Want an engaging, research-backed course design? In this fast-paced session, Cidi Labs customers unveil three proven strategies to make Canvas courses more learner-centric—without the hassle. From decluttering to enhancing engagement, discover how to level up your design game, whether for one course or thousands!

Do you strive for course design that’s engaging, organized, and research-backed? In this fast-paced session, we’ll have customers reveal three proven, easy-to-implement strategies to make your Canvas courses more learner-centric—without the heavy lift. Backed by research and real-world examples, these strategies will help you streamline course navigation, enhance engagement, and ensure accessibility, all while creating a more intuitive learning experience for your students.

A well-designed homepage sets the tone for the entire course and provides students with a clear starting point. Our customers will show that using Cidi Labs’ DesignPLUS tools, you can create a homepage in minutes that is both structured and inviting. An introduction content block (pulled from the DesignPLUS Library) helps personalize the experience, while a Link Grid simplifies navigation, ensuring students can quickly locate important course components. Including a dedicated policy block further establishes expectations from day one, and it’s easy to update them in one place for changes to show up everywhere. Before launching a new semester, it’s also essential to clean out outdated files and materials. TidyUP makes this process effortless by identifying and removing unnecessary content, keeping your course organized and clutter-free.

Once students move beyond the homepage, intuitive content organization helps eliminate frustration and cognitive overload. Long, endless scrolling pages can be overwhelming, making it difficult for students to locate key information. Instead, using styled headings, accordions, tabs, columns, and cards can break content into digestible sections, making it easier to navigate. Not only does this enhance the overall learning experience, but it also keeps students engaged by presenting content in an interactive and structured format. To ensure consistency across courses, instructional designers and faculty can utilize ReadyGO checklists to confirm that courses meet essential quality and engagement metrics.

Engagement and instructor presence are also critical to fostering a dynamic learning environment. Small enhancements, such as quick checks, flip cards, and visual callouts, encourage student interaction and help reinforce key concepts. Instructors can use callouts to provide additional guidance, highlight important information, or offer insights that make learning more personal. Along with engagement, accessibility plays a crucial role in creating an inclusive learning experience. Using the DesignPLUS accessibility checker and UDOIT ensures that all students can interact with course materials seamlessly. For PDF content, UDOIT’s PDF conversion tool further enhances accessibility by optimizing documents for screen readers and other assistive technologies.

By implementing these research-backed strategies with Cidi Labs tools, our customers will show you how you can transform your Canvas courses into learner-centered experiences that are engaging, well-organized, and accessible. Whether you’re designing a single course or managing thousands, these techniques will help you create a seamless, interactive learning environment that enhances student success. Join us to see these strategies in action, explore real-world examples, and walk away with practical tips you can apply immediately!