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ESU Composition Program: Restructuring Canvas for GTAs Design and Development Report

Theresa Hier

Emporia State University

IT899XA: Masters Project In IDT

Ms. A’Kena Long

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ESU Composition Program: Restructuring Canvas for GTAs Design and Development

Report

The Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism Composition Program at

Emporia would like to create a new Canvas hub for incoming GTAs who will be teaching

Composition 1 and 2 to act as a repository of basic teaching and course set-up, curriculum

lessons and assignment examples, and educational resources. The designer is working with an

instructor of the department, reworking materials for the new Canvas hub and organizing

everything in such a fashion and style that the material is uniform and easy to find and use for

the GTAs with minimum upkeep from the department, which will just have to update materials

every so often.

Proposed Objectives

The objective for the project is as follows: after consulting and reviewing the new Canvas

hub for new GTAs for the department, they will have access to effective and up to date

curriculum, teaching advice, and educational resources to help them begin building a foundation

for teaching Composition 1 and 2 for the Department of English, Modern Languages, and

Journalism Composition Program at Emporia.

Description of Content

The Department of English, Modern Languages, and Journalism Composition Program at

Emporia has a wealth of knowledge in the old Canvas hub; however, some of the material is

outdated or does not pertain to current curriculum being used by the department. The old hub is

also organized in a very dysfunctional manner, making it difficult to find information or

resources on certain topics. The new Canvas hub is being organized by topic, rather than time

frame, in four sections: Getting Started (How to maneuver through Canvas, syllabus templates,
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etc.), Composition 1, Composition 2, and Teaching Resources. Because the department does

have a wealth of information from the old hub, the designer with help from an instructor in the

department needs to go through, reorganized, and update everything in a clear and uniform style.

Also, being included materials that department instructors have sent in (what they use in class)

use for each section, which requires the designer with help from an instructor in the department

to go through, reorganized, and arrange in a clear and uniform style. All materials are stored in a

shared folder between the designer and the instructor through One Drive through Emporia,

allowing access to both parties. This folder includes lists of resources, various instructor

assignments, major classes essays and rubrics, etc. Once modified and updated, they will be

added to the correct section in the new Canvas hub.

The following screenshots demonstrate where the materials are being stored and adapted

and where they will ultimately be displayed in the new Canvas shell:
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Pilot Study Program

The pilot study will consist of two initial members, the instructor helping the designer

throughout this project and the Interim Composition Director weekly. They will review the new

Canvas hub weekly. They also will be allowed and encouraged to make suggestions on what

needs to be changed on the site and how it should be adapted. Each week on Thursday,

beginning on October 28th, the designer will meet with the instructor and go over their

suggestions, allowing the designer time to modify the content and design of the project.

According to Reiser & Dempsey (2012), “Data are at the heart of the ID process. Data collection

begins during the initial analysis and continues through implementation” (p.11). Once the project

is completed, a group of GTAs from the department will review and complete an evaluation

survey of the new Canvas hub, being allowed and encouraged to offer suggestions for

improvements. This will take place by the department itself, not the designer.

Evaluation Plan

The evaluation survey taken by the graduate students will be completed on Google

Forms, which is cost effective, easy to access, and easy to navigate. The information from the

survey will be used to make final changes and adaptions to the Canvas hub before officially
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being debuted for the Spring 2022 semester for the department. The evaluation can be found in

the Appendix. The survey’s questions are located in the appendix of this document.

Conclusion

The proposed design and development method will provide for the Department of

English, Modern Languages, and Journalism Composition Program at Emporia’s need for a new

Canvas hub for their new GTAs, who will be teaching Composition 1 and 2. The new hub needs

a uniform design, reorganized modules, and updated content. Upon official implementation, the

department will have an updated repository for their GTAs that store information based on

sections, making it easy for them to locate materials, curriculum, and resources needed.
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References

Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (2012). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology.
(third ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
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Appendix
ESU: Composition Canvas Hub Survey
After exploring the new Canvas Hub for GTAs who will be teaching Composition 1 and 2,
please answer the following questions. A Likert Rating Scale will be used for questions 1-10.
The Likert Rating Scale measures include 1 (Extremely Agree), 2 (Agree), 3 (Neutral), 4
(Disagree), and 5 (Extremely Disagree). The remainder of the questions will be presented with a
text box for comments.
After viewing the Canvas hub, is its organization and structure clear?
1 2 3 4 5
After viewing the Canvas hub, is each section/ module clear in its purpose?
1 2 3 4 5
After viewing the Canvas hub, is each module's content clear and understandable?
1 2 3 4 5
After viewing the Canvas hub, is content easily found and opened?
1 2 3 4 5
After viewing the Canvas hub, is the content easy to understand and clear?
1 2 3 4 5
After viewing the Canvas hub, does the course have a uniform design and style?
1 2 3 4 5
After viewing the Canvas hub, do the contents of each module match its title subject?
1 2 3 4 5
After viewing the Canvas hub, is the site easy to navigate?
1 2 3 4 5
After viewing the Canvas hub, do you consider the hub useful as a GTA?
1 2 3 4 5
After viewing the Canvas hub, would you recommend this site to GTAs starting out in the
department?
1 2 3 4 5
What do you like about the new proposed site?
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What do you not like about the new proposed site?

What changes would you recommend and why?