Sandbox Courses: A Time-Saving Tool for Course Design and Collaboration

Decorative image of sandbox with a toy truck.

The University of Wisconsin – Green Bay uses Canvas as its Learning Management System (LMS). When instructors participate in professional development opportunities offered by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL), they often encounter information about creating a Canvas Sandbox course. But what exactly is a sandbox course? This blog post will define what a sandbox course is, what the differences are between a sandbox course and an instructional course, and some different use cases for sandbox courses that will help save you time in the long run.

What is a sandbox course?

A sandbox course is an empty Canvas course shell that can be used for a wide variety of purposes. These courses are not linked to the UWGB course registrar the way instructional courses are. Therefore, Sandbox courses can be used as a testing field or playground within the Canvas environment. Sandbox courses can be used by instructors as a tool to engage with Canvas content and teaching materials with other faculty or staff.

How is a sandbox course different from an instructional course?

  • Sandbox course: A sandbox course can be manually created at any time. These courses are not linked to a specific term within Canvas and do not have term start or end dates. Sandbox courses are not linked to the Registrar or SIS, so they do not have automatic enrollments and do not have any students.
  • Instructional course: An instructional course is created 75 days before the start date of the course as it is listed in the Schedule of Classes. These courses are linked to the UWGB student information system (SIS) which automatically enrolls students. This same system also automatically updates student enrollments as students add and drop courses at the beginning of a term to keep your course enrollments up to date. Both the instructor and students within a Canvas instructional course are added with SIS system sync. Therefore, the only Teachers within an instructional course are those listed as an instructor of record by the Registrar’s Office and only students who officially enroll in a course are added to an instructional course shell.

What are the limitations and benefits of a sandbox course?

Sandbox courses do not have the option to add someone to the course as a “Student.” This is a setting enforced by the University of Wisconsin System. Instructors can, however, utilize the “Student View” option in Canvas to view content in their Sandbox courses as a student would see it. To do so, any modules and content of interest must be published.

Canvas sandbox courses also allow for multiple individuals to have the role of “Teacher” at the same time. As sandbox courses are not linked to the SIS system, these roles can be granted by anyone within the course who has the role of “Teacher”. This allows for multiple instructors to contribute collaboratively to learning materials and activities to a course, or to allow instructors to share content with each other without worry that students will have access to those resources.

How can you utilize a sandbox course (instructors and staff)?

  • Sharing course content with other instructors or staff members while being mindful of FERPA. This is the safest way to share course content between instructors.
  • Preemptively building out your course content prior to the creation of your Instructional Canvas courses (these show up 75 days before the listed course start date). Content built in a sandbox course prior to the creation of an instructional course can be moved into the live instructional course using the Canvas Course Import tool.
  • Make “live” revisions to course content during an active teaching term without impacting the instructional course your students are engaging in. The best way to do this is to build a sandbox course and then copy the course content from your instructional course into the sandbox course. Then you can make reflective edits to that content in the sandbox course without impacting the activities that students have engaged with.
  • Collaborative course design and course building with a co-instructor or designers.
  • Creation of departmental or program trainings for instructors, staff, graduate students, and/or student employees. If you would like to create a course shell for training and development purposes and need to add users with the “Student” role, please reach out to dle@uwgb.edu and a Canvas admin can copy your sandbox into a course shell that supports the Student role.
  • Testing and experimenting to build new activities or assessments using different integrations (LTIs) such as PlayPosit and Hypothesis that are available within in the UWGB Canvas instance.

How do I create a sandbox course?

To create a Canvas sandbox course, you can follow the directions listed in this UWGB Knowledge Base article. There are, however, a few caveats for the creation of a sandbox course in the UWGB instance of Canvas. These conditions are listed below:

Global Navigation how to create a Sandbox

 

  • You must be enrolled in at least one existing Canvas course as a Teacher. If you are not enrolled in any Canvas courses as a Teacher yet, you can email DLE@uwgb.edu to have a Canvas admin create a sandbox for you.
  • You must access the Sandbox course creation tool, located under the Help menu within the Canvas Global Navigation Menu, from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay instance website (https://uwgby.instructure.com).

 

a group of UWGB students in green t-shirts smiling and giving a thumbs up as they welcome new freshmen for move-in

Why Didn’t Anyone Do Today’s Reading? – Engaging Students by Building Relationships 

Article by Pamela Rivers

The semester is well under way. Your students have taken their first exam. Some are active and excelling. Others have stopped coming to class or are not completing the assigned readings. Welcome to the end of September.

Maybe you thought this time it wouldn’t happen. Everyone was eager and excited and answering your questions for the first few class sessions. Now, however, you are right back to encountering some disengaged students doing what feels like the bare minimum, and it’s eating away at your passion for teaching. Is this the fate for our classes, or are there more or different things we can do to reach students?

First, to be clear, engaging students is not magic, and although it should be informed by science, in many ways it’s also an art form. Like all art, some of it appeals to us and some of it doesn’t. No one can promise you a room full of fully engaged students who always turn in their homework, laugh at all your jokes, and come prepared every session. No trick or strategy works for every person, every time. There are, however, certain strategies you can employ to make it more likely your students will listen, attend, and want to do well, for you and for themselves.

Relationships Matter

In “Culturally Responsive Teachers Create Counter Narratives for Students”, Zaretta Hammond argues that relationships can be the “on ramp to learning.” She says that relationships can be as important as the curriculum. One research study cited in Relationship-Rich Education showed that alumni who had a faculty member who cared about them as a student felt more connected to their current jobs. Unfortunately, only 27% of graduates surveyed had someone in that role. This powerful research shows that developing relationships with our students not only engages them, but can also lead to their success down the road.

That is compelling research, and it can take a lot less than you might imagine to make a real difference in the lives of your students. Students want to know that you care, and they want to feel welcome in your classroom. Research suggests that colleges and universities need to invest in a “relentless welcome of their students,” (Felton and Lambert, 2020) but faculty can lead the way in their individual classrooms by integrating activities that build relationships and encourage engagement.

Getting to Know You Surveys

Before class starts, whether online or face-to-face, send out a “getting to know you” survey through Canvas. This survey can ask questions specific to your discipline, but it is also a place to show interest in your students and what might hold them back from being successful. You could ask about your students’ pronouns, how they prefer to be contacted, any worries they are having about your class, and any specific needs they have. You can find a lot out about a student by simply asking. Need a ready-made survey? Reach out to CATL to get a copy of our Canvas Template, which includes a sample survey.

Ice Breakers

When you hear the word “ice breakers,” you may groan. The truth is a silly, active icebreaker is a wonderful way to get face-to-face students moving and is a start to building classroom community (Sciutto, M.J., 1995). A people bingo game, for example, can help get students talking and will help them get to know each other. If you are teaching online, there are plenty of icebreakers you can do asynchronously, including video introductions or a game like two truths and a lie.

Class Norms

Developing a set of agreed-upon class norms (expectations or guidelines), both for your students and you, that everyone is involved in creating goes a long way toward building both trust and community. Next semester, take part of your first class session to have your students help you develop norms. If you need some ideas for what these class expectations might look like, check out the “Trust” section of this CATL toolbox article.

Make It Matter

Find ways to tie your assignments to students’ goals, lives, and futures. If you ask me to spend 2 hours every week looking up dictionary definitions for words I’ve never heard of for a random quiz that doesn’t seem to have any bearing on what I’m supposed to be learning in your course, I am unlikely to be motivated to keep spending my time looking in the dictionary. If, on the other hand, you explain to me the importance of the words I’m learning, how they will be useful in my next class, and even how they may show up on a licensing exam for my future career, my motivation changes.

Unplanned Conversations

In face-to-face or synchronous online courses, you can use the time before class or while students are working to chat with those students who are unoccupied. Mention something you liked about their work, ask how their weekend was, and show a genuine interest in them. You never know what you might learn in these conversations. It may not lead to anything, or it may lead to a student feeling seen. Establishing a friendly and open line of communication with students in this way also makes it more likely that they will feel comfortable coming to you if they have a question or issue in the class.

Give Your Students a Chance to be Successful

As you build up to the major coursework in your class, have small, low-stakes assignments that give them all an opportunity for success and to receive formative feedback. As students get a small taste of success, they will want to feel that more.

Use Your Students’ Names and Pronouns

Another way to make a student feel seen is by how you address them. Ask your students what they would like to be called and what pronouns they use in a “getting to know you survey” or some other activity at the start of the semester. If you are teaching a face-to-face class and are good with names, try to memorize their names and pronouns during the first few weeks and use them frequently. If you are teaching online or have more students than you can remember for a large face-to-face roster, ask students to complete the name pronunciation activity created by CATL to help instructors with names. In face-to-face classes, also consider having students create name tents that they can pull out for class use. These small steps show that you care about making them feel comfortable in class, and help students learn the names of their peers as well.

Engagement is Key for Student Success

There are no silver bullets for engagement, but hopefully there are a few things on this list that you can consider adding to your teaching practices. And the truth is, engagement matters. According to Miller in “The Value of Being Seen: Faculty-Student Relationships as the Cornerstone of Postsecondary Learning,” engaged students experience more academic success and have higher persistence rates. Keeping our students engaged gives them the best chance at success.

References

Cohen, E., & Viola, J. (2022). The role of pedagogy and the curriculum in university students’ sense of belonging. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 19(4), 1–17.

Felton, P., & Lambert, L. (2020). Relationship-Rich Education. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Hammond, Z. (2018, June 18). Culturally Responsive Teachers Create Counter Narratives for Students. Valinda Kimmel. September 12, 2023, valinda.kimmel.com

Lu, Adrienne. (2023, February 17). Everyone Is Talking About “Belonging,” but What Does It Really Mean? Chronicle of Higher Education, 69(12), 1–6.

Miller, K. E. (2020). The Value of Being Seen: Faculty-Student Relationships as the Cornerstone of Postsecondary Learning. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal, 13(1), 100–104.

Sciutto, M. J. (1995). Student-centered methods for decreasing anxiety and increasing interest level in undergraduate. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 22(3), 277.

How Will Generative AI Change My Course (GenAI Checklist)?

With the growing prevalence of generative AI applications like ChatGPT and the ongoing discussions surrounding their integration in higher education, it can be overwhelming to contemplate their impact on your courses, learning materials, and field. As we navigate these new technologies, it is crucial to reflect on how generative AI can either hinder or enhance your teaching methods. To support instructors in this endeavor, CATL created a video presentation and checklist designed to help you assess the extent to which generative AI will affect your courses and provide guidance on next steps for moving forward.

How Will ChatGPT Change My Course – CATL Presentation Slides (PDF)

Checklist for Assessing the Impact of Generative AI (ChatGPT, etc.) on your Course

View the Checklist for Assessing the Impact of Generative AI as a PDF.

Step One: Experiment with Generative AI

  • Experiment with ChatGPT or a similar application by inputting your own assignment prompts and assessing its performance in completing your assignments. Consider using a de-identified email account when doing so.
  • Research the potential benefits, use cases, limitations, and privacy concerns regarding generative AI to gain a sense of the potential applications and misuses of this technology.

Step Two: Review Your Learning Outcomes

  • Reflect on your course learning outcomes. Which outcomes lend themselves well to the use of generative AI and which skills go beyond the current limitations of AI? Keep this in mind as you move on to steps three and four, as the way students demonstrate achieved learning outcomes may need to be adjusted in course assignments/activities.

Step Three: Assess the Extent of AI Use in Class

  • Assess to what extent your course or discipline will be influenced by AI advancements. Are experts in your discipline already collaborating with tools like ChatGPT? Will current or future careers in your field work closely with these technologies?
  • Determine the extent of usage appropriate for your course. Will you allow students to use it all the time or not at all? If students can use it, is it appropriate for only certain assignments/activities with guidance and permission from the instructor? Be specific and clear with students and teach them how to cite ChatGPT.
  • Revisit your learning outcomes (step two). After assessing the impact of advancements in generative AI on your discipline and determining how the technology will be used (or not used) in your course, return to your learning outcomes and reassess if they align with course changes/additions you may have identified in this step.

Step Four: Review Your Assignments/Assessments

  • Review your assignments and evaluate whether revisions are needed to make them more resistant to generative AI or to incorporate generative AI collaboration. Which assignments are vulnerable to applications like ChatGPT and which ones can stay as is?
  • Provide an alternative for students who choose to opt-out of working with generative AI due to legitimate concerns regarding privacy and accessibility. This only applies if you choose to incorporate generative AI into an assignment.
  • View this CATL blog post on strategies for creating “generative AI-resistant” assessments for recommendations that focus on avoiding generative AI usage and view this resource on what aspects ChatGPT struggles to do.

Step Five: Update Your Syllabus

  • Add a syllabus statement outlining the guidelines you’ve determined pertaining to generative AI in your course. You can refer to our syllabus snippets for examples of ChatGPT-related syllabi statements.
  • Include your revised or new learning outcomes in your syllabus.

Step Six: Prepare to Address Misuse

  • Develop a plan for potential instances of suspected misuse. Your syllabus will be a valuable resource to communicate those expectations and boundaries to students.
  • Address and discuss your guidelines and expectations for generative AI usage with students on day one of class.

Step Seven: Seek Support and Resources

  • Engage with your colleagues to exchange experiences and best practices for incorporating or navigating generative AI.
  • Stay informed about advancements and applications of generative AI technology.

Need Help?

CATL is available to offer assistance and support at every step of the checklist presented above. Contact CATL for a consultation or by email at CATL@uwgb.edu if you have questions, concerns, or perhaps are apprehensive to go through this checklist.

Raising Student Evaluation Response Rates

Student evaluations of teaching play a crucial role in professional and course development and in the personnel review process. If they are to be useful, it is important that the data they provide be as accurate as possible. Unfortunately, students are not always motivated to complete them, perhaps because they don’t realize their voice is valued in this process. It is also well-documented that response rates for online evaluations are lower than for in-person administration. There are concrete strategies available to increase participation; however, and research points to creating a positive classroom culture and having explicit discussions of evaluations and specific ways they have been/will be used to inform courses as particularly effective (Chapman & Joines, 2017). A summary of some additional techniques is included below.

  • Make an announcement about evaluations in person (if possible) and in your Canvas course. Do this at the beginning and near the end of the survey period. Be sure to explain why student feedback is important and give specific examples of how you have used it in the past to revise classes. If you are teaching online, you could accomplish this with a short video.
  • Provide some time in class or a space online for students to ask questions about evaluations and their uses at UWGB.
  • Allow students time in class to complete their surveys, making sure to leave the “room” when you do. You should not be present when students complete evaluations. If you do provide time, note that ending class early to do so may only result in students leaving. In online courses, you might factor additional time for evaluations into your calculations of workload for the week and let students know that.
  • Assure students that the surveys are anonymous. Reinforce the point by leaving the physical or Zoom room when the students take them.
  • Include the direct link or QR code for your specific course evaluation in the Canvas announcement. You might also attach this helpful Knowledge Base article so students know how to locate the surveys for all their classes or even show in-person students where to find the necessary information.
  • Put “Complete Course Evaluation” as a task in your Canvas shell and include it on the calendar so it shows up on students’ “To Do” list for the class.
  • Bring the topic of the evaluations up several times during the period they are open, so they remain top of mind for students, even if you’ve already allowed time to complete them in class.
  • Monitor overall response rates for your classes during the open period. Ethically, you cannot award credit for completing an evaluation, and remember they are anonymous. You can, though, make classes aware of response rates and even create a contest between course sections to see who can achieve the highest overall response rate by a specific date. Offer a non-tangible prize to the winning class, such as bragging rights or a choice on a final assignment.
  • Throughout the semester, foster an environment of open communication and respect with students, which may motivate them to see their feedback as valued and worth taking the time to provide for you.

Chapman, D.D., & Joines, J.A. (2017). Strategies for increasing response rates for online end-of-course evaluations. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 29(1), 47-60. http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/

Strategies for Creating “Generative AI-Resistant” Assessments

The use of generative-AI tools in education has recently garnered significant attention, placing educators in a unique position to consider their roles in higher education and how students engage with such tools. In a previous blog post, we introduced AI technologies and their endless capabilities, as well as potential implications for higher education. Additionally, we provided advice on considerations, precautions, and ethical concerns for using generative-AI in the classroom.

While some educators are excited about integrating AI collaboration into their teaching practices, others are apprehensive about its potential misuse by students. To address these concerns, this blog post presents assignment strategies that can be more “generative AI-resistant.” There are no “AI-proof” assessments, but these suggestions should serve as starting points for creating authentic assignments and/or ones that require demonstration of original and critical thinking.

Assessment Strategies

Be specific and personal

Consider creating assessments that involve tasks ChatGPT struggles to do such as referring to personal anecdotes or student reflections, referencing current events and recent field developments, or administering interviews or making references to specific course materials. Asking students to connect specific details from course materials (readings, lectures, experiments, etc.) to their personal lives or career paths can also help students see relevance in their course activities and engage with them on a deeper level.

Go beyond research papers

Instead of asking students to create a research paper that ChatGPT could do for them, ask students to create an annotated reference list that demonstrates their ability to apply proper research methods and analysis of resources collected. Alternatively, consider asking students to write a paper analyzing a case study that you’ve created yourself.

Mix up the medium

Incorporate assignments that make use of multimedia content such as creating, writing, recording, and producing a podcast episode relevant to course content and ideas.

Flip your classroom

Consider using in-class time for activities like classroom debates and/or peer-to-peer feedback on projects. Grade those efforts that are happening in real-time and under your observation (without generative AI). Note that a flipped classroom approach also allows students to practice higher order thinking and application of the content they’ve learned through homework.

Look at grading

Consider reviewing your course grading criteria and use growth-oriented rubrics that prioritize process over product.

Ask students to show their process

Consider adding assignment elements that ask students to think about the process of their work. This could be done by requiring students to submit notes they took on sources to prepare for their papers or presentations. You could also ask students to show their work in progress as they move toward a final draft (e.g., require submission of a project outline or proposal, annotated bibliography, and multiple drafts).

Allow for growth and resubmission

Consider adding in some flexibility when students fall short of an objective by allowing for revisions or resubmissions on certain assignments. This can reduce the “high stakes” nature of assessments and associated pressures.

Make adjustments to current assessments

Review your existing assignments to see if there are areas where you can have students demonstrate their holistic growth and development. For exams, you could add supplemental reflection questions or even consider adopting oral exams.

A Note on Academic Honesty

It can be easy or tempting to spend a lot of effort trying to catch instances of academic dishonesty using tools like ChatGPT. Although there are detection tools available, such as Turnitin, the effectiveness of AI detection reports remains uncertain due to insufficient data. Please review our blog on Considerations for Using Generative AI Tools to learn more and remember how important it is to communicate explicitly with students about if, when, and how they may use AI in your class.

Learn More

Explore even more CATL resources related to AI in education:

If you have questions, concerns, or ideas specific to generative AI tools in education and the classroom, please email us at catl@uwgb.edu or set up a consultation!