Pilot project: Postgraduate courses in Canvas

Background

Undergraduate courses (GU courses) and postgraduate courses (FU courses) have several similarities but also many differences. Differences in design and needs means different demands on the digital tools used in the courses, especially on the learning platform Canvas. In order to gain a greater understanding of what these needs look like, during the fall of 2023 and the spring of 2024, e-learning has carried out an inquiry that has led to us being able to identify several different cases that place different demands on how Canvas is used. Based on these, work is currently underway to develop proposals for solutions and recommendations for teachers, in order to provide good support for course participants learning in their digital learning environment.

Canvas room with flexible start and end date

A difference between GU and FU courses is that GU courses usually have a clear start and end date for each course round. This is not always true for FU courses. Many FU courses have start and end dates that are flexible, where course participants can choose to start a course depending on when it suits their individual study plan. It may also take different lengths of time for course participants to complete the course. This means that the framework for a course offering is not as clear and there is a need to be able to work across the boundaries between different course offerings.

Solution that is currently being tested

Based on identified needs for FU courses with floating start and end dates, a proposed solution has been developed. The solution is currently being tested in a number of FU courses to be able to evaluate the functionality. The solution means that you as a teacher will

• Have a Canvas room with all students admitted. This is done by merging several course rooms from different course offerings. The canvas room can then be used for all learning activities (peer review, assignment submission, discussion forum, etc.) and information sharing. All active students can collaborate with each other in the course room.

• Be able to mark a student as done when they have finished the course. The marking as done means that the student can still see the room, their submissions and the material, but they cannot actively participate in the room anymore. For example, they cannot submit data or participate in discussion forums, nor will they appear in the review book. This allows the teacher to keep track of active students in their Canvas room.

After the pilot has been completed, the functionality will be evaluated and, if the solution is deemed successful, result in a recommendation to teachers who teach courses with a similar design and needs.

Do you want to know more about the pilot project? You are welcome to contact e-learning@kth.se  and we will answer your questions.