How to Use Canvas How to be a Successful Student

Qualities

Successful Students...

Accept self-responsibility, seeing themselves as the primary cause of their outcomes and experiences.
Discover self-motivation, finding purpose in their lives by perusing personal, meaningful goals and dreams
Master self-management, consistently planning and taking purposeful actions in pursuit of their goals and dreams.
Employ interdependence, building mutually supportive relationships that help them achieve their goals and dreams (while helping others to do the same)
Gain self-awareness, consciously employing behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes that keep them on course.
Adopt life-long learning, finding valuable lessons and wisdom in nearly every experience they have.
Develop emotional intelligence, effectively managing their emotions and the emotions of others in support of their goals and dreams.
Believe in themselves, seeing themselves as capable, lovable, and unconditionally worth as human beings.

Credit: On Course Workshop

Managing Your Time

Manage Your Time

For each credit, you should expect 15 hours of class time and 30 hours for study and homework. For example, a 3 credit class requires 45 hours of class time, in an online world this generally refers to content readings and viewing. In a summer course, you will be working in a condensed 5-week format. In a 5 week course, for example, this means you need to plan on 9 hours per week of course time (reading and viewing) and 27 hours of homework time. Plan your time accordingly. There are regular due dates to help keep you on track.You may work ahead in this course, but you may not get behind, no late work is accepted.
While some online courses may not have a strict timeline, you should still space out your course work so that you don’t have a ton of work to do in a short amount of time. Not only does this spare your sanity towards the end of the semester, but it allows you time to share ideas and present your work with the other students in the course.
Pay attention to the due date notifications in Canvas, or better yet, write down all of those dates in a planner. Being aware of due dates will help you to pace your workload. If your course doesn't have specific due dates, create your own in the Canvas calender (go to Understanding the Calendar (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for more details about using the calendar).
Review the syllabus consistently. Not only is the syllabus key for keeping you on track with course work, but it also helps you to know exactly what your professor expects of you.

Participate

to know exactly what your professor expects of you.

Participate

Some instructors will use Discussion Boards to replace classroom discussions. Chat is another option to replace classroom discussions. If your instructor is using either method will most likely be a link within Modules, as well as a due date, in order for you to access the instructions to complete the discussion
In online learning, students can’t sit in the back of their virtual classroom and not participate. Your questions, thoughts, ideas, and opinions are important for the learning process of everyone in the class. Take advantage of discussions and pull your weight with the course work so that the class will be a great learning experience for everyone.
Netiquette Guidelines
1. Avoid use of ALL CAPS. It tends to make us think you're shouting.
2. Be aware of your tone when writing.
3. Check spelling.
4. Use descriptive subject lines when sending messages
5. Don't post spam to the discussion boards including links unrelated to course content, or commercial in nature.
6. Before posting questions on discussion boards, be sure to read through the discussion and make sure your question hasn't been asked and answered.
7. Treat others in a polite and respectful manner.
8. Be respectful of others who may have differing opinions. When presenting an alternate viewpoint, be sure to acknowledge what the other person has said.

Be Thorough

Explore the Classroom

Courses offer a variety of resources and tools for students. Take advantage of these resources-- such as the Canvas calendar, inbox, and collaborations features-- to enhance your overall experience. You will be better introduced to these tools later in this orientation.

Read Thoroughly, Reflectively, and Completely

Unlike face-to-face courses, the learning content for many online and hybrid courses is delivered through reading rather than listening. Be thorough as you read instructions, announcements, and assignments given by your instructor in order to fully understand what is expected of you. Also, take time to reflectively read the ideas and thoughts that other students share in your courses. Who knows? Maybe a thought or idea expressed by a fellow student will be the inspiration for your next assignment!
Ensure that You Have the Software and Hardware Required for the Course
- Canvas works best with the latest versions of the Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome web browsers.
- If you ever need to enter a virtual classroom, such as Adobe Connect, you need access to a webcam and headphones.
- A high-speed Internet connection (2 Mbps or better) will give you the best results in Canvas.
- For a complete list of system requirements, go to https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10720 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

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