Research paper on an emerging trend Assignment 3 Research paper on an emerging trend By Charleen Moore In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements

of EDID6506 Trimester III, 2013

Email: University: Course Coordinator

charleen.moore@my.open.uwi.edu University of the West Indies Open Campus Dr. Camille Dickson-Deane

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Introduction
Emerging trends in distance education have seen the development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). These MOOCs are models for delivering learning content to any person who wants to take a course with no limit on attendance (Educause, n.d.). One such emerging trend is Canvas Network. Canvas Network is described as a platform/tool which enables institutions to design their own online courses and as result, customized the learning experience (Nagel, 2012). Additionally, institutions can control how they offer the courses - as a MOOC or a smaller closed format. They can also decide if to implement a fee or a free of cost course. This research paper will focus on the features of canvas network, its relevance to the field of distance education and potential uses for the field of distance education.

Creator of Canvas Network

Canvas network was created by Instructure, an educational technology company located in Utah. Instructure was formed in 2008 by two graduate students. Josh Coates is now the CEO of the company. Courses on the platform are offered free to institutions and students (Kim, 2012) and include courses in Maths, Music, Business and Engineering to name a few. In fact, several universities have already signed up and some of the courses being offered are free and some are fee-based.

Features of Canvas Network

Instructure, the company responsible for the creation of canvas network, has embraced the viewpoint that the development of MOOCs should incorporate pedagogy with experimentation and that new ways should be sought to enhance learning (Instructure, n.d.). This viewpoint is evident in the new features/tools built into canvas network. These features

Research paper on an emerging trend 3 enable canvas network to distinguish itself from other services also hosting MOOCs. Some of the features included in Canvas Network are Analytics, BigBlueButton, mobile apps, collaboration and Kaltura. BigBlueButton enables the instructor to share documents, web cam, chat and desktop. Analytics is the process of finding patterns; this allows institutions to predict students performance. Another tool within Canvas Network is Kaltura; this software enables creators of the course to add video and other multimedia options.

Courses being offered on canvas network

Potential uses of canvas network

In addition to its regular hosting of online courses, Canvas Network according to David Nagel, writer for campus technology.com states that the new MOOC has several features that can

Research paper on an emerging trend 4 be used to grade papers, provide support for e-portfolios and offer flexible course design. Additionally, Canvas Network can export its students data for analysis, marketing and research. According to Hill (2012), Canvas Network has the potential to provide real analytical information unlike its competitors. Furthermore, it supports collaboration among students and between instructors and students and allows mobile access to the network.

Impact on the field of distance education

Canvas Network has impacted the field of distance education significantly by providing an alternative solution to the less renowned institutions that would like to design their own MOOCs. Not only should it be seen as an alternative solution that users can choose from, but one that Hill (2012) states supports openness in education.

Another impact Canvas network has made on distance education is the support for flexible on-demand learning for non-elite institutions (Hill, 2012). It has provided the platform for institutions small or large to participate in the openness of education thus enabling them to reach a wider audience (Empson, 2012). Hill (2012), states that innovation in course design and pedagogy do not always come from elite institutions. Josh Coates, CEO of Instructure echoes this sentiment as he states that Canvas Network has democratizes open education and is seen as an alternative platform that isnt only for the elite schools (Nagel, 2010). For example, Centrale Lille, a French school offering a project management course had approached Coursera but the course was not seen as valuable and as a result signed on with Canvas Network.

Challenges facing users of Canvas Network

While Canvas Network provides instructional design support, institutions have the freedom to design their own courses. Leaving the design of courses up to the institutions and

Research paper on an emerging trend 5 individuals can result in inconsistent experiences and poor design courses according to the standard of open online courses (Hill, 2012). Another challenge facing Canvas Network is its visibility. Other MOOCs are well known to the media and professors of the institutions due to their affiliation with renowned institutions. However, Canvas Network according to Hill (2012) does not have the direct access to people driving the popularity and adoption of MOOCs.

Conclusion
Canvas network is an emerging technology breaking into the field of massive open online courses which allow individuals and institutions, especially those that are not well-known to participate in the creation of their own online courses and experience the benefits of openness in education. Creating their own online course enables them to reach a wider audience and provides greater flexibility for the institution in the area of distance education. Canvas network has also made a significant impact in the field of distance education and due to its unique tools provides useful features for its users.

Reflection
The research experience was not a straightforward process and I found it to be quite demanding. I found that it was necessary to search the news section online rather that the usual web search. Even with this method, the research process still presented a challenge since the trend/issue had the restriction of a particular time period. So, I thought that it would be fruitful if I divided up the different aspects of instructional design into its components but that approach still proved futile. For me, the best approach was searching the news section online. The area of instructional technology seems to abound in emerging technologies. I recognized that most of my peers, myself included chose instructional technologies on which to

Research paper on an emerging trend 6 research their projects; an abundance of emerging instructional technologies exist. As a result, I am wondering whether the field of instructional design is too new an area to have such an abundance of emerging trends - it seems to have limited emerging trends. Well, maybe for that the particular time frame we were given, I am not sureif this is the case, that is, the area of instructional design have limited emerging technologies, this leads me think that maybe the field is full of opportunities for research in this particular area - the design of courses, the assessment and analysis of learners. I think Canvas Network has adopted an effective model by allowing institutions and individuals to create their own courses and including analytics into their MOOCs. I say this because analyzing students performance gives insight into students patterns especially successful students which according to research done in distance education should be the focus of research in this field.

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References
Empson, R. (2012). With 4.5 M users, Instructure takes on the courseras and udacities of the world with its own open course network. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/31/instructure-canvas-network. Hill, P. (2012). Are LMS and MOOCs market colliding. Retrieved from http://mfeldstein.com/canvas-network-are-the-lms-and-mooc-markets-colliding/. Instructure. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canvas_Network. Kim, J (2012). Open online education and Canvas network. Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/open-online-educationand-canvas-network. Massive Open online course (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/library/massiveopen-online-course-mooc. Nagel, D. (2012). Instructure creates free canvas network for online courses. Retrieved from http://campustechnology.com/articles/2012/11/01/instructure-creates-free-canvasnetwork-for-online-courses.aspx.