beginning of the term developing the syllabus directly on Canvas. It will actually save significant time and effort moving forward while simultaneously offering supports for students in terms of organization. Note, for example, that in the student view, the syllabus includes such things as timezone support, "jump to today's date" for assignments, discussions, and events, and a sidebar with information about assignment weighting to assist in student planning and strategizing.

These two interrelated methods for course design harness Canvas' built-in features to provide more organized, streamlined access to students in several areas of the course (assignments, syllabus, dashboard, calendar). However, inasmuch as students are migrating to Canvas, it is important to make students explicitly aware of these features and how to use them.

Part Two: Student Training

This section is not explicitly about time management or organization; it is about preparing your students to take advantage of the work instructors put in to using Canvas' features for students' time management and organization. Below are two broad suggestions to this end.

Offer basic training and supports in using the Canvas features. Faculty have been, and continue to be, afforded a number of opportunities to learn how to use Canvas and its features via Teacher resources and this course, for example. But students may not have the same ample opportunities (or interest in pursuing them even if/when they do). It is often assumed that young people these days are intrinsically skilled with technology, but the reality is that students who may well know how to use Snapchat and Twitter do not necessarily know how to use their technology to learn. Students are more successful when they are taught how to use the tools required for the applicable learning environment. For online success, it is just as important to teach students how to use the online learning management system, as it is in face-to-face environments to teach them how to use tools like science equipment and drafting software. However, where training in materials and software is often explicit in chemistry labs and CAD classes, instructors in online learning courses may not often think to provide instruction regarding the platform. Offering some brief instructional supports for your students at the beginning of the term, particularly in relation to the features aforementioned in this lesson (syllabus, calendar, dashboard), may thus be time well spent.

Doing so is pretty simple. Consider creating a module or linking to a page in your course that includes various supports. Within this module or page, you may include a link to the Canvas Student Guide which provides step-by-step tutorials on all aspects of the Canvas interface. One idea is to include this along with other types of more personal supports (e.g. links to UUs counseling services, student success center, etc.

Instructors may also consider having students demonstrate important skills by uploading a "sample" assignment (e.g. a document with their names), engage in a sample discussion forum (e.g. with self-introductions), etc. to ascertain that they have the requisite skills for the instructor's course design and expectations. Directing students to the support module (or simply linking them to the Canvas Student Guide) may enable them to seek out their own supports as needed throughout the term.

Make a podcast (or live) walkthrough. Likewise, it may be helpful to provide students with a podcast of you walking through the features of the dashboard and course syllabus, calendar, and assignments tabs. To make a podcast, follow these steps:

1. Consider that screencasts and podcasts typically are more successful when the speaker has prepared notes or a transcript in advance. However, some people do best "off script" or with minimal notes. Decide on how you'd like to prepare your content. 
2. Studio is a tool that makes it possible to record screencasts for Canvas. You could choose another screencast application if you have one already on your computer (Mac users, you can use Quicktime Links to an external site., which is a default installation). A simple, free web-based screen recorder which can be used on a PC and Mac is Active Presenter Links to an external site..
3. Go into a course on Canvas and select "Settings" on the left menu bar.
4. On the right, select "Student View" to see the course as you would if you were a student.
5. Begin recording your screen using the screen recorder you selected (make sure your microphone is on!) and walk through the features you have set up. Consider explicitly explaining how these features can aide student organization and time management. 
6. Save the video and share it with your students as a message, announcement, or in the support module suggested above.

You can also make regular videos as part of module introductions to walk students through the tasks of the week.  Here's an example of such a walkthrough used by an instructor in a writing course: 
 

 

If your class meets in person, of course it may be even easier to simply show your students these features live in the first class.

 

Summary

Organization and time management are critical for success in higher education (whether courses are online or in person). Many college students struggle with these skills and these struggles are often exacerbated in online environments wherein students often experience less structure and may have less access to supports.

Canvas' native features allow for a streamlined way to organize assignments and events complete with a self-populating calendar, "to-do" list and "upcoming" notices that reflect all of a user's courses. These can be of great help to students. However, activating them requires instructors to be intentional about how they develop and disseminate their syllabi and assignments. Learning to use and using Canvas' intended features is an important start. The next step is ensuring that students know about the features and have resources for support and learning.