ENGAGING STUDENTS IN AN ONLINE CLASSROOM USING CANVAS1

Dr. Andres Winston C. Oreta

Professor, Civil Engineering Department, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
Email: andyoreta@yahoo.com
01 October 2020

ABSTRACT: Online Teaching and Learning via Learning Management Systems (LMS) has become the
new normal in course delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, faculty members must learn new
skills using LMS and adapt to an online classroom to successfully deliver their courses and effectively
assess students’ performance and achievement of learning outcomes. Canvas is one Learning
Management System that has been used in many universities including De La Salle University. Canvas
has several tools that the teacher and the students can use so that the course learning outcomes can be
achieved. This paper presents how Canvas tools are used by the author using the Community of Inquiry
(CoI) framework in engaging with the students in online teaching and how students can be engaged in
online learning and assessment.

1. INTRODUCTION
The DLSU system is supported by a learning management system, AnimoSpace, which is powered by Canvas, a
popular cross-platform learning space used by more than 3,000 universities and educational institutions around
the world [1]. AnimoSpace was specifically promoted at DLSU to be used by the faculty to adopt a “blended
learning” approach in the delivery of courses in the university. Blended learning is an approach to education that
combines online educational materials and opportunities for interaction online with traditional place-based
classroom methods. With the imposition of the community quarantine, blended learning is not anymore possible
but a fully online learning platform must be adopted by the faculty using both synchronous and asynchronous
activities. Many teachers including the author struggled to learn new tools and strategies on how to teach remotely
especially using LMS via Canvas. The author through the support of DLSU’s office of ASIST (Academic
Support for Instructional Services and Technology) has explored the variety of tools that may be used in the
management of an online classroom and was successful in the conduct of online teaching during the term when
the community quarantine was imposed in March 2020. The lessons learned from the first experience in
conducting online teaching motivated the author to hone and enhance online teaching methodologies and to adapt
an LMS using Canvas so that the course learning outcomes can be achieved in online classroom environment.

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) theoretical framework

presented by Garrison, Anderson & Archer [3][4] is perhaps
the best-known and most researched approach in designing
learning experiences in an online environment. The model of
this Community of Inquiry (Figure 1) assumes that learning
occurs within the Community through the interaction of three
core elements: (a) Teaching presence, (b) Social Presence and
(c) Cognitive Presence.

• Teaching presence is the “design, facilitation, and

direction of cognitive and social processes for the
purpose of realizing personally meaningful and
educationally worthwhile learning outcomes” [4]. Simply
explained, “Teaching presence includes designing and
developing the course and guiding and supporting the
learners during the course delivery” [2]. Figure 1. CoI Framework [2]
• Social presence is the “ability to identify with a group,
communicate purposely and develop inter-personal relationships” [5]. “Learners want to get to know their

1
Presented at the AnimoSpace Camp 2020, De La Salle University, 6 Oct 2020, Zoom Meeting
 instructors as people in addition to their roles as mentors and content experts. Online students require the
social presence of the instructor and other students to feel part of the online learning community, reduce
feeling isolated, and build trust and community” [3].
• Cognitive presence is “the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through
sustained reflection and discourse” [3]. Active and engaging learning activities are required for the course to
be effective. The primary focus of cognitive presence is ”to develop a higher-order thinking process (i.e.
analytical and critical thinking or practical inquiry) that integrates existing learning with new learning through
reflection, discussion, and feedback” [2].

Using the CoI framework, the following sections will present strategies using Canvas tools on (a) Teaching
Presence: Engaging teachers with students in online teaching, (b) Social Presence: Engaging students in group
online learning and (c) Cognitive Presence: Engaging students in individual online learning (Figure 2).

Figure 2. CoI with Canvas Framework

2. EXPLORING ANIMOSPACE (CANVAS)

AnimoSpace which is powered by Canvas consists of “various immersive and interactive components” where the
faculty can design teaching and learning modules, post announcements and assignments, create quizzes and
surveys, conduct conferences or online lectures, record attendance, engage students to do collaborative work,
develop videos and monitor student’s mastery of the subject matter (Figure 3).

The author has so far utilized the following components of Canvas:

1. People – The names of students and moderators are listed here. You can create groups from this list.
2. Syllabus – The posting of the syllabus is easy. Copy and paste the syllabus from MS Word to the Syllabus
edit page.
3. Modules - The tool for designing your course delivery and student learning and assessment tasks.
4. Announcements – The quickest tool for informing and connecting with the students. Announcements are
automatically delivered to the students through their email addresses.
5. Files – Files of format (doc, pdf, ppt, mp4, jpg) uploaded by the teacher can easily be accessed and
downloaded by the students.
6. Assignments –The teacher posts assignments and student’s submissions are of various options: Text Entry,
Website URL, Media Recordings or File Uploads.
7. Conferences – The tool where online lectures can be conducted and recorded.
8. Quizzes –Quizzes and surveys can be created with varied forms of answers like fill in the blanks, multiple
choice, True/False or numerical answers. Points are assigned per question for auto-checking.
9. Discussions – The teacher posts a question, problem or video and students send their replies which can be
read by the teacher and other students.
10. Chat – Private messages can be sent to the students through the Chat tool.
11. Studio – The video tool where you can create videos and share external videos (e.g. YouTube).
12. Marks – A table of the scores in assignments and quizzes are recorded for easy monitoring.
13. Attendance – The electronic attendance record for specific dates.

AnimoSpace (Canvas) Page

Table 1 presents the author’s extent of use of the various Canvas tools in an online classroom.
TABLE 1. Author’s Usage of Canvas Tools
CANVAS TOOL USAGE CANVAS TOOL USAGE
People ☺ McGraw Hill 
Syllabus ☺ Marks 
Modules ☺ Pages 
Announcements ☺ Outcomes 
Assignments ☺ Rubrics 
Conferences ☺ Collaborations 
Quizzes ☺ Attendance 
Files ☺ New Analytics 
Chat  Google Drive 
Discussions  Zoom 
Studio ☺ Settings 
USAGE: ☺ Always /  Sometimes /  Never

2. TEACHING PRESENCE - ENGAGING WITH STUDENTS

“Teaching Presence” or the “Learning Relationship between teacher and students” is an important component in
the learning experience. To realize “teaching presence,” the teacher must engage with the students on various
teaching and learning activities. Figure 4 presents some of the engagement with students using Canvas tools that
the author has conducted. These activities or strategies are described as follows:
 Figure 3. Teaching Presence Engagements
a) Post a Welcome Message – Using Studio in Canvas, you can record a short video or PowerPoint with voice
over with a welcome message to your students with brief reminders about the course and the mode of
delivery. Embed the welcome message in Announcements in Canvas the week before the start of your classes.

Welcome Message (3:39 min) created in Studio using PPT

b) Hold a Self-Introduction Session– During the first online meeting via Conference in Canvas, conduct a Self-
Introduction session. The author posted an Announcement in Canvas before the start of classes that the
students must upload a one PowerPoint slide with their name, personal information, photo and expectations
from the course. After the teacher’s self-introduction, each student was requested to present his/her self-
introduction slide. Through this session, you get to know your students and the students get to meet their
classmates virtually.

Self-Introduction Slides
c) Deliver Synchronous Lectures – Synchronous online lectures can be conducted through Conferences in
Canvas. The Conferences tool in Canvas has various components that the teacher can utilize. You can record
the live lecture so that students can replay the recorded lecture in case they were absent during the synchronous
session or if they want to view the lecture again. The conference is the teacher’s opportunity to interact with
the students. He/she can deliver the lecture using PowerPoint slides, write on the slides or use a white screen
just like in a regular classroom blackboard. Interaction with the students like asking questions from students or
students clarifying vague issues in the lecture can be done by audio or public chat. A teacher can also post a
poll to know the students’ feedback about an issue.

Note attendance to synchronous online lectures is not a requirement since some students may have problems in
with internet connectivity. The online lectures are recorded in Conferences in Canvas and the students are
expected to view these lectures asynchronously.

Synchronous Lecture via Conference in Canvas

d) Share Recorded Lectures Asynchronously – Your online presentation conducted in Conferences in Canvas
can be recorded and are available in the Completed Conferences page in Canvas. You record presentation can
be recorded again in Studio so you can preserve a video since Big Blue Button edition in AnimoSpace saves
your presentation only for two weeks. If you are to conduct your lectures asynchronously, divide your lectures
into short recorded presentations or sub-lectures of about 15 to 20 minutes only. In the author’s experience,
since there are two sections for the same course, in some conferences, the students first watch a sub-lecture
then a live discussion is conducted to clarify muddy and difficult issues about the lecture. Then continue with
another recorded or live sub-lecture. Through this strategy, the teacher does have to repeat a 60 – 90 minute
lecture live for different sections of the same course. The recorded lectures can be first viewed by the students
and a follow-up live discussion can be done to clarify muddiest issues in the lecture.

A One-Hour Lecture recorded into 3 Short Videos for A/Synchronous Sessions

e) Upload E-Notes – Share your PowerPoint slides in pdf format and electronic copies of notes and references
through the Files in Canvas. Refer to these e-notes during your lectures and post suggested sections from the
e-notes for the students to read during asynchronous learning.
f) Join Group Conferences – You can divide the class into groups to work on a group project. In Canvas, you
can create a home page per group. You can then join group Conferences in Canvas and conduct consultation
meetings with specific groups. You can use the other Canvas tools (Announcements, Discussions, Files, and
Collaborations) exclusively for a group.

Home Page of a Group in Canvas

g) Facilitate Oral Reports – Just like in a traditional classroom, you can conduct oral presentations in an online
classroom via Conferences in Canvas. Oral presentations are effective in assessing the student’s
understanding of concepts and submitted work, Oral presentations also develop the communication skills of
the students. Through oral reports, the teacher directly interacts with the students through the Q and A
session. Students interact with their classmates by allowing them to ask questions or send comments to the
student presenter either by audio or public chat.

Synchronous Oral Reporting using Conferences in Canvas

h) Ask Challenge Questions in Discussions - The teacher cannot deliver the content of a course completely in
an online lecture or in lecture notes. To put emphasis on important topics in a course, the teacher can use
Discussions in Canvas. In a Discussion, the teacher can post a question, a problem, a video or an image and
requires the students to respond. Students post their replies and the teacher can comment on their replies.
Other students can read the exchange of ideas and learn.

A Discussion Page in Canvas and Sample Replies from Students

i) Get Feedback via Surveys – You must get feedback from your students on your online teaching and learning
activities if effective or not. You create a survey at Quizzes in Canvas. Just after the first quiz of the course,
the author conducted a survey asking the students to assess the various activities completed in the online
classroom like the online lectures, completion of assignments, conduct of the quiz and watching video
tutorials. Suggestions from the students on how to improve the online classroom are also solicited. This is
important especially after a quiz so that you can make adjustments and improvements in your teaching
strategies and student learning tasks and assessments. You may be assuming that you are delivering the
course effectively but in fact some students may have some difficulties in fully understanding the subject
matter.

A Survey created in Quizzes and Survey Statistics

3. SOCIAL PRESENCE - ENGAGING STUDENTS IN GROUP LEARNING

Social Presence involves student engaging in group or community learning tasks either through synchronous or
asynchronous modes. Teachers should create opportunities for students to interact with one another through
carefully crafted discussion prompts, including opportunities for collaboration, encouraging learners to connect
with other classmates to support and enhance their individual learning and mastery of the subject. The author
adopted three group or community engaging activities as shown in the figure.

Figure 4. Social Presence Strategies to Promote Students Engaging with Other Students
a) Discussions – Students can learn from their classmates through the Discussions in Canvas. In Canvas, the
teacher can set the requirement that before a student can view the replies of their classmates in a Discussion,
they must first post their own reply to the specific topic. Students can react to the replies of their classmates
and the teacher may also join the exchange of replies. This mode of engagement suits self-motivated and
students and independent learners but for others, an incentive may be necessary to encourage them to join the
discussion.

b) Group Conference – Group reports engages students into collaborative work. Students experience working
in a team and in group learning. Students can hold group meetings via Conferences in Canvas through their
Group Home Page. In the author’s classes, a group project or problem set was required as one of the
assessment tasks. Hence, in some of the class conferences, the class was divided and hold group meetings just
like an ordinary classroom, although virtually.

c) Group Reports –Group oral presentations can be conducted through the Conferences in Canvas. In group
reports, each member may present or may support the group during the Q & A session.

4. COGNITIVE PRESENCE - ENGAGING STUDENTS IN INDIVIDUAL LEARNING

Cognitive Presence is the process through which students make meaning of and construct their knowledge on a
subject or topic. The teacher does not just ASSIGN tasks for students to do in an online class. The teacher
DESIGNS tasks that should be engaging to the students. The teacher must design student-centered learning
activities and assessment tasks that will guide the students in their individual asynchronous learning. Presented in
the Figure 4 are examples of asynchronous student formative and summative tasks.

Figure 5. Student-Centered Activities to Enhance Cognitive Presence

a) Syllabus Quiz – The first engagement of a student to content in a course is the course syllabus. To master
a course, students must understand the course learning outcomes and learning plan described in the course
syllabus. A syllabus quiz is a strategy to ensure that the key concepts of the syllabus are understood by
students. The author posts a syllabus quiz during the first week of classes just after the orientation about
the course and syllabus. Questions on course learning outcomes, course requirements and even how the
final grades are computed may be included in a syllabus quiz.
 Sample questions in a syllabus quiz with statistics

b) Knowledge-Check Quizzes - Knowledge-Check Quizzes (KCQ) are effective in enhancing the students’
learning. Conduct Knowledge-Check Quizzes either before a lecture so the students can check if they
have an understanding of the required knowledge and after so the students can assess his/her
understanding of the concluded lecture.

A Knowledge-Check Quiz
c) Practice Quizzes -. Practice or mock Quizzes are useful assessment task since students become familiar
on how online quizzes are conducted and also the practice quizzes serve as a review before an actual quiz.

d) Video Tutorials – Suggested video tutorials are available in YouTube. Part of the syllabus or the online
learning road map is a list of video tutorials that the students may watch to complement the teacher’s
online or recorded lectures. How to motivate the student to watch the video tutorials is a challenge to the
teachers. You can integrate these videos in the synchronous lectures highlight important segments of the
videos or you can design a quiz about the video. Videos can be easily embedded or shared in Canvas in
Announcements, Studio, Quizzes, etc.

In a survey of one class, the students were asked to send feedback on how effective the video tutorials are
in their learning and mastery of the subject. The survey shows a moderate to very effective assessment. If
the views in the videos will be reviewed in Studio in Canvas, you will observe that many students do not
watch the suggested videos except the self-motivated students. How to encourage the students to view
these videos to complement the teacher’s lectures requires strategies for the teacher to devise. The author
devised one strategy wherein one or more of the suggested videos is integrated in the synchronous
lectures – some important segments of the videos are played during the lecture and the students are
advised to watch the complete video asynchronously. Another strategy suggested by other online teachers
is to provide a quiz related to the video. Questions can also be inserted in specific locations of the videos
and students answer the questions.
 Student Survey on Are YouTube Video Tutorials Effective?

e) Discussion Page – Through the Discussions in Canvas, students reflect, analyze and do research to
answer the challenge question posted by the teacher. The student also may gain new knowledge from
other students in the discussion page. Participation in Discussions attracts the self-motivated students.
Hence, incentives must be devised to encourage other students to join Discussions. Possible incentives
can be a tip that a problem in an exam may be related to the challenge question or give credit points
(bonus point in the exam).
f) Individual Problem Sets – Problem solving is an important activity in a course which involves rigorous
computations and application of formula and equations. Students will develop mastery only if they
analyze and solve individually problems about the course. Students can submit their solutions through
Assignments in Canvas and the teacher can easily check the uploaded solutions by Speed Grader in
Canvas.

A Student Solution to a Problem submitted at Assignments in Canvas and checked using Speed Grader

g) Self-Assessment Survey – A survey for the students to reflect on the effectiveness of the various online
learning tasks assigned by the teacher and teaching and learning activities conducted. Feedback from the
students will help the teacher improve and calibrate his/her teaching strategies, learning activities and
assessment tasks. A survey can be created in Quizzes in Canvas.
To encourage and motivate students to engage in
asynchronous student-centered learning activities and
formative assessments, the author included completion
of a minimum number of tasks to earn 5% - 10% in
the general average. For example in the two-unit
course on structural analysis, a minimum of 12 student
formative tasks must be completed to get 10%. The
student formative tasks that are credited include the
syllabus quiz, knowledge-check and practice quizzes,
discussion, watching video tutorials ad attending
synchronous review sessions. Note that attendance to
synchronous online lectures is not a requirement since
some students may have problems in with internet
connectivity. The online lectures are recorded in
Conferences in Canvas and the students are expected
to view these lectures. To easily monitor the
accomplishment of the individual student-formative
tasks, the students completes a Checklist and a point is
credited for every accomplished task. The teacher can
verify in Canvas if the students really performed the
tasks listed. A Student Formative Task Checklist

5. MANAGING YOUR ONLINE TEACHING AND LEARNING CLASSROOM

Setting up and managing an online classroom requires painstaking preparation and a system in scheduling in
teaching and learning resources to the students. Lessons were learned from the author’s first experience on online
teaching and learning during the community quarantine [6]. The most important component in course delivery is a
well prepared syllabus adapted for online teaching and learning. The syllabus includes the course learning
outcomes, course content, roadmap and schedule of teaching and learning activities, a list of references including
suggested videos, assessment tasks and grading system and information on academic integrity. The syllabus,
electronic copies of notes, recorded videos can be shared in Canvas. But the online teacher’s task does not end in
uploading and sharing learning materials.

To effectively guide the students in their online learning, Modules in Canvas are useful tools. The road map or
course learning plan in the syllabus can be converted into Modules. The author converted the road map into a set
of modules on a weekly basis. Publishing the complete set of modules for a course may overwhelm the students
with too much information. Besides, some adjustments may be necessary during the course delivery during the
term. A module consists of teaching and learning activities (TLA) and assessment tasks (AT). The publishing of
the modules should be strategic in the sense that they should serve as guides for the students on what they should
do and accomplish during the week so that their learning and mastery of the subject matter is progressive.

Module for Week No. 1 (Orientation Week)

 Module for Week No. 3 (Teaching and Learning Week)

Module for Week No. 6 (Assessment Week)

Depending on the week, the TLA and AT will vary. During the first week or orientation week, you will conduct a
Self-introduction and Syllabus orientation and can post a Syllabus Quiz and a Knowledge Check Quiz on course
prerequisites. In the succeeding weeks, the teacher posts suggested video tutorials to watch to supplement the
lectures and may post Knowledge-Check Quizzes and Discussions. During the assessment week when a quiz will
be held, a Practice Quiz and Problem Sets may be posted as formative tasks for the students in preparation for the
quiz, which is part of the summative assessment.

6. CONCLUDING REMARKS
Canvas as a Learning Management System like AnimoSpace at De La Salle University is an online teaching and
learning platform rich with tools and resources that can be effective in engaging teachers and students in an online
classroom. The teacher can design teaching strategies, learning activities and assessment tasks using Canvas tools.
Students need familiarization with the Canvas tools, motivation and incentives to engage the students in the
student-centered learning activities and assessment tasks so that the course learning outcomes can be achieved.

REFERENCES
[1] “AnimoSpace: The Lasallian Learning Management System” (2018). https://medium.com/@DLSUManila/animo-space-
the-lasallian-learning-management-system-ff836eb17970
[2] https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/design-teaching/PlanDesign_Fall2016/1-Getting-Started-Module/3-
transitioning-online-unit/8_community-inquiry.html
[3] Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T. & Archer, W. (2000). “Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based Environment:Computer
Conferencing in Higher Education, The Internet and Higher Education 2(2-3): 87-105 ISSN: 1096-7516.
[4] Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T. & Archer, W. (2001). Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer
conferencing in distance education. American Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 7-23.
[5] Garrison, D. R. (2009). “Communities of Inquiry in Online Learning,” University of Calgary,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284740159_Communities_of_Inquiry_in_Online_Learning
[6] Oreta, A. W. C. (2019).”Managing an Online Classroom Environment in an Undergraduate Course in Civil
Engineering during the Community Quarantine,”
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andres_Oreta/publication/341109207