Spring into Success with Canvas Page Templates!

Spring into Success with Canvas Page Templates!

Spring is almost sprung and most of us are likely ready for more sunshine and energy in our step. It’s the perfect time to build your online course! Overwhelmed by the thought of a DIY project? No sweat! There are flexible frameworks to help you envision your ideal Canvas course living space. Freshen up your course design or create something entirely new with customizable blueprints - page templates!

What are templates and why use them?

Templates are pre-designed pages you can add directly as a new page in your course.

Save Time

Templates save time for you, as instructors, by offering a starting place to create accessible, appealing course pages. A structured space allows you to focus on the pedagogical creativity of your content, rather than the labor of framing and hammering nails to get the page layout you want.

Support Student Success

Students benefit from clear and consistent design, which makes it easier for them to navigate through online courses. Reduce your learners’ frustration by saving them time and effort when searching for and navigating information by using templates. Research shows that baseline consistency in and across courses contributes to student success outcomes (McMullan et al., 2022; Scutelnicu et al., 2019).

Improve Accessibility

Extension templates are built for accessibility, providing a strong foundation for all learners. Headings, color contrast, and other elements are pre-styled to conform with digital accessibility standards so you can build your course right first!

What do Extension templates look like?

Extension’s digital learning designers have developed templates to streamline your course design and enhance the learner experience. Templates are available in two color themes — maroon or gold — with consistent content and structure across designs.

New Extension home page templates offer updated designs to increase curb appeal and reduce learner frustration by streamlining navigational elements, including interactive module lists taking learners directly to the course content they need, when they need it.

An introductory welcome module invites learners into your course (with fresh baked cookie smells) and gets them started successfully by grouping essential course information in one place. View templates for instructor introductions, course overview, and get help pages available to add to your course - all customizable for your needs.

Ready to take the tour (via Thinglink)? No need to take off your shoes, just come on in!

Sample home pages before and after templates

Click here to view the accessible version of this interactive content

Sample template pages for an introductory welcome module

Click here to view the accessible version of this interactive content

Ready to start your course improvement project?

Contact your Digital Learning Connector to get started! They can help you customize templates to your specific needs and implement changes for courses under construction. You can also try it for yourself using the new DesignPLUS QuickStart Wizard.

References

McMullan, T., Williams, D., Ortiz, Y. L., & Lollar, J. (2022). Is Consistency Possible? Course Design and Delivery to Meet Faculty and Student Needs. Current Issues in Education, 23(3).

Scutelnicu, G., Tekula, R., Gordon, B., & Knepper, H. J. (2019). Consistency is key in online learning: Evaluating student and instructor perceptions of a collaborative online-course template. Teaching Public Administration, 37(3), 274-292. https://doi.org/10.1177/0144739419852759

Article by Shona Burke, Extension Learning Technologies, sfburke@umn.edu