Learning Management Systems

 

Oishii, a food lover's Japanese language course

From washoku to bento, this minicourse that seeks to broaden your language palette and knowledge of Japanese cuisine and food culture. Students explore various aspects of contemporary Japanese lifestyle while furthering their language studies in this intermediate Japanese in Context class, called Oishii. Features include:

​​

• Interactive slideshow helps organize content which will be mostly text and images in a sequenced format but empowers the learner to explore it in a non-linear way. Content would include some of the following:

  • Overview of Japanese food history gives current menu items context.

  • Five principles of washoku presents the food philosophy around traditional Japanese food preparation, composition, and etiquette.

• Interactive quizzes in video test the learner's retention of information in video and may be embedded in the interactive slideshow. The video or animated slide show would be presented in no more than 2 minute chunks with embedded quiz questions (4-7 min) to optimize on attention span or viewer time limits

  • Quizzing retention of five principles

  • Vocabulary quiz with multiple choice options

• Games engage the learner in a more visual-spatial way. ​

  • Matching game based on infographics such as identifying vocabulary terms in a restaurant or five principles of washoku. Matching items could also be for placing the correct term in a simulated menu. 

• Discussion enables community building around sharing learner's own experiences, connecting learning to their individual contexts. This course will have a final mini project that's flexible in format. Canvas supports video and audio uploads, which further enhances a language learning class.

  • Self-reflective introductions sharing reason for taking the course and experience level​

  • Community building around favorite dishes or own re-interpretation of dish

  • Synchronized elements: Teacher can organize weekly Zoom meetings with a calendar that helps coordinate group practice in breakout rooms once the course has synchronous elements

  • Final mini-project choices can include video uploads of partner dialogue around dining out or following a recipe or an audio presentation with images of regional dishes
    ​

 

Canvas for higher education & lifelong learning

​

Canvas would be my choice since I envision my course as a supplement to a higher education Japanese language course or a continuing education/lifelong learning course. It's the only LMS I've encountered for public higher education courses I've taken. It has the following tools and features:

• Online learning content management for instructors and designers

• Multiple formats supporting different learning styles

• Accessibility for the visually and hearing impaired.

• User analytics for student performance feedback to instructors

• Tools to communicate learning achievement, enabling feedback for students

• Customizable with items you can embed to expand its media and storage capabilities

​

Reasons I choose Canvas:

• LMS of choice for higher ed

• Most accessible LMS, which I’ve used for a number of courses as an online student

• Supports Adobe Captivate and YouTube, which I’d like to use to create slideshows, videos, and interactive quizzes and games

• Supports student uploads of media in discussion forums

• Used by countless edX students and is accessible to edX reviewers

BUT

• Free-for-Teacher plan only allows for 500MB of storage per course

​​​​

​

 

Canvas help

​

As a free account user, it looks like I'll have to turn more towards a community discussion board for help or seek common questions & answers to troubleshoot. So far, I have found:​​​​

• Free for Teacher Canvas Users discussion forum looks like an active Q&A group​

• Instructure Community board provides a larger community where you can post questions, attend events, find product guides, and join more specialized groups 

​

Canvas training

​

I will definitely need some training on building in Canvas, so here are some training links:​

• Instructure's own Canvas YouTube video tutorials

• Sample course templates

• Canvas instructor guide with specific build topics

• Professional Learning Services offers varying degrees of paid and free training from an on-demand training portal subscription to Canvas basics free training