Focusing student effort where it matters most by improving Canvas course structure

In 8.13 where students are navigating large amounts of resources and accessing different sets of lab materials at different times, organized Canvas pages help to focus students’ cognitive efforts on what matters most: becoming a physicist. 

Sean Robinson, Lecturer in Physics & Associate Director of the Helena Foundation Junior Laboratory, and Cory Romanov, Technical Instructor for Physics Department, collaborated with Open Learning Residential Education to improve the 8.13 Canvas course site for students. The improvements, resulting from a 2024 Summer Canvas Innovation Fund project, include easier access to lab materials from the homepage, expanded and updated pages with crucial prelab resources, and a better way of conveying the overall semester structure to students. 

Watch this 2-min. video of Sean and students describing why these changes were needed and the positive results. 

Want support in thinking through how to make improvements to your Canvas site or use of Canvas-related tools? Check out the Canvas Innovation Fund. You can also email ol-residential@mit.edu to seek help or consult with the Residential Education team. 

For more from Sean Robinson and Cory Romanov, watch this panel discussion.