Part of online education is making continuous improvements to the courses. To honor this, we copy courses from term to term instead of keeping a “parent” version of the course. If we did that, we would miss any corrections made to the course during the term.
We encourage faculty to correct clear, simple errors, for example: typos, unclear directions, incorrect quiz questions. Note: If you teach a course that has more than one section running at a time, please inform the instructional designer (ID) you are working with so they can carry those fixes over to the other section.
However, many changes should only be made in consultation with the ID:
- Some changes to links, attachments, assignments, or large changes to directions may have repercussions elsewhere in the course.
- Changing Canvas settings could affect student experience the next time the course runs.
- Other faculty may teach the course in the future, and changes that affect the course content (other than the exceptions stated above) should be made in consultation with them.
- Changing or removing assignments may affect learning outcomes.
To balance the need for continuous improvement vs retaining the cohesiveness of a course as it is designed, we ask that anything beyond fixing obvious typos or unclear directions should be made in consultation with the ID.
Some of these changes could be made after the term finishes (before the next offering). Some may be larger changes that should wait for a paid revision.
You may email your ID with ideas for what to change. Your course will also have an unpublished module with a link to a document or an unpublished Canvas page in which to record your notes for changes. If you’d like to use this tool but your course doesn’t have one, ask your ID to make a page to record your notes.
At the end of the term, please email your ID and let them know you have some ideas for revisions, and we will work with you to determine next steps and a timeline.