Learning Management System (LMS) Training Plan and Sequence

Project Information Entry

Organization Name Fort Mill School District
Organization Type K-12/Higher Education/Professional
Team Members Kelsey Cater, Hayley Davis, Breanna Driggers, Madison Martin,
Sarah Barkley (Gullickson)
Date August 5, 2021

Section I

Student Professional Development Offerings

Title Description Modality Sequence* Prerequisites

Global Navigation Students will learn how to join Canvas with an Introduction Session 1 N/A
& Getting Started email invitation or using a join code and URL. with School Faculty
Sessions will teach students how to log in, use the
Dashboard, check the to do list, and view grades
in the LMS. In addition, students will learn how to
remove old courses, add new courses to the
homepage, and nickname/change color courses.
Course In this section, students will learn how to view, Videos 2 Global
Announcements add, edit, reply and delete within course Navigation &
announcements. Getting Started
Assignments For assignments, students will learn how to view Videos 3 Global
assignments, due dates and rubrics. Students will Navigation &
also learn how to submit a variety of online Getting Started
assignments (text entry, media file,etc.).

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Calendar For this section, students will learn how to use the Videos 4 Global
calendar feature in Canvas. In addition, students Navigation &
will learn how to filter by course, add events, view Getting Started
courses, and subscribe to feeds.
Chat and Students will learn how to use the chat feature to Videos 5 Global
Collaboration communicate with the instructor and their peers. Navigation &
For group work, students will learn how to view Getting Started
collaborations as a student and how to create
Google Docs/Drive and Microsoft 365
collaboration.
Discussions In this section, students will learn how to view, Videos 6 Global
subscribe, create, change, reply, and submit Navigation &
discussions. Students will also learn how to Getting Started
embed and link materials within discussions.
Inbox In this section, students will learn about the Inbox Videos 7 Global
feature in Canvas. Students will learn how to find Navigation &
and send messages to users, attach files, delete Getting Started
content, and archive old messages.
Grades and Students will learn about the gradebook features Videos 8 Global
Feedback in this section. Students will learn how to view Navigation &
grades and feedback in current courses and Getting Started
concluded courses.
Quizzes & Students will learn how to view a quiz and rubric. Videos & Quiz to 9 Global
Assessments Students will also learn how to complete and verify completion of Navigation &
submit an assessment, and view results and all videos Getting Started
comments from instructors.

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Section II

Instructor Professional Development Offerings

Title Description Modality Sequence* Prerequisites

Getting Started & Instructors will learn how to log in to Canvas, Beginning of the Year 1 N/A
Canvas Basics create a new Canvas course. For imported courses Professional
from an SIS, instructors will learn how to rename Development Session
a course and course sections. They will also learn
how to organize the Dashboard, add an image for
a Canvas Course Card, and publish a course. In
addition, instructors will learn how to manually
add users to a course, copy sections or entire
course sites to another course, and use the student
view and the Commons feature.
Canvas as a Announcements: Instructors will learn how to Instructors have the 2 Getting Started &
Communication add, edit, delete, view, sort, and reply to option of in person Canvas Basics
Tool announcements. Instructors will learn how to training with a
attach a file to an announcement, delay posting an technology integration
announcement, and allow or disallow students to specialist or watching
like and comment on an announcement. self paced video(s).
Calendar: Instructors will learn how to use the
Calendar tool to add an event to a course calendar,
duplicate an event, edit an event, and set a
different event date for each section.
Inbox: Instructors will learn how to send a
message to a user in a course, group, or all course
users in the Inbox tool. In addition, instructors
will also be taught how to attach, reply, forward,
and delete messages.

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 Chat: Instructors will learn how to use the Chat
tool to communicate with students.
Engaging Students Discussions: Instructors will learn how to create, Instructors have the 3 Getting Started &
with Canvas copy, send, edit, delay posting, move, reorder, option of in person Canvas Basics
reply, delete, and grade discussion posts. training with a
Instructors will learn how to view and sort replies technology integration
and change the settings on a discussion post. specialist or watching
Assignments: Instructors will learn how to self paced video(s).
publish, unpublish, create, move, reorder, add,
delete, assign, and grade assignments in Canvas.
Collaborations: Instructors will learn how to
create a Google Docs, Google Drive, and
Microsoft Office 365 collaboration in Canvas.
Creating/ Pages: Instructors will learn how to create, edit, Instructors have the 4 Getting Started &
Organizing duplicate, copy, send, delete, and publish or option of in person Canvas Basics
Content unpublish pages. They will also learn how to add training with a
links to other Canvas pages, set a front page, add a technology integration Engaging
page to the students To-Do list, and embed a video specialist or watching Students with
in a page. self paced video(s). Canvas
Files: Instructors will learn how to view, rename, (recommended
upload, move, organize, preview, delete, and but not required)
download files. Creating a folder, restricting files
and folders to students, and viewing Google Drive
files in Canvas will also be explained.
Modules Tool: Instructors will learn how to add,
publish, duplicate, copy, send, edit, lock, delete,
and move modules. After creating a module,
instructors will learn how to add prerequisites, add
requirements, add course content (files,
assignments, discussions), add a quiz, add a text
header, and add an external tool and URL to a
module.

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Assessing Student Quizzes: Instructors will learn about the types of Instructors have the 5 Getting Started &
Learning quizzes they can create in a course. They will also option of in person Canvas Basics
learn how to create, preview, share, assign, delete, training with a
and grade quizzes. In addition, sessions will cover technology integration
viewing student results and using lockdown specialist or watching
browser. self paced video(s).
Outcomes and Rubrics: Instructors will learn
how to create, assign, edit, copy, and delete
outcomes and rubrics in Canvas.
SpeedGrader: Instructors will learn how to use
SpeedGrader to grade assignments, discussions
and quizzes.
Gradebook: Instructors will learn how to set up
and use the gradebook, arrange columns, filter
columns and rows, view total scores, sort and
display student data, and hide grades.
New Analytics: Instructors will learn how to view
individual and whole class grades, weekly
activity, and how to run reports for missing
assignments, late assignments, excused
assignments, class rosters, and course activity.

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Section III

System Administrator Professional Development Offerings

Title Description Modality Sequence* Prerequisites

Getting Started Administrators will learn how to join Canvas with Summer Professional 1 N/A
an email invitation. In addition, this session will Development Session
cover logging in, using the SIS import tool, course
access, and branding.
System Integration In this section, administrators will learn how to Video 2 Getting Started
integrate the grading system with Canvas and
create and manage grading periods.
Canvas Account This training session will cover navigating the Video 3 Getting Started
Overview administrator account, accessing and allowing
third party tools, and sharing and managing
content.
Support and For this section, administrators will learn how to Video 4 Getting Started
Upgrades utilize support features and where to find the
Canvas Release Schedule that details changes to
the platform.
Reports and In this training session, administrators will learn Video 5 Getting Started,
Analytics how to navigate the Reports tab, and find statistics Canvas Account
at the course and user level. Overview
End of Grading Finally, administrators will learn how to manage Video 6 Getting Started
Period grading periods and archive courses.

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Narrative

Students:

At the beginning of the school year, students will attend an introduction session with faculty to
learn the basics of Canvas including how to join Canvas with an email invitation or using a join
code and URL, logging in, using the Dashboard, checking to do list, and viewing grades. This
introductory session will also include how to remove old courses and add new courses to the
homepage, as well as how to add a nickname/change color of courses.

As students progress throughout the year, training videos will offer explanations on how to
navigate and use additional Canvas resources. This includes viewing, adding, editing, replying,
and deleting course announcements. Students will likely use Canvas to submit assignments
throughout the school year. Initial videos will teach students to view assignments, due dates and
rubrics. In addition, students will also learn how to submit a variety of online assignments (text
entry, media file, etc.) and view grades and feedback. In later sections, students will learn how to
use the calendar feature and how to filter by course, add events, view courses, and subscribe to
feeds. These videos will also teach students how to collaborate on Canvas using discussions,
create Google Docs, and use Microsoft 365 collaboration. Students will be able to send messages
to their teachers and other users and will learn all about the different features of the Canvas inbox
tool. After watching these training videos, students will take a quiz to verify their completion of
the videos. With this training model, students will learn the basics of Canvas and progress through
learning advanced features and tools that they can utilize with instructional content. Most likely,
their teacher will introduce them to the features when used in class, and the videos will guide and
enhance their learning when necessary.

Instructors:

For instructor professional development offerings, faculty and staff will first attend a beginning of
the year professional development session that covers “Canvas Basics”. With any LMS, the first
starting point is logging in and navigating through the interface. In this session, instructors will
create courses, add users, copy sections, and add images to the course dashboard.

Once instructors have set up their courses, they will have the option of completing synchronous in
person training sessions with a technology integration specialist or working though self paced
videos. The first section covers communication tools in Canvas. Naturally, as teachers work on
setting up their instruction for the upcoming school year, students are not yet present in class.
Often, instructors will plan announcements ahead of time so they can accurately describe methods
of communication for the course in the course syllabus at the beginning of the semester. In this
training session, instructors will learn how to create an announcement, add attachments, and edit
replying capabilities for users. Similarly, teachers will learn how the calendar tool can be used to
set up reminders and create events. The inbox section of this training session will align with the
skills used in the announcement and calendar sections by incorporating direct communication
with students through messages. Instructors will learn how to use the Inbox tool to send messages

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to individuals or groups of students, reply and forward content, and respond to messages in the
additional Chat feature. By learning these communication skills in this order, the instructor will be
able to organize their course and see how communication will work between the student and
instructor within the LMS.

Progressing forward, instructors will complete optional in person training sessions or self paced
videos on “Engaging Students with Canvas”. This section covers discussions, assignments, and
collaborations. For discussions, instructors will learn to set up, create, copy, send, and grade
discussion posts. Next, they will cover publishing and grading assignments in Canvas. Within the
assignment features of Canvas, instructors are able to post content, add additional response
requirements, and assign grades for each element. For collaborations, instructors will utilize
Google Suite programs and Microsoft 360 in connection with Canvas to see how students can
create group effort materials in programs that work well with the LMS. By having instructors
complete training sessions on communication tools in Canvas before using tools to engage
students in instructional processes in the LMS, teachers are able to see a clear difference in the
capabilities of Canvas features. While one communication tool might be great for updating
students on course reminders, another tool, such as the discussion post option allows for more
engaging classroom dialogue between students and their peers.

The next section instructors will work through consists of “Creating and Organizing Content”. For
this training session, teachers once again have the option of attending an in person session or
completing self paced videos online. Within this section, instructors will work through Canvas
pages, files, and module tools. First, instructors will learn how to create and publish pages. This
allows instructors to modify their course elements and create pages for particular areas of focus.
This can include a front page, a to-do list, videos for a topic or lesson, or sections for each unit.
Next, teachers will learn how to view, organize, and download files in Canvas. In addition,
instructors will be given guidance on how to best organize folders and content in Google Drive
and add, lock, and move modules. For modules, instructors can modify modules to require
completion of prerequisites such as discussion posts and embedded quizzes. This allows an
instructor to not only assign an interactive activity, but also ensure that students build on skills as
they go. In practicing this, teachers first learn how to communicate with students in the LMS and
post materials and then learn how to modify the details of their course for their personal use and
easy organization for student access. With this set up, instructors are able to see how their course
can come together as they progress through each section of the training model.

The final section of training for instructors focuses on “Assessing Student Learning.” In this
section, instructors will be working through the following Canvas elements: Quizzes, Outcomes
and Rubrics, Spreedgrader, Gradebook, and New Analytics. For quizzes, instructors will learn
how to create different types of quizzes, set up the lockdown browser, and view student results. In
looking at outcomes and rubrics, instructors will learn how to create, assign, and edit outcomes
and rubrics in the gradebook area. For the gradebook itself, instructors will have the option of
arranging columns and rows in different ways and view individual student data and total scores
for graded assignments. Speedgrader will show teachers how Canvas elements can be used to
grade quizzes, discussions, and assignments. Lastly, instructors will look at New Analytics. For
this portion, instructors will learn how to run full class grade reports and view flagged
assignments, rosters, and overall LMS activity.

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By positioning training sessions in this particular order, instructors are provided basic building
blocks in organization, communication, and content set up that later allow them to add details in
posting content and resources, creating assessments, and setting up the gradebook to fit their
individual needs for their course and classroom. With this training model, instructors are given the
full picture of LMS, a look into day to day capabilities, and lastly tips on how to modify Canvas
features for their professional learning platform.

Administrators:

Administrators of the school district are offered a Summer Professional Development Session to
learn about Canvas and how to use it. At this training, they will learn how to join Canvas with an
email invitation and log in. The SIS import tool, course access, and branding will also be covered.
Multiple videos will also be offered for administrators to learn how to manage grading periods
within Canvas, navigate their own account to manage and share content, and utilize the support
features. Administrators will also learn where to find the Canvas Release Schedule which details
changes to the platform. The videos will also cover how to navigate the Reports tab as well as
where to find statistics at the course and user level. As administrators navigate training for
teachers and students, learning the login process and administrative tasks in order of importance
will help ensure that there is a smooth transition in LMS adoption and integration.