It can be daunting to start with a blank canvas. And it’s commonly understood that for most tasks we in fact rarely start from scratch. This is why the LX.lab Design Team has created a collection of templates for you to explore and use in your subject. Each faculty (and organisation-wide units) have a faculty templates site in Canvas as a digital home. Don’t have access yet? Drop a request via this form.
In your templates site you will find:
- three template libraries with a range of page, module and page elements to use in your subject.
- step-by-step and interactive video guides to help you copy and edit templates
- links to further resources to help you in your move to Canvas
Choose your own template
Depending on your starting point, you can select templates from a variety of levels. If you’re starting fresh, module templates help you establish a consistent pattern for your students and build your subject structure quickly. You’ll find a variety of options depending on your delivery method and subject design: weekly, thematic, block mode, etc. The pages within include placeholder content and instructions to guide you during your build. Making use of module templates means that you have more time to concentrate on your content and the experience for your students.
Clear signposting for students
Once you’ve built your subject and formed its structure using modules, page templates can provide additional signposting, organisation and information for your students. Several page templates demonstrate how to sequence a learning experience for your students. An example of this is: presenting an introduction to a topic via text, followed by a curated piece of multimedia and an interactive activity. By guiding you students through a sequence, you have engaged them with multiple modalities and made space for discussion, connection or reflection.
To provide clear signposting for your students, consider the subject schedule templates or even the roadmap of the week template. By placing this information on its own distinctive page you provide students with a clear and easy way to understand your subject’s timing and progression. These pages also come preformatted with responsive design to ensure they’re accessible across as many devices as possible.
Enhancements made easy
If you have built your subject and are looking to enhance certain pages, there are a selection of page elements that can help to highlight information, signal relationships and optimise your page layout. For example, the responsive column grids, available in two or three columns, help to reduce scrolling and keep relevant content grouped efficiently.
To highlight information, consider a textbox formatted with a light grey background or border. This can be used to establish a motif throughout your subject which could be reminders, prompts, scenarios, etc. Additionally, if you have a page with information targeting different subgroups in your subject, a great way to reduce cognitive load is to make use of the details widget/toggle. This type of element is often used for frequently asked questions; it keeps non-relevant information hidden unless a user is seeking it.
Finally, there are preformatted tables which better match the LMS style, and include hover effects or striped formatting to enhance scannability. Using these page elements is as simple as copying and pasting the provided HTML code into your own pages.
Get started and join more than 1300 of your colleagues already exploring or using templates.