Designing and developing a Canvas course for building an online store using the flipped learning method
Kaikkonen, Leena (2024)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024121335655
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024121335655
Tiivistelmä
This project was done for Laurea University of Applied Sciences. The aim of the project was to develop an online course teaching students how to set up an online store. The main tools the course teaches the students to use are WordPress and WooCommerce. This course is planned to be taught in 2025 and will replace two current courses: Building an Online Shop and Web Content Management Systems.
The new course is built to follow the flipped learning method. Instead of the traditional approach of teaching the content during a lecture and then assigning homework, students will first learn the content online from the material provided. They will then engage with each other and the teacher in group sessions, discussions and assignments aimed at deepening their knowledge. This approach also gives the teacher an opportunity to answer questions and address misunderstandings, as the group sessions take place after the students have already become familiar with the content.
The course is set up on Canvas, which is the Learning Management System used at Laurea UAS. All content was either created for this course or rearranged from the previous courses to align with the flipped learning principles. The content was benchmarked against other online courses teaching similar subjects, and the completed course was evaluated for functionality and flexibility using the Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist and user journeys representing scenarios where students might need an unconventional path to complete the course.
The benchmarking process revealed that the course content thoroughly covers the subject it is teaching. It gives students the skills to build online stores and maintain them securely and efficiently. However, three additional topics were identified to be useful for the students to learn during benchmarking and added to the course content. The Canvas checklist confirmed that the course functions as intended within the learning environment. The student journeys, however, highlighted three new suggestions to improve the experience for students in exceptional situations. One of these suggestions was implemented immediately, while the other two remain as recommendations for the client to further improve the flexibility of the course in the future.
The new course is built to follow the flipped learning method. Instead of the traditional approach of teaching the content during a lecture and then assigning homework, students will first learn the content online from the material provided. They will then engage with each other and the teacher in group sessions, discussions and assignments aimed at deepening their knowledge. This approach also gives the teacher an opportunity to answer questions and address misunderstandings, as the group sessions take place after the students have already become familiar with the content.
The course is set up on Canvas, which is the Learning Management System used at Laurea UAS. All content was either created for this course or rearranged from the previous courses to align with the flipped learning principles. The content was benchmarked against other online courses teaching similar subjects, and the completed course was evaluated for functionality and flexibility using the Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist and user journeys representing scenarios where students might need an unconventional path to complete the course.
The benchmarking process revealed that the course content thoroughly covers the subject it is teaching. It gives students the skills to build online stores and maintain them securely and efficiently. However, three additional topics were identified to be useful for the students to learn during benchmarking and added to the course content. The Canvas checklist confirmed that the course functions as intended within the learning environment. The student journeys, however, highlighted three new suggestions to improve the experience for students in exceptional situations. One of these suggestions was implemented immediately, while the other two remain as recommendations for the client to further improve the flexibility of the course in the future.