Instructional Design Support for Building in Carmen (Canvas)

With a new semester on the horizon, it is time to prepare for the change that comes with it. New classes to teach, new students to mentor, and new technology to become familiar with. It can be cumbersome to learn how to use new technology, but our instructional design team is here to help you master the tools you need to succeed.

As The Ohio State University makes the transition from Carmen (D2L) to Carmen (Canvas) and colleges’ look to incorporate online classes to their curriculum, more courses will be offered in an online format. One of those courses is International Business (IB 2000), taught by Bruce Bellner, a senior lecturer in the Fisher College of Business. This course is a seven week, hybrid-course with over 300 students enrolled in the class.

“I originally heard about distance learning and the Carmen transition while sitting on the Core Course Committee,” Bellner said. “We wanted to take more classes online and the idea for this course developed from there.”

With the amount of students involved in the course, it’s hybrid format and quick pace, the transition to the new learning management system seemed impossible. To make the process easier, Bellner focused on relating the new challenges to his past experience. Before working for Ohio State, Bellner developed a research background in business strategy and management.

“Working to transition this course was fun for me,” Bellner said. “It brought me back to a place of focusing on strategy and how to best create a course that would positively impact students.”

During the transition, Bellner worked with Megan Fogel, a junior instructional designer in ODEE. Fogel helped Bellner by being his guide and providing him with easy ways to learn the information. She set goals for success and made sure at the end of each week, he fully knew how to use the new technology and tools within Carmen (Canvas), like the gradebook, and supplemented this with the Canvas Instructors Guide for more guidance.

“It’s easy to talk someone through the theory of building a course,” Fogel said. “It’s important to get them in there and show them how it works.”

To assist in Bellner’s understanding of Carmen (Canvas), the changing technology, and the online resources available, Fogel gave him things to explore and research each week so he knew which features he would want to utilize online. Together, they built an interactive course for students that relied heavily on the textbook resources.

One major point of collaboration was working together to develop a syllabus based around a brand new textbook. The team made sure each step of the course was clear to prevent emails from hundred of online students. In addition to the new syllabus, Fogel and Bellner built modules within the course that linked directly to each eBook chapter, to help students succeed with quizzes, open-ended writing assignments, and weekly check-ins using the discussion tool. Bellner enjoyed the check-in option because it was a place to get feedback and improve the course and his teaching for students.

“Technology changes so quickly, we need to stay on top of it and make sure we are teaching in a way students can best understand,” Bellner said. “Using the Canvas LMS and creating online courses will have a huge impact on the Ohio State community, and I’m glad I get to be a part of that. I want my fellow faculty members to be proactive and understand that new technology isn’t a barrier, but an opportunity to learn and grow.”

For more information on how you can transition your class to an online format or get assistance with Carmen (Canvas), reach out to the instructional design team.