Twitter4Canvas: Getting Started

So as I was pondering yesterday’s #MuseumSelfie and today’s #FolkloreThursday (such a great hashtag for my Myth-Folklore class), I was thinking that I should build a Twitter4Canvas course to help people learn how to harness the power of Twitter inside Canvas. I did a Twitter Bootcamp for the Tech Expo last year but between D2L (yawn) and the fact that IT and CTE chose not to publicize the Bootcamp, it fizzled. Totally fizzled. But I amassed a lot of useful materials I could re-use, and of course with Canvas and OPEN courses, this is much more likely to succeed: anybody can use the Canvas materials, no redtape enrollment and start-stop dates required.

So, I’m going to use this blog for brainstorming over the next two weeks, with a goal of actually creating the course that first weekend in February, and then refine it as time goes on.

I’ll start by creating a class.
https://canvas.ou.edu/courses/56095

Then I’ll make a custom URL: Twitter.LauraGibbs.net. I’ll have it go to the page I’ve chosen as the homepage for the course (front page of the wiki).

Settings: I need a nice Twitter bird image; I should be able to find one at Flickr.

Navigation: I guess I just need Pages and Modules. I’ll redirect Pages-Home as overall Homepage. Oh, I’ll use a Syllabus too.

And I’ll use the ridiculous “Redirect Tool” to add a link in the sidebar to my two Twitter accounts (I cannot believe every new link in the sidebar is an “app” … ugh).
Update: I forgot how totally annoying it is that Canvas will not just let people click on links in the sidebar without being “warned” that they are leaving Canvas. Ugh. Not worth it.

Okay, published! And just to get one page up and running, I’ll put in a FolkloreThursday widget as a taste of things to come. YES: Here is #FolkloreThursday happily displaying in Canvas.

Okay, that’s enough for today, but I’ll come back and continue tinkering tomorrow.

Crossposted at OU Canvas Community.

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