The Challenge
DIS is a renowned study abroad provider with campuses in Copenhagen and Stockholm.
The well-known Scandinavian institution welcomes 1,300 students to its Copenhagen campus every semester, as well as an additional 150 students to their Stockholm campus. One of the main challenges that DIS faced was helping large cohorts of new students adjust to living in a new country, which for many students would be their first time visiting Europe. To aid their integration into a new society, DIS needed to strike the right balance between providing them with enough helpful information at the beginning, and throughout their stay.
Another critical issue was the diverse faculty that DIS employed. A lot of the staff at DIS either worked part-time or had limited teaching experience, so required more support and access to resources than other members of staff typically would at similar institutions. In order for learning experiences to be cohesive across all classes, DIS needed an accessible platform that provided teachers with all the resources they need, while enabling them to take ownership of their own lesson plans.
DIS used Canvas, a powerful online learning management system, to help tackle these challenges and deliver a great experience for students and educators.
The Decision
DIS operates very differently from a lot of traditional universities in terms of the study programmes it provides students. Unlike learning providers that have a fixed number of students that study with them over a four-year period, DIS welcomes a constantly rotating intake of students all from different personal and academic backgrounds every semester.
This can make it challenging to follow a regimented course structure.
Considering the unique needs of DIS, Canvas emerged as the preferred solution. Its flexibility and ability to support the changing needs of students proved invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic when DIS was unable to offer its in-person, hands-on learning programme, and transition to fully online teaching.
Canvas provided a platform that accommodated both in-person and online learning for students spread out across the globe. Using the platform, DIS ensured effective course management and resource sharing across the institution.
Despite being an experiential learning institution, DIS recognised the importance of having an online presence to adapt to unexpected circumstances and keep up with the demands of the modern student.
DIS has continued to integrate Canvas into its permanent course offerings. The project had buy-in from the directors and faculty of DIS who, together, have been able to streamline the course offerings and bring more structure to the syllabus.
Key Findings
Canvas provides a modern and user-friendly platform to improve the learning experiences of incoming study-abroad students at DIS.
The platform allows DIS to continue delivering the same level of teaching throughout the pandemic when students were spread out across the globe.
The launch of their ‘Compass Course’ with Canvas allows students to prepare personally and academically for their study abroad semester at DIS.
DIS uses Canvas to provide support and training for its faculty members, a significant portion of whom work part-time and have diverse levels of teaching experience.
After six years of success using Canvas, DIS hopes to utilise more of the additional integrations the platform offers.
We had to send all of our students home in March of 2020, back to the US and other parts of the world. Because of how spread out our students are, it was difficult to have synchronous classes happening so a lot had to happen asynchronously, and of course, Canvas was instrumental in making that possible.
Esben Lydiksen, Learning Technology Manager
The Results
DIS is now in its 7th year of using Canvas. It has yielded positive outcomes for both the students and faculty members at this unique institution.
Students benefit from the 'Compass Course' that consists of five modules to complete up to six months before they arrive on campus. This ensures a smooth transition into Scandinavian life and the academic demands of DIS.
After students have arrived at their chosen campus, Canvas is used to complement the syllabus provided by their teachers.
Faculty members, including both full-time and part-time staff, benefit from Canvas as a collaborative platform. Through the Canvas platform, these teachers are provided with relevant academic resources to support them when delivering lectures.
Importantly, the platform also encourages teachers to feel a sense of ownership over the courses they deliver, giving them the chance to tailor lesson plans and create more engaging activities for students. Faculty members have commented on how user-friendly and modern the Canvas platform is compared to the platform previously used.
The adoption of Canvas at DIS has transformed the institution's approach to study abroad education. It has facilitated cultural immersion for students, fully preparing them for their experiences abroad, as well as providing much-needed support to faculty members.
By leveraging Canvas's capabilities, DIS has successfully modernised its teaching and learning practices, providing an enhanced educational experience for its students.
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