From 2024, Canvas topics will have a new shell, containing the common elements included in all courses.

When Flinders first transitioned from Moodle to Canvas, many topics were still taught in Moodle. Because staff and students were using both platforms, it was decided to use the Moodle shell for consistency – but this will not be the case next semester, as all topics will have moved to Canvas and there has been time to understand how it differs from Moodle.

Roger Howley, one of the Learning Designers who developed the shell, says the time is right to update it.

“It’s the right time to make better use of the differences between Canvas and Moodle. For example, the assessment hub was a place where all assignments could be gathered in one place and the extension requests and SAMs tools could sit and not get lost,” says Roger.

“It is not necessary to have a whole module for this in Canvas, as assignments and quizzes are automatically gathered in the Assignments section and the SAM and extension requests are available as links in the topic menu. The same goes for the Communications hub, so we have re-designed the template to remove repetitive or redundant information and provide a better experience for students and staff.”

Why have a shell?

The most important reason for having a shell structure across the University is to provide consistency, so that students don’t have to completely reorient themselves each time they go into a new topic. Research shows that consistent layout and behaviour across topics increase teaching presence and student engagement, and are beneficial to student learning.

Roger Howley says the shell also allows for variation. “We recognise that the huge variety of topics taught at Flinders will require quite a lot of latitude in how topics are presented in Canvas. The new shell can be easily customised to meet the needs of your teaching team, having minimal impact on your topic.”

Information about the new shell is available from the Topic Shell web page.