Development and Piloting of the Online Course “Level Up Your Course with Canvas” Supporting Utilisation of the Learning Management System

Abstract

In recent times, the digitalisation in the European Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) strategies has led Finland’s goal Vision2030 Digitalisation in various sectors, including Higher Education. This thesis contributes towards the development goals, addresses the challenges of adopting digital pedagogy and tools, especially the best practices of Canvas Learning Management Systems (LMS) at Laurea University of Applied Sciences. Laurea’s strategic aim to strengthen its digital education capabilities and improve access to quality online learning, and primarily the education offering using Canvas LMS, provided opportunities for the development project and thesis work.

The thesis work is a working-life development work and appropriately uses the applied action research methods and engaging mainly teaching staff for their training and also students to understand their learning and pedagogical needs and requirements. The anonymous data collection applied for the action research method in various stages and rounds, presented in the thesis.

The development cycles followed the action research stages and theoretically established pedagogical models, the best practices in online education and course offerings using Canvas LMS. The outcomes bring the practical and applied outcomes, including designing and piloting a self-paced online training course for educators and ensured the solutions address the challenges identified in the requirement gathering stages.

The outcomes confirmed the pilot feedback from the stakeholders and participants were positive. They found the training course “Level Up Your Course with Canvas” is delivering the solutions to challenges, as 80 percent of participants reported their confidence and skills for the Canvas LMS usage and implementing pedagogical features increased. The outcome is more meaningful as it can be replicated and scaled across degree programmes at Laurea beyond the pilot domain of ICT education. The collaborative approach of the thesis and project between two Finnish HEIs brings reasonable values towards Finland’s digital higher education and the goals of Vision 2030 Digitalisation.