READ ME for Instructors **Keep Unpublished**

The team at the Instructional Design Collaborative (IDC) within L&S has created this Course Orientation Template to better align with best practices for starting the semester with a welcoming and inclusive environment. 

What's a Course Orientation module? 

A Course Orientation in Canvas usually takes the form of one Module that students can interact with before the course officially begins, whether the course is in-person, hybrid, or online. This helps students be prepared for class on the first day by communicating expectations and norms for your course. A Course Orientation makes information about your course explicitly and equally available to all students, which can be especially valuable for students who are newer to higher education. 

Orientation Module Goals:

  1. Contextualize your Syllabus with additional information conveyed in simpler language that can be easily accessed.
  2. Introduce the course, topics, and instructors in an approachable way.
  3. Incorporate interactivity to solicit valuable information about and input from your students. 
  4. Link out to supportive resources for students.
  5. Begin helping students connect with each other. 
  6. Provide students with an opportunity to learn about and practice using technology necessary for your course. 

To Do: Customize this Template

Using this template requires you to customize it. Please review content carefully. Text and other items that must be updated are prefaced with highlighted and italicized text. The amount of customization you choose is up to you, and can include: 

  • Update all personal and contact information for course instructor(s) 
  • Update all scheduling and location details for you course
  • Update content to include only technologies your course will use
  • Proofread and update all other information as needed to be accurate for your course
  • Update, keep un-published, or delete any activities (Discussion, Quiz, and Survey) 

Additional Suggestions: 

  • As you prepare to publish your Canvas course, make your own copy of our Inclusive Canvas Setup Guide to see tips to save yourself time, make sure Canvas matches your syllabus, and clearly communicate course policies. 
  • Consider making your Syllabus more inclusive. Review a curated list of strategies in our Make Your Syllabus More Inclusive Guide, and select a few to try this semester. 
  • Consider your course reading list and/or textbook.
    • Are there opportunities to add new sources and perspectives to your readings?
    • Are there low-cost or free alternatives to your textbook? Learn more about Open Education Resources through the UW Libraries and reducing textbook and digital learning tool costs through the Engage program.
  • Consider new teaching strategies to make your class more inclusive. Review the L&S Instructional Design Collaborative's Design for Learning Series for ideas and examples from other instructors, or attend a workshop with the CTLM. 

Click "Next" below to move on to the Welcome & Instructor Introduction and begin customizing your content. 

Licensing and Reuse Information: All UW-Madison instructors are welcome to use this module's contents in their courses without attribution. For use of this module's contents beyond an individual course (e.g., training or professional development), this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License Links to an external site.. Please provide attribution to to the L&S Instructional Design Collaborative. Please note that icons used in this module are available from University Marketing's Design Toolkit.