SNEAK PEEK! Quizzes.Next: Canvas takes Assessment to the Next Level

Most faculty who teach in the Canvas learning management system (LMS) are familiar with the "Quizzes" tools and features for creating a variety of surveys, quizzes, tests, and exams. What faculty may not have yet heard is that Canvas is on the brink of taking assessment to the next level with the release of Quizzes.Next tools, currently in beta testing and expected to be widely released this summer, after a few years of beta testing and user feedback.

Explore the links below but know that this tool will not immediately replace the current quiz features, and that it can be used (or not, as you wish) in any course, even in combination with the traditional quiz features within the same course once it has been released. Quizzes.Next is simply a new set of additional tools that support a wider variety of assessment strategies. Faculty will have plenty of time to explore the tools and decide which (if any) are right for you and your course, curriculum, and assessment style. After a long period of running both old and new tools in conjunction with one another, the old set of tools will eventually be phased out. But this process will allow for plenty of time for testing, feedback, improvements, and integration into courses assessments.

You can begin exploring Quizzes.Next with these links:

• Quizzes.Next Guide (Instructors, Students)
• Quizzes.Next User Group (Canvas hosted)
• Quizzes.Next FAQ

And here's a sneak preview from the Canvas folks when Quizzes.Next was introduced at the Instructure conference in 2016:

The Brave New World of Online Learning: Amy Collier at TEDxStanford

Still not sure if online learning represents more hype or hope? Amy Collier has a fresh perspective about open online learning and its role in education.

"... (T)he words 'open' and 'online learning' are probably some of the most abused words in education right now. By 'open' I mean that at its very core it should be accessible to as many people as possible. But that’s just the beginning. Because I think 'accessible' can be pushed to reimaginable, editable, changeable, so that ideas can continue to grow. By 'online' I mean that web technologies can connect people to information and to each other. And by 'learning' I mean that it needs to significantly impact the way people think, what they do, what they say."

[Transcript]

The Era of Online Learning: A TEDx Talk by Niema Moshiri

"In this talk, Niema Moshiri talks about his experience as a student in a massive classroom, and how this to his goal of rethinking education.  As classroom sizes continue to increase, he illustrates the benefits of adaptive online education as a replacement for the traditional classroom."

Designing for Accessibility: A TEDx Talk by UDL Advocate Elise Roy

TEDx speaker Elise Roy makes the case for designing environments and tools with disabilities in mind from the start. This ensures that such areas and tools are accessible and usable for everyone. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) helps designers think inclusively from the very start.

"I've been a design thinker for nearly all my life. ... My constant need to adapt has made me a great aviator and problem solver. And I've often had to do this within limitations and constraints. ... Design thinkers often seek out extreme situations because that often informs some of their best designs. ... You are a designer. Everyone is. ... Let people like me help you. Let people with disabilities help you look sideways, and in the process solve some of the greatest problems. "

Source

KQED News / WCET-WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies

Additional Reading

Improving Accessibility Often Falls to Faculty. Here's What They Can Do.

“Eskridge and Kwong ... underline the importance of faculty teaming up to create more accessible learning materials.  ... 'I can't stress enough that it’s the importance of community when we are trying to solve a problem.'”