So far, putting content into Canvas has gone well. Its not really that difficult of a system to figure out, so I am glad they put some thought into user interface. Still room for improvement, but much better than Blackboard. The challenge has been creating the content. Usually as an instructional designer, the content is given to you by the subject matter expert, so creating content is more than a bit out of my comfort zone. Even when we do create content, we are allowed to rely heavily on textbooks, websites, and existing YouTube videos. So creation of content has been a challenge.

The feedback will begin this week, so that means so far I have not received much feedback on the content. I did receive feedback on the design document, and incorporated some of it into the design. I think a lot of the feedback was based on a specific design model that I wasn’t using, especially about the objectives. So I didn’t really use that advice, but other parts that pertained to other details I did use. I also gave out advice on a design document, mostly to expand some details that were needed.

Of course, I have been working for years in an LMS, developing content as part of my job for years now. So most of what I learned about this time was specific to the Canvas system – where to find certain functions and how to host media. I also learned that creating content from scratch is very time-consuming, so I will be an even bigger fan of OER after this 🙂 (at least, the good parts of OER).