For those who havent yet been able to attend Canvas training or for anyone who would like to attend, we have the following sessions [topics] available:
RSVP: Fall ’21 Canvas Training
(requires Office 365 login)
I am pleased to share that some of the later session topics have been changed to allow meeting in person. All in person sessions will take place in the Main 108 Humanities Lab.
The in-person sessions are listed below:
Thank you to those who have taken advantage of the Canvas training opportunities to-date. This post is to inform you that some of the later session topics have been changed to cover specific functions within Canvas. The additional topics will be “Canvas Studio: Working with Video in Canvas,” and “Grading & Feedback.”
You can see the specific updated sessions and RSVP on the original post.
Please reach out to Jedidiah Rex if you have questions about the sessions.
The information on this page will be kept up-to-date when/if opportunities are added or cancelled.
UPDATE – Thursday, July 22, 2021: Some of the later session topics have been changed to allow meeting in person. The updated sessions will be appended with “IN-PERSON“. All in person sessions will take place in the Main 108 Humanities Lab.
UPDATE – Friday, July 9, 2021: Some of the later session topics have been changed to cover specific functions within Canvas – Canvas Studio, and Grading & Feedback. The new topic will listed in bold.
All instructors are encouraged to use Canvas for their courses beginning in the fall. To support faculty in transitioning to Canvas we will be offering training sessions beginning finals week of the spring term through the week before the start of the fall term. The schedule of dates is below.
We invite faculty to attend when, and to as many sessions, as they prefer. The RSVP form will allow you to select the session or sessions you prefer. You may also submit more than once. After you have submitted your preferred session(s) you will be sent Outlook invitation(s) and Zoom link/details.
Canvas Training RSVP Form (requires Office 365 login)
Canvas Training RSVP Form (requires Office 365 login)
In an effort to make finding resources easier for everyone, Jedidiah has created a blog post aggregating all the Moodle resources. You will find the post at the link below.
The post will be used to host links to all the Moodle workshops, support videos, and links. Links will be grouped by topic. If there is a Moodle support topic you would like to request, please contact Jedidiah Rex.
https://staff.lawrence.edu/rexj/2021/01/08/moodle-resources/
The recording of the session (1:18:12) is posted below. It is only available to Lawrence University faculty and staff.
The Moodle gradebook can be a confusing, headache-inducing, tangle. But it doesn’t have to be. The strategies shared in this session and post can help make the Moodle gradebook more clear to instructors and students about how grades are calculated. Bringing clarity increases transparency making the gradebook more usable and inclusive.
There are a number of different methods to arrive at a grade, called aggregation methods. There are three which were the focus during the session: weighted mean of grades (WM), simple weighted mean of grades (SWM), and Natural aggregation. These three methods should be able to address the majority of desired grading scenarios.
Each of these may be used to arrive at the same grade. But they each calculate grades in a slightly different way. One big difference between WM, SWM, and Natural is that the first two normalize the grades to be out of 100 (points or percent). This can potentially create lack of clarity about how a grade is calculated. Natural used to be called “Sum of grades” and at default functions in the same way. For Natural then, the category and course totals are a sum of all the grades contained within. You can see a comparison of the three methods in the session video beginning at 0:07:50.
Whether an instructor chooses WM-SWM or Natural grading there are some strategies that can be utilized to make the Moodle gradebook more usable.
Start with your syllabus – What is meant by this is that an instructor should review how their grading strategy is laid out in their syllabus and replicate this in the Moodle gradebook. Many instructors use categories of grades i.e. Assignments, Quizzes, Exams, Final Exam, or Participation. Create these categories in the gradebook first, before adding activities or grade items. In addition to creating an organizing structure this approach allow an instructor to add activities directly to categories when they are created making less work down the road.
Use numbers – The Moodle gradebook calculates most accurately with numbers. It can use and display letter grades, but doing so can introduce some variability. For instance, does an “A” mean 100, or 94, or… ? Scales (check, check minus, or satisfactory/unsatisfactory) are difficult or impossible in some cases for Moodle to use in calculation. If an instructor desires the grades be displayed in certain way there are options for controlling this.
Keep it simple – While it is possible to mix and match aggregation methods, to use extra credit, drop the lowest ‘x’ grades, and nest categories, doing so can make it less clear to students how a grade is calculated. Anything an instructor can do to make this is as clear as possible limits challenges to grades, and through understanding created through transparency, allows the student to engage more fully.
If you have questions about setting up your gradebook, or about grading in Moodle please contact Jedidiah Rex.
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Grade_aggregation
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Grades_FAQ
https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Grader_report
