Asynchronous Learning Activities Guide

Canvas overview page

Organizing your asynchronous activities is simple with the premade Canvas Overview page. You can customize this page to fit your needs and make materials easily accessible to your students. To request an overview page be added to your Canvas course contact DFI and we can assist you!

• View an overview page example

Discussion boards

You can utilize Canvas discussion boards to have your students interact with one another. There are multiple discussion board strategies that you can utilize in an asynchronous way. Check out the Discussion board strategies below.

Padlet

Utilize Padlet to create an interactive wall for students. With Padlet’s many templates you can create a space for students to post text, videos, drawings, and much more. Sign up for a TC Padlet account and begin exploring how you can integrate Padlet into your Canvas course.

Video creation

As the instructor, you can create informational videos of a Powerpoint or an introductory video of yourself to get your asynchronous module started.

Another idea is to have students create their own videos to upload to a Canvas Discussion board or assignment to give a presentation, share a thought, or creatively explain a topic for the class.

Some great video recording software is:

• ScreenCast-O-Matic
• TC Zoom
• Canvas recording integration (Best for very short videos)
• TC Digital Media
• Recording in Powerpoint

Interactive videos

You can also add a quizzing element to any videos that you create using TC Digital Media’s video quizzing feature.

Thinglink

Create an interactive image with Hotspots using Thinglink. With Thinglink you can create a free account and upload any image to make into an interactive one. This is a great way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a subject and also add a fun flare to it for their classmates to view.

• Get started with Thinglink

Create a wiki page or blog

You can easily create a page in your Canvas course where students can all post or collaborate together. This is a great way for students to share resources with one another.

You can also have students create their own blogs to share with their classmates. You can utilize Google’s Blogger software to have students create their blogs and show their creativity through journal posts, pictures, and links to other materials.

Student-created website using Google Sites

Google Sites is a great way for students to create their own website to share with the class or the outside world! Students can easily embed Google documents, video recordings, YouTube videos, and much more into their websites.

Have students share their site with their classmates as they progress.

• Check out the Google Sites Learning Hub

Self-guided learning courses

Linkedin Learning has a plethora of eLearning courses that you can use to supplement your course. Students can take a self-paced Linkedin Learning course and earn a certificate in new software, creative writing strategy, and much more.

• Sign in to LinkedIn Learning with your TC email

Starter wrapper technique

• One student acts as the starter, the other as a wrapper.
• The starter starts the discussion:
• Opens the discussion, poses problems in the text, and posts contributions that peers can build on. Can provide clarification if there is a misunderstanding.
• The wrapper summarizes (Synthesizer):
• Integrated the ideas and concludes the discussion by highlighting new ideas that were introduced in the discussion.
• If you have a large enough class this technique works well when you have discussion moderators to:
• Monitor the discussion, ask for more participation and encourage discussion of posted comments.
• All others are participants post to the discussion board: 
• It is a good idea to give students parameters for what you expect out of a discussion post. For example: participants must post one original post of 300 - 500 words and two replies - no minimum but no general statements
• You can also create a discussion schedule and post it to Canvas along with a role schedule so students know what their role in the discussion will be.
• Roles can rotate each discussion board or as often as you like.

Video discussions

• Have students record a video of themselves with the topic you are discussing for the week. 
• Have other students watch the video and comment on the videos and provide constructive feedback. 
  • You can easily use TC Digital Media for video commenting in Canvas.

Hot seat discussions

• Divide your class (or let them choose) into small groups and assign each group (or let them choose) a topic, issue, or theme.
• Groups will research the assigned topic and summarize it for their discussion board. 
• Allow groups to think of various questions for other students to answer.
• Students in that group become facilitators for that week

Structured debate

• Divide your class (or let them choose) into small groups and assign each group (or let them choose) a topic, issue, or theme.
• Groups will research the assigned topic and summarize it for their discussion board. 
• Allow groups to think of various questions for other students to answer.
• Students in that group become facilitators for that week

Facilitators Role:

• Monitor the discussion board
• Only chime in if the teams are not answering challenging questions.
• After a set amount of time summarize the “best of” and declare a winner (if you decide to).

Agree or disagree discussion

• Students select their position on a topic and provide examples and evidence to support their stance.
• Students respond to at least two other students of the opposing stance and provide a challenging question for their opponent to answer.
• Students write a final post on whether they would change their position or not based on the week's discussions.

Storyboarding discussions

• Provide students with various parts of a story at various times.
• Each part of your story is a new discussion
• Students will draft responses to the various questions released with the new storyline.

Self-guided learning courses

Linkedin Learning has a plethora of eLearning courses that you can use to supplement your course. Students can take a self-paced Linkedin Learning course and earn a certificate in new software, creative writing strategy, and much more.

• Sign in to LinkedIn Learning with your TC email

Rubrics

Rubrics are a fantastic way to grade group assignments. A Rubric gives students exact direction on what they need to do or turn in to achieve the grade they would like.

• You can easily add your rubric to your Canvas course to embed in your assignments.

Self-assessment

Have students assess themselves. Ask them to give themselves a grade and explain why they deserve that grade.