About the IU Course Template 2.0 pilot

• Overview
• Audience
• Participate in the pilot
• Support

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Overview

The UITS eLearning Design and Services team is conducting a pilot of a new version of the IU Course Template. Version 2.0 of the IU Course Template builds upon the strong pedagogical foundation of the original IU Course Template and introduces several exciting new features:

• A bold new visual design, creating a unified professional look and feel across the entire course (view a preview of the template in Canvas)
• Optional, customizable banner images for the course home page and module overview pages
• A graphical progress bar at the bottom of every module item indicating location and completion status
• A navigation widget for the Syllabus
• An easy and efficient method for creating complete module sets and configuring individual module items
• An unpublished module, just for instructors, with detailed instructions on how to customize the template

Audience

This template is intended as a starting point for instructors who are creating a new course from scratch or rethinking the content and instructional design of an existing course. It's not a good choice for instructors solely interested in updating a course's appearance. To learn how to add visual enhancements similar to those in the template to existing content, see the self-paced tutorial From Drab to Fab: Making Your Course Pop with Design Plus.

The content for the template was created with an advanced editor for Canvas called DesignPlus Sidebar from Cidi Labs. You won't need to use the Sidebar to work with the template, but the standard Canvas editor will look a little different. You'll also need to learn how to use two other tools from the DesignPlus suite to build your course, Upload/Embed Image (an app in the Canvas editor) and the Multi-Tool. In light of these new technologies, we recommend working with a consultant in your campus teaching center if you are not already an experienced Canvas user or need help with the additional tools.

Participate in the pilot

This pilot is open to all IU faculty and staff. To participate:

1. Create a new Canvas course where you will install the template.
2. Use your browser to go to the Next.IU site.
3. Select Join a Next.IU pilot.
4. Fill out and submit the "Join a Next.IU pilot" web form.
   • For the field, "Sign up for a pilot", select IU Course Template 2.0.
   • For the field, "Canvas course URL(s) for this pilot, comma separated", copy and paste the URL for the course you created in step 1 above.
5. A member of the eDS instructional technology team will contact you with instructions on how to import the template into your course.

All participants will be invited to take part in an online evaluation near the conclusion of the pilot. You can also send us informal feedback on the template at any time using the feedback form on the "Getting Started" page.

Support

For assistance getting started with or using the template, contact your campus teaching and learning center or the eDS instructional technology team at instech@iu.edu.