Creating a Visual Syllabus Using Adobe Express

Reposted from LSA Technology Services Tip of the Week, September 2023

Creating a visual aid to cover such important information can build interest in the course content and engage students in a new way.

Why use a graphical syllabus?

Your syllabus will act as a handbook for students– it reviews course content, provides a timeline of the course itself, and introduces you as an instructor. Creating a visual aid to cover such important information can build interest in course content and engage students in a new way. Ultimately, when you offer choices to students in how they interact with and consume content (i.e., when you present images and text to convey the same information), you are engaged in effective Universal Design for Learning strategies.

As Linda B. Nilson, creator of the graphical syllabus, says, “In its simplest form, a graphic syllabus is a flow chart, diagram, or graphic organizer of the topical organization of a course. It is typically a one-page document included in a regular text syllabus, preferably right after the week-by-week (or class-by-class) list of course topics and assignments” (“The Graphic Syllabus: Shedding a Visual Light on Course Organization”). It should, in essence, act as a visual aid to help students digest course structure.

How to create your own graphical syllabus

Adobe Express is a useful tool you can use to create your own syllabus, and it’s available for all UM students and faculty. If you’re interested in implementing a visual syllabus in your own courses, you can edit the example template we’ve provided (pictured right). Simply navigate to the black bar at the top of the Adobe Express window and click on the 3 dots, then duplicate the file.

Keep in mind the templates in Adobe Express may not have appropriate contrast and font sizes for accessibility. You should always check your graphic for accessibility before publishing.

Interested in creating a visual syllabus for your own courses? Reach out to the LSA Learning and Teaching Consultants or your another TeachTech partner to get started!

Tableau

Tableau software is a powerful visualization and analytics tool. It can be used by instructors to understand learning analytics gathered from various sources, including Canvas. It can be used by students to create project reports.

In addition to an interface that is easy to use for both those who publish visualizations and those who use them, Tableau enables data from multiple sources to be integrated together into combined reports. These visualizations can show combinations of locally maintained data, enterprise data, and even public data.

Desktop licenses are available via ITS Software Services.

Cloud licenses (“Tableau Server”) allow university consortium members to share data visualizations that can be viewed and, in some cases, manipulated by authorized users in the university community. Tableau Server is the best way to publish and share reports with other university users.

Problem Roulette

Problem Roulette is a study tool that delivers past exam questions to help students learn course material.

  • Study mode: to practice questions by topic so students can learn which topics are their strongest and weakest
  • Exam mode: to mimic timed practice exams
  • Group mode: to practice in study groups

Problem Roulette may be a good fit for you if:

  • You have or can create practice problems that cover your course content
  • Your students struggle to finish exams in the allotted time or there is a lot of fear of exams
  • You would use data about aggregate student practice habits to better support students

Similar to Quizlet, Flashcards+, Kahoot, Kahn Academy

Gradescope

Gradescope streamlines the tedious parts of grading paper-based, digital, and code assignments while providing insights into how your students are doing.

Gradescope is a part of turnitin.

GradeCraft

GradeCraft is a web-based platform that supports gameful instruction — an approach to course design that allows students to make meaningful choices about how they progress through a course, take on work that challenges them, and feel connected to both peers and instructional staff.

  • For students:
    • A grade predictor
    • An way to plan which assignments to complete
    • Progress visualizations
  • For instructors:
    • Robust grading tools and learning analytics
    • Customizable leveling system
    • Badges, leaderboards, and unlocks

eCoach

for Personalized Learning Support

  • Provide tailored experience for each individual student
  • Adapt content as student improves over time
  • Allow student to choose different activities, content, or pathways within a learning environment

Weebly

for Blogs

  • Make personal observations
  • Find authentic audiences
  • Capture growth/change
  • Celebrate creativity
  • Write to different audiences
  • Develop a public persona

Similar to WordPress, Google Sites

WordPress

as a Blog:

  • Make personal observations
  • Find authentic audiences
  • Capture growth/change
  • Celebrate creativity
  • Write to different audiences
  • Develop a public persona

Similar to Weebly, Google Sites

Zoom

  • Backchannel conversations 
  • Muddiest points
  • Brainstorming
  • Virtual group check-ins
  • 1-on-1 virtual office hours
  • Cafe-style virtual office hours
  • Game show-style problem sets
  • Low-stakes interactions
  • Low-bandwidth remote engagement

Similar to Canvas Chat, Google Hangouts

Canvas Badges

Canvas Badges former Badgr is a digital credentialing tool that is available for U-M instructors and organizations. (Digital credentials are sometimes also called micro-credentials.)  Badges can be used as a stand-alone destination for learners (see the example below) or can be used as to award credentials within a Canvas site.

To set up Canvas Badges integration with Canvas contact 4HELP@umich.edu.

Join the Micro-credentialing community of practice.

Examples of micro-credentialing:

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