Editorial calendar 2011 for Mobile Marketer

December 15, 2010

Mobile muscles for share

Editorial calendar for 2011

Listed below are the events hosted, moderated or covered by Mobile Marketer and its sibling publication, Mobile Commerce Daily.

Also listed are?Classic Guides that Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily produce annually, as well as the sponsored webinars that Mobile Marketer will?organize and?host in 2011. All events highlighted in bold are organized by Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily.?

JANUARY

Jan. 9-12: National Retail Federation?s Annual Convention & Expo, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York

Jan. 12: Mobile Marketer?s Classic Guide: Mobile Outlook 2011?publishes

Jan. 27: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ET to 3 p.m. ET: "Mobile Apps: Consumer Usage, Loyalty and Advertiser Impact." Sponsor: The Weather Channel

FEBRUARY

Feb. 2: Mobile Marketer?s Classic Guide to Mobile Creative

Feb. 14-17: GSM Association?s Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain

Feb. 16: Nonprofits Mobile Day: Winter 2011, a joint presentation of Mobile Commerce Daily and the Direct Marketing Association, Venable (auditorium), 575 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004

Feb. 22: 3rd Mobile Marketing Day, a joint presentation of Mobile Marketer and the Direct Marketing Association, DMA Seminar Center, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 13th floor, New York, NY 10036

Feb. 24: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET: "Holiday Mobile Marketing: Lessons Learned for Future Holiday Efforts." Sponsor: Hipcricket

MARCH

March 21-24: International CTIA Wireless 2011, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL

March 30: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET:?"State of Mobile Advertising: What's Working,?What's Not and What Should." Sponsor: Millennial Media?

APRIL

April 4-6: 2011 Publishing Business Conference & Expo?s Mobile Strategy Summit, New York Marriott Marquis, Times Square, New York

April 11-13: ad:tech San Francisco, Moscone Center West, San Francisco

April 20: Mobile Marketer?s Classic Guide to Mobile Commerce

April 27: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET: Sponsor: Netbiscuits

April 27-29: Mobile Shopping Spring, Westin, San Francisco

MAY

May 11: Mobile Commerce Daily?s Mobile?s Night Out party, New York

May 12: Mcommerce Summit New York, a Mobile Commerce Daily presentation, National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004

May 24-25: Luxury Interactive Global Conference, Millennium Hotel London Mayfair, London

May 25: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

JUNE

June 8: 2nd Mobile Marketing and Media Conference, a joint presentation of Mobile Marketer and the Direct Marketing Association, DMA Seminar Center, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 13th floor, New York, NY 10036

June 16-17: Mobile Marketing Forum, New York

June 22: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

June 28-29:?Luxury Interactive, New York

JULY

July 18: Mobile: IAB Marketplace, New York

July 27: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET: Sponsor: 5th Finger

AUGUST

Aug. TBD: 2011 New York Nonprofit Conference, New York

Aug. 24: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m.

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 5-9: Mobile Marketing Week, a global celebration of mobile advertising, marketing and media: A Mobile Marketer-supported series of events

Sept. 8: Mobile Marketing Summit New York: Holiday Strategies 2011, a Mobile Marketer presentation

Sept. 12-14: Shop.org 2011 Annual Summit, Boston

Sept. 22: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3p.m.: Holiday Mobile Marketing: How to Satisfy Demanding Consumers in this Economy: Neustar sponsors

OCTOBER

Oct. 1-6: DMA:2011 Conference & Exhibition, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston

Oct. 10-13: CTIA Enterprise & Applications, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego

Oct. 25-28: Mobile Shopping Summit, New York

Oct. 26: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m.

Oct. 31: Mobile Marketer?s Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising

NOVEMBER

Nov. 7: Mobile Marketer?s Mobile Women to Watch 2012

Nov. 7: Mobile Marketer?s Mobile?s Night Out party

Nov. 8-10: ad:tech New York, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York

Nov. 16-17: MMA Forum, SLS Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA

Nov. 29-30: MEF Americas 2011 Conference, Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami

DECEMBER

Dec. 7: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m.: Mobile Outlook 2012

Dec. 14: Mobile Marketer?s Classic Guide: Mobile Outlook 2012

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Editorial calendar 2013 for Mobile Marketer

September 26, 2012

Editorial calendar

Editorial calendar for 2013

Listed below are the events hosted, moderated or covered by Mobile Marketer and its sibling publication, Mobile Commerce Daily.

Also listed are Classic Guides that Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily produce annually, as well as the sponsored webinars that Mobile Marketer will organize and host in 2013. All events highlighted in bold are organized by Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily.

JANUARY
Jan. 13-16: National Retail Federation?s Annual Convention & Expo, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York

Jan. 16: Luxury Daily's first annual Luxury FirstLook: Outlook 2013 conference, National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004

Jan. 17: Second annual Mobile FirstLook: Outlook 2013 conference, a Mobile Marketer presentation, National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004

Jan. 24: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET.: Mobile?holiday?recap: What worked and what didn't.?Sponsor:

Jan. 29-30: MMA Forum, San Francisco

FEBRUARY
Feb. 4: Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Creative

Feb. 21: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor:?

Feb. 25-28: ETail West, JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Desert, CA

Feb. 25-28: GSM Association?s Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain

MARCH

March 27: Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide: State of Mobile Advertising 2013: What's Working, What's Not and What Should

March 28: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor:

APRIL
April 9-10: ad:tech San Francisco, Moscone Center West, San Francisco

April 18: Second annual Mobile Marketing Day, Chicago, a joint presentation of Mobile Marketer and the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing

April 25: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor:?

April 29: Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Commerce

MAY

May 2: Third annual Mcommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2013, a Mobile Commerce Daily presentation, National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004

May 8-10: MMA Forum, New York

May 21-23: International CTIA Wireless 2013, Sands Expo Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV?

May 23: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor:?

JUNE
June 4-7: IRCE 2013, McCormick Place West, Chicago

June 27: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor:?

JULY
July TBD: Mobile: IAB Marketplace, New York

July 16: Fourth annual Nonprofits Mobile Day, a joint presentation of Mobile Commerce Daily and the Direct Marketing Association

July 25: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor:?

AUGUST
Aug. 15: Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising

Aug. 12-15: ETail East Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Philadelphia

Aug. 29: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor:

SEPTEMBER
Sept. 9-13: Mobile Marketing Week, a global celebration of mobile advertising, marketing and media: A Mobile Marketer-supported series of events

Sept. 12:?Fourth annual Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2013, a Mobile Marketer presentation, National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004

Sept. TBD: Shop.org 2013 Annual Summit?

Sept. 26: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor:

OCTOBER
Oct. 1-3: MobileCON, a CTIA event, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego

Oct. TBD: SM2: Smarter Mobile Marketing, New York, a Mobile Marketing?Association event

Oct. TBD: MMCF 2013

Oct. TBD: DMA2013 Conference & Exhibition

Oct. TBD: Mobile Shopping Fall

Oct. 24: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor:

NOVEMBER
Nov. 4: Mobile Marketer's Mobile's Night Out party

Nov. 4: Mobile Marketer?s Mobile Women to Watch 2014

Nov. 5-7: ad:tech New York, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York

DECEMBER
Dec. 5: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor:

Dec. 11: Mobile Marketer's Classic Guide: Mobile Outlook 2014

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Editorial Calendar 2010 for Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily

December 1, 2009

Mobile muscles for share

Editorial calendar for 2010

Listed below are the events hosted or covered by Mobile Marketer and its sibling publication Mobile Commerce Daily.

All events highlighted in bold are organized by Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily.

January

Jan. 10-13: National Retail Federation?s Annual Convention & Expo, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York

Jan. 17: Mobile Marketer?s Mobile Outlook 2010 Classic Guide publishes

Jan. 27: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ET to 3 p.m. ET: Happy Holidays or Not: Mobile Lessons Learned (a holiday recap 2009 and first look 2010)

February

Feb. 15-19: GSMA?s Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain

Feb. 22-25: eTail West, JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Desert, CA

March

March 2: Mobile Boot Camp, a joint presentation of Mobile Commerce Daily and the National Retail Federation, JW Marriott, San Francisco. To register, please click here

March 4: 2nd Mobile Marketing Day, a joint presentation of Mobile Marketer and the Direct Marketing Association, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 13 floor, New York, NY 10036. To register, please click here: http://www.the-dma.org/councilevents/mobileday/

March 21: iMedia's Mobile Boot Camp, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Reserve & Spa, Bonita Springs, FL

March 22-25: CTIA Wireless 2010, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV

April

April 19-21: ad:tech San Francisco, Moscone Center, San Francisco

May

May 26: Mobile Commerce Daily?s Mobile?s Night Out party, New York

May 27: Mcommerce Summit New York, a Mobile Commerce Daily presentation

June

June 14-16: Digital Marketing Days New York, Hilton, New York

June 15-16: Mobile Marketing Forum, Grand Hyatt, New York

June 28-29: Luxury Interactive 2010 ? New York, Sentry Centers, New York
Receive 25 percent off for registering with booking code 11536XA352EN?

July

July 19: Mobile: IAB Marketplace, Roosevelt Hotel, New York

August

September

Sept. 1: Mobile Marketer's Mobile's Night Out party, New York

Sept. 2: Mobile Marketing Summit New York: Holiday 2010, a Mobile Marketer presentation

Sept. 27-28: IAB Mixx Conference & Expo, Crown Plaza Hotel, Times Square, New York

Sept. 27-29: Shop.org 2010 Annual Summit, Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, Dallas, TX

October

Oct. 6-8: CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment, Moscone West, San Francisco

Oct. 9-14: DMA:2010 Conference & Exhibition, Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco

November

Nov. 2: Mobile Marketer?s Mobile?s Night Out party

Nov. 3-5: ad:tech New York, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York

Nov. 15: Mobile Marketer?s Mobile?s Night Out party at The Standard Hotel?s Rooftop Bar, Los Angeles

Nov. 16: Mobile Marketing Forum, Los Angeles

December

View the original article here

Editorial calendar 2012 for Mobile Marketer

September 28, 2011

Mobile Marketer's editorial calendar for 2012

Editorial calendar for 2012

Listed below are the events hosted, moderated or covered by Mobile Marketer and its sibling publication, Mobile Commerce Daily.

Also listed are Classic Guides that Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily produce annually, as well as the sponsored webinars that Mobile Marketer will organize and host in 2012. All events highlighted in bold are organized by Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily.

JANUARY
Jan. 15-18: National Retail Federation?s Annual Convention & Expo, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York?

Jan. 19: Mobile Marketer?s first annual Mobile FirstLook: Outlook 2012 conference, National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004

Jan. 26: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m.?? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor: Appcelerator

Jan 26: Luxury Daily Summit: Outlook 2012, a Luxury Daily presentation

FEBRUARY
Feb. 2: Mobile Marketer?s Classic Guide to Mobile Creative

Feb. 23: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET. Sponsor: Kony Solutions

Feb. 27-March 1: GSM Association?s Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain

Feb. 29:?Third annual Nonprofits Mobile Day: Winter 2011, a joint presentation of Mobile Commerce Daily and the Direct Marketing Association

MARCH
March 22:?Fourth annual Mobile Marketing Day, a joint presentation of Mobile Marketer and the Direct Marketing Association, DMA Seminar Center, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 13th floor, New York, NY 10036?

March 27: Mobile Marketer Classic Guide: State of Mobile Advertising 2012: What's Working, What's Not and What Should

March 29: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

APRIL
April 2-4: ad:tech San Francisco, Moscone Center West, San Francisco

April 23-25:?Mobile Shopping Spring, The Westin, San?Diego

April 25: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

April 26: Mobile Marketer?s Classic Guide to Mobile Commerce

MAY

May 3: Mcommerce Summit New York, a Mobile Commerce Daily presentation, National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004

May 8-12: International CTIA Wireless 2012, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans

May 24: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

JUNE
June 11-13: Mobile Marketing Forum, New York?

June 26-27: Luxury Interactive, Bridgewaters, South Street Seaport, New York, NY

June 28: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

JULY
July 16: Mobile: IAB Marketplace, New York?

July 26: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

AUGUST
Aug. 15: Mobile Marketer?s Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising

Aug. 30: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

SEPTEMBER
Sept. 3-7: Mobile Marketing Week, a global celebration of mobile advertising, marketing and media: A Mobile Marketer-supported series of events?

Sept. 10-12: Shop.org 2012 Annual Summit, Colorado Convention Center, Denver, CO?

Sept. 12: Mobile Marketer?s Mobile?s Night Out party, New York

Sept. 13: Mobile Marketing Summit New York: Holiday Focus 2012, a Mobile Marketer presentation, National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004

Sept. 27: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

OCTOBER
Oct. 2-3: SM2: Smarter Mobile Marketing, New York, a Mobile Marketing Association event

Oct. 13-18: DMA:2012 Conference & Exhibition, Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas

Oct. 8-11: CTIA Enterprise & Applications, San Diego

Oct. 22-24: Mobile Shopping Fall, Austin, TX?

Oct. 25: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

NOVEMBER
Nov. 7: Mobile Marketer?s Mobile Women to Watch 2013

Nov. 7: Mobile Marketer?s Mobile?s Night Out party

Nov. 7-8: ad:tech New York, Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York

DECEMBER
Dec. 6: Sponsored Webinar, 2 p.m. ? 3 p.m. ET

Dec. 13: Mobile Marketer?s Classic Guide: Mobile Outlook 2013

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Buckle up. EDUCAUSE is upon us.

Canvas is the modern, open learning platform designed to help you transform learning. Instructure is the company who builds it. This is the blog where we hold it to a standard of openness, usability and reliability—and give you a glimpse of the fun we have doing it.

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Walkers And Biters And Sociologists, Oh My!

Canvas is the modern, open learning platform designed to help you transform learning. Instructure is the company who builds it. This is the blog where we hold it to a standard of openness, usability and reliability—and give you a glimpse of the fun we have doing it.

View the original article here

Bucking the pumpkin status quo

Halloween has always been a big deal at our house. Growing up, pumpkin carving was second only to trick-or-treating on the Halloween activity spectrum. With three siblings running around wielding knives, we did our best to strike a careful balance between carving pumpkin Picassos and keeping all of our fingers. The finished products weren’t much to look at, but they were always worthy of display on the front porch. But that was then.

Nowadays, the Jack-o’-Lantern game has been elevated considerably. Pumpkins we thought were awesome a few years ago look like mangled gourds today. With all the patterns, stencils, tools, and kits available, just about anyone can become a pumpkin Da Vinci.

So, how’d we get here? When was it that someone said, “Hey, can we move Jack-o’-Lanterns beyond the triangle eyes already?” Well, kudos to them. I’d dare say the world is a more creative place because of that question.

Here at Instructure, we’re never satisfied with the status quo. We like to challenge established practices as often as we can. The area I focus most on is Customer Success. Here are a few things we’re doing for our customers to “think outside the triangle eye.”

Tier One Support - a new approach
Most industry tier 1 support options are on a per-incident basis. The more bugs or problems they put into the software, the more they get paid to support it, but that just didn’t feel right to us. Our tier one support offering is one fixed price and we’ll answer every phone call, email, chat, or ticket you throw at us. We’re willing to bear the risk so you can focus on teaching and learning, something we’re passionate about.

And in case you’re wondering what the quality is like, in a recent survey our end users gave us a 94% support satisfaction rating. While we’d love to have 100%, we hope you agree that 94% is incredible and shows that we put our users first.

When the unthinkable happens
Recently a Canvas customer created hundreds of courses and had students submit assignments within those courses. When the institution determined they had the wrong content in the courses and had created and enrolled the students in all new courses, we had to find a way to quickly move all the assignment submissions over. The old model would take many weeks and involve a costly project. Instead, we concentrated our staff resources to help move assignment submissions to the new courses before students got confused about what happened.

Customer Success Managers - a new breed
That’s kind of a silly name, but the name describes exactly what they do. They’re here to make Canvas institutions more successful. Tell them your goals and they’ll help you make them a reality.

Ultimately we want everyone to have the best possible experience with Canvas. We think that means constantly upping our game and getting better. Now please excuse me while I get back to carving my pumpkin replica of the Taj Mahal.

Keep learning,
Mitch

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So Close We Can Almost Taste the 80s

InstructureCon 2013: Build Your Own Awesome is less than a week away. If you’re attending, we hope you’re as excited as we are. We can hardly stand the anticipation. This year’s conference is going to blow the others out of the water.

80s night will be totally bodacious.

As you prepare/pack/plan for the trip, here are a few details and tips that we thought might be helpful. 

KICKOFF + KEYNOTE

You won't want to miss our official conference kickoff on Tuesday, June 18 at 4:30 p.m. Plan on joining us outdoors at the Pavilion to hear a keynote by Instructure CEO Josh Coates. Then join us for dinner and a very special reception. And by "very special" we mean "you'll kick yourself for missing it." Trust us.

MORE KEYNOTES

Our keynote for Wednesday, June 19 will focus on the importance of APIs, co-presented by a power trio of Kin Lane (API evangelist), Audrey Watters (edtech journalist for Hack Education), and Brian Whitmer (Instructure co-founder and chief product officer). Our keynote for Thursday, June 20 will be given by Richard Culatta, acting director of the Office of Educational Technology.

INSTRUCTURECON APP

Stay on top of all the InstructureCon happenings by downloading the free conference app for conference session details.To download for iPhone, iPad, or Android, follow these simple instructions:

Go to the App Store / Play Store
Search for "Eventbase"
Download "Eventbase - the Free Event App for Everyone"
Open the app and search for "Instructure"
Tap on InstructureCon 2013

From the app, you can see the event guide, pick your favorite sessions, orient yourself using the location maps, or check out the InstructureCon course!

80S PARTY + AWESOME TO THE MAX

That's right—we're, like, totally having an 80s party on the final night, Thursday June 20. Come dressed in your best/worst 80s clothes—jelly bracelets, crimped hair, Motley Crue t-shirt, whatever's your thing. There'll be prizes for our favorite 80s-inspired costumes. So, gag yourself with a spoon or whatever it takes to get your bad 80s self ready because IT. IS. ON.

SWAG

Make sure to leave room in your suitcase because you’re going to get a bunch of swag, including a couple t-shirts and a conference jacket. Some lucky souls will take home some bigger raffle prizes.

PANDA PINS

A new feature this year is the panda lanyard pin. Come prepared to say something nice about Canvas and there's a panda pin in your future.

DRESS CODE

Casual (except for our 80s party, when the dress code will be "tubular"). Don’t forget that you'll be up in the mountains where the nights can get a little chilly.

REGISTRATION

Register at The Grand Summit Resort during these times:
Monday, June 17 // 3:00pm - 8:00pm
Tuesday, June 18 // 8:00am - 4:30pm
Wednesday, June 19 // 7:30am - 11:30am

TRANSPORTATION

Need a ride to and from InstructureCon?
Contact All Resort.

OTHER QUESTIONS

Email instructurecon@instructure.com with any other questions.

EARLY ARRIVALS

If you’re lucky enough to be coming in a bit early, or staying a little longer, here are a few things you may want to check out while in Utah:

Salt Lake City:

Park City:

Nature @ Canyons:

Gondola rides open every night, take a ride up to 8,000 feet and backRent a mountain bike from the Canyons Resort and check with their front desk for trail mapsTake a drive through Guardsman Pass and check out Big Cottonwood CanyonSee you all soon,
Sunny

P.S.  If you’re not able to make it this year, follow the action on Twitter with the official hashtag #instcon. 

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Why teach a MOOC?

C.S. Lewis said, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” Some people feel the same way about online courses, hence, the MOOC was born.

Go out on a limb. Try something new.

Working on the front lines of Canvas Network, I’ve learned there are plenty of great reasons to embrace MOOCs. Sometimes I talk with people who’ve thought long and hard about the philosophy behind MOOCs, while others approach it from a carefree "I just want to try it!" perspective. Whatever your mentality, teaching a MOOC is a great experience with lots of practical value. Here are a few reasons to consider teaching a MOOC:

Academic research
Research can be a catalyst for teaching a MOOC. This is a tough area because MOOCs are so new, there are almost limitless avenues to explore. Because the MOOC world has not yet been thoroughly mapped, one road may lead to another, then another, and another, making it difficult to define the parameters of the project.

A conservative, yet reasonable approach is to make a direct comparison between a traditional for-credit course and a MOOC. Use similar (or the same) content, activities, objectives, and outcomes, then compare student engagement, success, retention, etc. For this to work, the traditional course needs to be one that can be replicated in an online environment where participants can complete activities independently. A biology lab probably isn’t going to work, but an exploration of plant species in North America might.

Professional experience
Another approach is using a MOOC as a supplement for a traditional face-to-face course. In this scenario, the instructor sets up a MOOC course web site similar to the on-campus LMS course web site. They open the MOOC site for public enrollment and for regular, for-credit students. The on-campus students then engage in discussions and debate issues presented in the course with people around the world. It extends the classroom for traditional students and opens the course to people who may not otherwise have access to course materials and guided instruction. This type of MOOC may focus more on teaching methods because the instructor may discover ways to improve their technique and increase student engagement through online activities.

Refinement over time
Some instructors want to teach a MOOC many times over with the goal of creating a super-efficient, super-effective learning experience. They find it challenging to test learning theories and instructional design ideas in an iterative and methodical way. Some prefer to start with a course that has a large quantity of materials and resources, then refine by whittling away. Others start small and then add more activities, resources, or technology functions until they’ve achieved a masterpiece. This scenario leverages factors unique to MOOCs because the global audience differs greatly from a campus-based audience, which increases the level of difficulty for the instructor, but may yield an ideal course for 21st-century global learning.

Sometimes it is better to get hands-on
experience.

Learn by doing
A very common purpose for wanting to teach a MOOC is simply that—to teach a MOOC. Educators are inquisitive by nature and their interest in MOOCs is an extension of that curiosity. Everyone in academia is talking about MOOCs. (Seriously, have you been to a conference lately?) Many teachers are excited by the opportunity to incorporate 21st-century skills and technology into their courses, while reinforcing concepts in global learning and preparing students for the global workplace. They want to explore the use of Internet technology that is applicable (and accessible) for a variety of subjects, a variety of learner populations, and is attractive to a variety of instructors.

Leadership decision making
Not every teacher sees value in MOOCs and not every teacher wants to try it, but those at the highest levels of institutional leadership have a responsibility to explore and examine all aspects of education as it relates to their student population, their faculty, and the greater educational community. It’s in their best interest to have some familiarity and experience with online learning and with MOOCs. For these reasons, schools may make a campus-wide, collaborative effort to explore the MOOC-space, identifying faculty to develop and facilitate a few different courses at the same time. This is one way to explore the efficacy of MOOCs in different disciplines, but under similar parameters (school resources and institutional approach) and with consistent governance (project management). Schools can then assess a variety of questions, including:

Cost: what resources are required in terms of faculty time, media production, and course development?Expertise: are faculty ready for online learning and is our production ready and able to scale?Impact and outreach: what do MOOCs do for our school?Efficacy: are our online courses as good as our traditional courses?

Schools that approach MOOCs in this way gather data from project management all the way to course completion. What they learn can influence future decisions about online learning and affect faculty support and training, media production practices, and marketing programs to a global audience.

So, give it a shot
I’m sure there are even more reasons to teach a MOOC and many ways to approach the development of a MOOC project. But what we find central among those who teach MOOCs with Canvas Network is a passion for teaching and learning. This is where Canvas Network really stands out as a platform for MOOCs. We have a simple process, with little overhead, leaving you and your institution free to explore open learning. And who knows, massive open online courses just might be your ‘large cup of tea’.

Keep learning,
Carrie Saarinen

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Springtime Magic

Two weeks ago, the weatherman said Spring was here. So why did I wake up to snow in my front yard last week? Apparently, predicting the weather is hard. Or at least accurately predicting the weather is. Just ask Punxsutawney Phil.

As a former teacher, I know teaching is also hard– legitimately. It’s long hours, stacks of papers, boxes of Kleenex, and sometimes it can get pretty sticky (especially after lunch). By the time April arrives, we teachers start counting down the days to summer break with just as much enthusiasm as our students (sometimes more). Despite the challenges, what always kept me going was how many magical moments happen in classrooms in the Spring.

If you’re a teacher, you know what I mean. Students are making real connections, lightbulbs are turning on— it’s a season of breakthroughs. We see real understanding as they put together all the pieces we’ve been working on all year. Sometimes we’ll float out of school, high on all the learning that happened that day.

Every class has those moments or hours or days when teaching and learning seem effortless. We’re creating, sharing, discussing. Students are empowered, owning and controlling their own learning. Suddenly, it’s not work anymore. Our goal and hope is that Canvas makes those moments more frequent.

We recently talked with Cheryl Yeatts, a high school teacher at Rockingham school district in North Carolina. She shared some of the magic in her classroom and we can’t help but be inspired by the power of what she’s doing with and for students. It’s just some good old-fashioned, lightbulbs-turning-on, walls-breaking-down, connections-being-made Springtime magic. You know the kind.

If you have a story about how Canvas has changed your teaching, I’d love to hear it.

Keep learning,

Hilary Scharton
Product Manager

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In Search of the Edtech Promised Land

If you’ve ever played Oregon Trail, you know the journey was fraught with perils like snakes, cholera, broken limbs and a general store owner named Matt. But if you survived all that, you were rewarded with a wonderful life in a new, open land. When I played Oregon Trail back in the middle school computer lab, I didn’t know there would come a day when I’d be leading my own proverbial wagon train — on its way to the edtech promised land.

During the past year I’ve been focusing on the ‘open’ aspect of Canvas. I’ve spent a lot of time interacting with different vendors and groups who’re working to provide technology and standards in education. It seems everyone is on the hunt for the elusive edtech ecosystem, but nobody has really been able to get there.

It’s no secret that there’s way too much vendor lock-in and non-interoperability in edtech. Many startups don’t even bother to cooperate and just build their products outside the existing system. Even established non-edu companies have a hard time justifying all the one-off integrations needed to play in this space.

So, we’re setting out to change that, because it sucks — for everyone, but mostly for those on the ground actually trying to offer a good education. We’ve put together our wagon train of interoperability and we’re heading out for open land. And we’re bringing anyone along who wants to come.

The first big step came several weeks ago when we launched a repository of LTI-based tech integrations. This means any app in the repository will work in Canvas, Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Moodle, etc.

And today we announced a bounty. We wanted to show our commitment to this movement so we’re offering to pay $250 to anyone who builds a qualifying LTI integration for an existing or brand new ed-tech product. In addition, we’ve organized a selection committee who will choose several top apps based on polish, novelty, interoperability and pedagogical value. Developers of these apps will receive $1,000 and be highlighted in the edu-apps directory.

So shoe your horses, grease your axles and stock up on jerky. This wagon train of open is heading out. Our destination: edtech interoperability.  

Keep learning,
Brian

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Stacking Canvas Up Against Other LMSs

Canvas is the modern, open learning platform designed to help you transform learning. Instructure is the company who builds it. This is the blog where we hold it to a standard of openness, usability and reliability—and give you a glimpse of the fun we have doing it.

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Variety is the spice of life

Canvas is the modern, open learning platform designed to help you transform learning. Instructure is the company who builds it. This is the blog where we hold it to a standard of openness, usability and reliability—and give you a glimpse of the fun we have doing it.

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Predicting the future one feature at a time

At Instructure, we don’t rely on ESP to predict the future of Canvas. Nor do we read tea leaves, consult tarot cards, or peer into a crystal ball. Heck, we don’t even know Canvas’ astrological sign. When it comes to our vision for how Canvas will grow and evolve, we chart our course using only one magical tool—a product roadmap based on the needs of our users.

The future is bright.

Last month at InstructureCon, we shared our product roadmap as part of a four-part series related to higher ed, K-12, mobile, and “nerd stuff.” If you attended any of these sessions, you may have noticed a theme. We’ve always been devoted to making teaching and learning easier and all of our tasks this year are focused on doing just that.

We’re also avid believers in best practices—especially when it comes to teaching methods. If you look under Canvas’ hood, you’ll see intuitive features inspired by some pretty intensive research into best practices. And as you’ll see on the roadmap, it all just keeps getting better.

For example, we know that tracking and measuring learning objectives is an important best practice for instructors—and it’s also critical for accreditation—so we’re enhancing Outcomes to provide more flexible access to data, as well as easy student and course visualizations. We’ll also build a way to link Outcomes to more areas within a course, like individual quiz questions and pages. That way, we’ll all have the data we need to make decisions and iterate on course content.

With new, integrated learning activities, Canvas will provide another great way to engage students in course content. Putting a quiz question, discussion, or chat in a page lets students interact with content and each other in ways that specifically foster peer learning and better outcomes.

In addition, the new formative assessment tool will give faculty an easier way to assess on the fly and to provide the “just in time” teaching students need. It will also increase opportunities for feedback, which has been proven to be the most effective way to improve student achievement.

Even more good stuff on the roadmap includes:

a way to spot problem behaviors earlya place within a course to build things before releasing them to studentsimprovements to Conversationsquiz regrading and SpeedGrader updatesso much mobile awesomeness, including annotations and quizzing

If you’d like to see the Canvas roadmap, reach out to your account manager and they can send you a copy. If you’d like to tell us how Mercury retrograde or a lunar eclipse may affect an upcoming Canvas release, contact our Product department. We want to know.

Keep learning,
Hilary Scharton

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New and Improved Canvas Mobile 2.0

In 1960, Disneyland opened an attraction called Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland. If you liked a leisurely ride past waterfalls, geysers, and animatronic critters, the mine train was boss (that’s 60s lingo for awesome). In 1979, the ride was upgraded, made totally awesome (yes, they said that in the 70s), and renamed the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Incorporating many of the mine train’s original features, Big Thunder is now one of Disney’s most popular attractions.

Today we’re announcing our own Big Thunder Mountain: Canvas Mobile 2.0 for Android and iOS. We’re not throwing in the 2.0 as a version number; it signals a new philosophy for Canvas Mobile.

Some Background

Mobile has been part of the Canvas story since the beginning. When we set out to write the first Canvas Mobile app, we designed it as a communication tool. Canvas Mobile 1.0 let users stay connected, but we knew it lacked full Canvas functionality.

Following its release, we visited many of our K-12 and higher ed customers. We met with students, teachers, administrators, instructional designers, and yes, even a football team. We poured over hundreds of online reviews, comments, and support issues. We even connected with mother nature.

What we discovered is that students prefer their mobile devices over anything else. Sounds obvious, but it was a big eye-opener. One faculty member told us, "We found that when we incorporate mobile devices in the classroom, students are more engaged."

Taking all this feedback into account, we set out to redesign and re-engineer Canvas Mobile.

Canvas Mobile 2.0: Complete a course on your phone

With Canvas Mobile 2.0, our overall goal was to enable students to complete all their coursework on a mobile device. We also built a foundation that will allow us to add more functionality for teachers and admins in the future. We think we’ve succeeded on both fronts and are excited to see how it goes. 

Snazzy new look.

Here are a few of the main features of 2.0:

New dashboard with quick views and grade peekingCourse navigation that includes the same course tabs as the WebThe ability to turn in assignments on the app, including Dropbox and Google DriveAccess to course modules, quizzes, and external tools (LTI)Widget for your Android home screenBuilt-in Mobile HelpAPI for interacting with the app

And the feedback is already overwhelmingly positive. One student summarized it best: “Much better! Now it has everything I need to have a better Canvas experience at school.”

What’s Coming in the Future?

With 2.0 being a major rewrite from the ground up, we had to make a choice. Should we release the app for phones right away? Or should we wait until the app also supports tablets? After some consideration, we decided to get the app for phones into the hands of our mobile users now, and to release new functionality for tablets as quickly as possible.

So, the tablet version of 2.0 is currently in development. When released, it will support Apple and Android tablets. It will have some additional functionality like the ability to rotate into landscape mode. We know how important tablets are, especially to our K-12 customers with 1:1 initiatives. We waited because we wanted to get the tablet experience right.

If you haven’t done so already, head on over to the Play Store and App Store and grab the new app.

Next time you’re entering the line for Big Thunder, look behind you and you’ll see the remnants of the Mine Train tracks.

Keep learning,
Mark

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Outbreak Update: The Walking Dead Online Class

We’ve been working with the folks at AMC and faculty and staff at UC Irvine to develop “Society, Science, Survival: Lessons from AMC’s The Walking Dead,” an exploration of social, health, and physical sciences through the lens of a zombie apocalypse. The course opened on October 14, and, yes, you can still enroll.

"I've seen dirty socks that were more
self-actualized than Lori."
-quote from student in TWD course

In the first two days of the course, students from 86 countries posted more than 2,000 comments within 150 different discussion forums. It's been fascinating to watch a global audience connect concepts to resources in their own backyard, creating an opportunity for cultural learning.

In the course’s "Think about this…" video series where professors share expert opinions and lead students into deeper discussion, Professor Michael Dennin presented evidence to support a widely accepted notion that an indoor shopping mall is the best possible hideout. Students were asked for alternatives and they responded with a wide range of possibilities from a global perspective. Here’s one example:

"I live in Spain next to the sea. In front of my house there's a fortification, built by the Greeks, strengthened by the Romans and reformed in the sixteenth century. It'd be difficult for a zombie to enter, but it's easy to escape. The problem here is that, in my country, there are not many weapons in homes, only on hunter's homes, or armories... The good thing is that we have the sea in the front of that fortification, and a lot of boats. I think I could probably survive there."

So, with two weeks down and six to go, we’re thrilled the course is providing learning opportunities for people of all ages, cultures, and locations. And as this comment demonstrates, so are participants:

"I graduated from high school 20 years ago with the promise that I would go to college someday. I view this as an opportunity to gauge my ability to assimilate into a routine of learning and keep up with a class schedule. Thank you for the opportunity."

So whether you’re Team Lori (ha!, no one is Team Lori) or Team Daryl, we hope you enjoy the simulated zombie apocalypse and all there is to learn from it.

Keep learning,
Carrie

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A Call for Innovative Ideas: Canvas Grants are Open

When I took physics in high school, we started with Newton's laws of motion, and I was immediately intrigued. Phrases like "get the ball rolling" and "fighting an uphill battle" suddenly took on a mathematical application that I found fascinating. I like to think of action as directed motion. Action, just like motion, doesn't happen without some upfront "oomph."

Sometimes things are just cooler when
they move. Kinetic art from local artist
Andrew Smith.

When we built Canvas, we put our oomph behind three guiding principles: education, innovation, and openness. Over the last few years we've worked hard to turn these ideas into actions that would make a lasting and tangible difference for students and educators.

Now we're ready to apply the forces of action and change in yet another way. Today we’re announcing the launch of Canvas Grants. We’re offering 15 grants for a total of $100k to help fuel creativity and spur innovation in education. That’s five grants of $10,000 for Higher Education and ten grants of $5,000 for K-12.

The most innovative ideas in specific categories for both HE and K-12, as judged by a panel of experts, will receive grant money, as well as other assistance from Instructure, to help get their difference-making ideas off the ground. Submissions may include (but are not limited to) content, applications, classroom techniques, tools, or some amazing thing we don’t even have a word for yet. We’ll announce the winners at SXSWedu in spring 2014.

Wondering what a panel of experts look like? Here you go:

Higher Education judges

Mike Caulfield, Washington State UniversityLarry Cooperman, OpenCourseware and UC IrvineJim Groom, University of Mary WashingtonJosh Kim, Inside Higher Ed and DartmouthGeorge Siemens, Athabasca UniversityJesse Stommel, Hybrid Pedagogy and University of Wisconsin-MadisonAudrey Watters, Hack EducationNancy White, Full Circle Associates

K-12 judges

Steven Anderson, Web 2.0 Classroom Jaime Casap, Google Sean Junkins, Horry County SchoolsChris Lehmann, Science Leadership AcademyScott McLeod, Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency Linda Nathan, Boston Arts AcademyTom Vander Ark, Getting Smart and Learn Capital

Submissions should fall into one of the following categories:

Higher Education categories

Facilitating competency-based learning Engaging students through academic careerBlending online and face-to-face coursesNew models of content and curriculum development and sharingApplying universal design to online learning

K-12 categories

Meeting demands of standardsInvolving parents in meaningful waysSpecial education1:1 initiativesProject-based learningExtending the classroomPK-5 technologyPersonalized learning pathsUniversal design for learningSTEM

Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese’s, thinks that “everyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it that makes a difference.” And we think he’s onto something.

So, what are you waiting for? The education world is waiting for you to set your “oomph” in motion. Submit your brilliant idea today at www.instructure.com/canvasgrants.

Keep learning,
Brian
Chief Learning Officer 

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#OpenEd13: We were totally there.

For those who’ve been in the education industry for a while, you know not all conferences are created equal. Some are expensive, some are free. Some are national, some regional. There are summits, symposia, seminars. You might sit at a roundtable or just meet up and talk with a dude named TED. Un-conferences are not anti-conferences and under no circumstances will Bill Gates send you a $5,000 check for sharing your ideas. If you’re lucky enough to go to one of these events, I’d strongly encourage you to avoid the trust fall.

Jamboree is a funny word.

Last week was the 2013 OpenEd conference in Park City, Utah. This is one of our favorites because it is built squarely on one of our foundational principles: that open is good. The show didn’t disappoint. It featured lots of really smart people talking about openness in education. For our part, we had a few of our own folks present on this topic so dear to our hearts. Here are some quick summaries of their talks:

Using Open Badges and an Open Course to Enhance and Extend Learning
(Presented by Dan Randall, Buck Harrison, Rick West, and Garrett Hickman)

In this session, we presented a design for an Open Badge system currently used in an undergraduate course for preservice teachers at Brigham Young University. The system was designed to provide portable credentials for students using Mozilla’s OBI and extend learning in the course. To be sure these credentials carried weight, we focused on rigorous and clearly defined criteria when developing our badge assessments. Our badges themselves were built as competency-based credentials that could be stacked to showcase higher levels of skills and understanding. Using Canvas and WordPress as our public platforms, we were able to extend the reach of the class beyond our institution. Anyone, anywhere in the world was able to access our materials and earn our Open Badges. For more information on our design, check out our slides. We also have an article in TechTrends that details our design considerations and future research.

Building a Successful Business Model Around Open Licenses
(Presented by Brian Whitmer and Mike Zackrison)

There’s an inherent tension between open source/open licenses and corporate entities. Sometimes it seems that if someone is making money then it can’t possibly be open for reals. In fact, Canvas almost wasn’t open source. When we first started Instructure the investment community told us open source would kill our business. We backed off (in spite of our belief in open source) assuming they all knew something we didn’t. But then when we started trying to sell the product, everyone kept saying, “You’re stuff is awesome, but you’re going to get bought six months from now and then we’ll be back where we were before.” Suddenly, open source became a crucial part of our business strategy because it addressed that concern perfectly.

In this session we talked about how that attitude can negatively affect the sustainability of open projects, and discussed examples of how the companies that spring up around open projects can actually be beneficial for sustainability because they help bring users, marketing dollars, and potential for re-investment. Then we walked through suggestions about how companies can avoid parasitic relationships with open projects, and how they can position open licenses as an asset rather than a liability. In the end, it’s all about playing nice – participating and re-investing in the community – and remembering sustainability.

Solving the 4Rs with Common Cartridge
(Presented by Bracken Mosbacker)

Common Cartridge adoption has grown rapidly in the last few years and is now one of the easiest ways to make your content available across learning platforms. In this session, we talked about the CC data model in terms of how to organize content, align content to standards/outcomes/licenses, and supported assessment options. We covered the new version of CC this year, which allows for light-weight content sharing, and the enhancements coming in 2014. We also discussed some great tools for converting between different content formats: wordpress2cc, moodle2cc, and cc2html. Common Cartridge is awesome and you should all believe in the power of the vuvuzela.

So as you attend conferences this year – or even in the daily course of your work – keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to bust education wide open. After all, the goal of open education is open minds. (Sorry to open that can of worms, but it was an opening we couldn’t resist.)

Keep Learning,
Brian

P.S. Here's lookin' at you @jimgroom (do we still owe you a shirt?). ;-)  

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Of Romans and Milestones

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A big back-to-school teacher shout-out

Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military leaders in history. In just over ten years he conquered most of the known world, while remaining undefeated in battle. As king and conqueror, Alexander the Great recognized the value of education. After building a three-continent empire, he gave his favorite teacher, Aristotle, a shout-out: “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.” He was also really good at untying knots.

This kid's going somewhere.

Today we’re giving a shout-out to all the modern-day Aristotles who are starting up the new school year right and doing all they can to make a difference in the lives of their students. You may not be educating kings, but we know you’re giving your all to cram knowledge into the heads of every Alexander, Emily, and Jacob in your classroom.

A 2011 study published by researchers from Harvard and Columbia Universities (and discussed widely by educators, the media, and even the White House) quantified the value of good teachers. It concluded that a “value-added” teacher made students more likely to attend college and to earn higher salaries. The study failed to ask whether good teachers made students more or less likely to want to rule the world. Go figure.

While we at Instructure don’t claim to know the best ways to evaluate teacher effectiveness (or world-ruling potential), we know an awful lot about the tools teachers need to be effective. So, this school year, whether you’re leading a desk-filled classroom, an online discussion, or an expedition to Persia, Instructure is pleased to provide Canvas as a platform for all your difference-making, life-changing, empire-building teacher magic.

And in case you need a bit more motivation, here’s a video about Virginia Watson, a teacher at National City Middle School in California, who uses Canvas to empower students with the message that “life is good.”

Keep learning,
Brian

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Do you have a good idea for Canvas?

Sometimes people have really good ideas. For instance, there’s a bacon alarm clock that wakes you up with the smell of bacon. Or a way to rent a grandma when yours is just too far away. Or slowly building up an immunity to iocane powder. Maybe you have a really good idea for a new product feature. And maybe you want to know how to sneak it onto the roadmap. Well, the good news is there's no sneaking necessary. Instructure has a number of established channels for soliciting and evaluating product input.

As you wish.

As much as we love education– and some of us here have extensive experience in education– most of us aren’t educators, we're technologists. We take hard problems and apply the best technology available to solve those problems. That's why we need open channels of communication with the Canvas Community.

Product input comes from a number of sources:

1) Product Discussion Forums: We provide a forum for members of the Canvas community to share ideas and garner support from other Canvas users. This provides an opportunity for Canvas users to interact with each other. Occasionally the Product team will chime in with comments or a question, but we're really looking for the community to find common ground with each other. The votes and comments are very important in helping us determine which features will have the greatest impact on learning.

2) Customer and Technical Support: Every Canvas institution has an assigned Account Relationship Manager (ARM). We ask our ARMs to talk about product features and concerns with their clients and to compile those into a prioritized list. With additional input from Implementation Managers working with new clients and our Technical Support staff who understand the urgency and frequency of bug requests, we get a very clear sense of where improvements need to be made.

3) Sales: Our Sales staff constantly talks to new institutions, making contacts across the education space. It's amazing just how different and unique each institution is in their approach to teaching and learning. Even with nearly 400 schools now using Canvas, we still learn new things every day. And our prospective Canvas institutions provide tremendous insight into what we ought to be working on next.

Once we have all the feedback, it’s combined and evaluated. First, we look for urgent support items or problem areas for our current clients. If something is obstructing learning, we make every effort to quickly squash it. We then look for consensus across channels. If all the channels are saying the same thing, it's pretty clear we need to tackle that item. Lastly, we look for really innovative ideas that perhaps don't have widespread support but have tremendous potential to improve learning and we research those further. And that’s how the proverbial sausage gets made.

So, if you have an idea, we’d love to hear about it. Pick whichever of the above approaches that works best for you and send it our way.

Oh, and “no more rhyming, I mean it.”

“Anybody want a peanut?”

Keep learning,
Mitch

PS: INCONCEIVABLE!

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Save the Date - InstructureCon 2014

It feels like only yesterday that our awesome little conference, InstructureCon 2011, was born. It took its first steps high in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, cheered on by 200 visionaries and early adopters, who had great hopes for the future of Canvas and Instructure.

The InstructureCon venue doesn't suck.

And here we are, two years later, with more than 7 million Canvas users and already planning InstructureCon 2014—our fourth high altitude, high energy gathering where we’ll welcome 1,500 Canvas lovers, hack nighters, classroom flippers, MOOCers, idea brokers, and expecters of the unexpected. Our little InstructureCon is all grown up, but youthful as ever.

If you were part of InstructureCon 2013, we’re sure you love to reminisce about it as much as we do. Pedagogy, MC Hammer, the Canvas App Center, Back to the Future, outcomes and rubrics, gondola rides, Common Core, and so many pandas. (Those were the days!) And if you responded to our attendee survey, thanks for the feedback. We’ll use it to ratchet up the awesome at InstructureCon 2014.

Speaking of InstructureCon 2014, we’ve set a date! Reserve June 17-19, 2014 and get ready for a wild and wonderful week of open education and open skies at Utah’s Canyons Resort in Park City. Sometime in January 2014, you’ll hear more from us about registration, travel, and presentation proposals.

Whether or not you attended InstructureCon 2013, there’s no limit on the number of times you can watch the highlight reel. (Oh yes, you can touch this!)

Keep learning,
Carly

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Finding Success Using Canvas

Canvas is the modern, open learning platform designed to help you transform learning. Instructure is the company who builds it. This is the blog where we hold it to a standard of openness, usability and reliability—and give you a glimpse of the fun we have doing it.

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Faculty Perspectives on Teaching a Course with Canvas Network

Canvas is the modern, open learning platform designed to help you transform learning. Instructure is the company who builds it. This is the blog where we hold it to a standard of openness, usability and reliability—and give you a glimpse of the fun we have doing it.

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Canvas’ British Invasion

Canvas is the modern, open learning platform designed to help you transform learning. Instructure is the company who builds it. This is the blog where we hold it to a standard of openness, usability and reliability—and give you a glimpse of the fun we have doing it.

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Hack Night 2013: The Sequel

Canvas is the modern, open learning platform designed to help you transform learning. Instructure is the company who builds it. This is the blog where we hold it to a standard of openness, usability and reliability—and give you a glimpse of the fun we have doing it.

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Plugging Canvas into a K-12 Initiative

If you’ve traveled internationally, you probably know that North American electronic devices, which use plug types A and B, can’t be plugged into sockets on most other continents (and vice versa). So taking your laptop from the U.S. to Spain means carrying type C and F adapters in your suitcase. And if you cross the border into France, you’d better have a type E adapter, or you might as well leave your MacBook in Barcelona.

Fortunately, in the world of K-12 technology initiatives, connecting your personal learning device to Canvas isn’t so complicated. Whether you’re launching a 1:1 or a BYOD initiative, you’ll never have to worry about adapting your teachers’ or students’ devices to your school’s LMS. If your iPad, laptop, smartphone (or whatever) has an updated Web browser and access to the Internet, you’re Canvas ready.

Even if your school’s device ratio isn’t anywhere near 1:1, Canvas provides the easy-to-use, built-in tools and everywhere access to help you make flipped classrooms and other blended learning models successful. You plug in the content, and Canvas provides a place and platform to deliver it. Easy.

The Sweetwater Union High School District near San Diego recently adopted Canvas
as part of its 1:1 initiative. Within the next six years, Sweetwater will equip each of its 44,000 students with personal electronic devices. David Damico, Sweetwater’s director of Educational Technology and Alternative Education, believes the LMS a district chooses is more critical to the success of a 1:1 initiative than which personal devices students use. To learn more about how Sweetwater is using Canvas to deploy such a massive 1:1 initiative, watch the video at the link below.

http://www.instructure.com/stories-k-12

And next time you leave the continent, buy the jumbo adapter set with all 14 types of plugs and sockets—because, hey, if you decide to make a side trip for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, you’re gonna need a type N plug.

Keep learning,
Linda Larsen

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Our Favorite Things from InstructureCon

Canvas is the modern, open learning platform designed to help you transform learning. Instructure is the company who builds it. This is the blog where we hold it to a standard of openness, usability and reliability—and give you a glimpse of the fun we have doing it.

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Our $30mil Kessel Run

Canvas is the modern, open learning platform designed to help you transform learning. Instructure is the company who builds it. This is the blog where we hold it to a standard of openness, usability and reliability—and give you a glimpse of the fun we have doing it.

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KP, Prior require injury treatment

A recurrence of Kevin Pietersen's chronic knee problems have added to England's injury concerns less than a fortnight from the start of their Ashes defence in Brisbane.

Kevin Pietersen leaves the field after being dismissed by Australia A swing bowler Trent Copeland during England's tour match in Hobart. Photo: Gareth Copley Source: Getty Images

INJURIES and bad weather are threatening to derail England's Ashes campaign, with star batsman Kevin Pietersen fearing he may break down.

Pietersen was forced to fly to Melbourne on Sunday for a cortisone injection to an damaged knee, while wicket-keeper Matt Prior requires a scan on a calf strain suffered during England's washed out match against Australia A.

The first Test begins in Brisbane on Thursday week.

Hobart's weather has served as a major hindrance to England's Ashes preparations.

"I'm working on my legs, hoping my legs hold up because I've had the knee issue, so I've just got to make sure the rehab continues," Pietersen told the ECB website.

"Because I could break down and I don't want to break down.

"I want to play the whole series."

Pietersen has not played international cricket for two months after suffering the knee injury against New Zealand and put off surgery with the hope of playing in the Ashes.

He made scores of 6, 5 and 0 to finish the one-day series against Australia in England last September and did not play again until last week against Australia A in Hobart.

England's Ashes preparations have suffered a further setback with an injury scare to Matt Prior.

Pietersen missed the opening match of the tour in Perth after travelling to a friend's memorial service in South Africa, arriving in Australia three days after his team mates.

With more than two days of rain in Hobart ruining the four-day match against Australia A, Pietersen was able to bat only once, scoring eight in 10 balls.

England's last lead-up match is a four-day game against an invitation XI in Sydney, which has a dodgy weather forecast all week.

Coach Andy Flower is still hopeful Pietersen will be able play in the match, beginning on Wednesday.

"Kevin has had a slight reoccurrence of that knee issue, and he'll be going to Melbourne for a scan and a cortisone injection," Flower said.

"I don't think it's going to be a huge issue. He's had a couple of these injections before, and they've been successful.

"They've quietened the problem down, and it's obviously an ongoing issue for him.

"But they have been successful, and we anticipate this one being successful and anticipate him playing a full part in the Ashes tour.

"He's got a little bit of time for the jab to work before we train on Tuesday.

"We anticipate him playing in the Sydney game."

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Krul twists to deny Tottenham

Newcastle United's Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul (C) makes a save from Gylfi Sigurdsson's free kick. Source: AFP

GOALKEEPER Tim Krul was Newcastle's star as the Magpies won 1-0 away to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in the Premier League.

On a day when goalkeepers dominated talk before kick-off and during the match, the Dutchman produced a string of brilliant saves as Newcastle followed up their win over Chelsea with another victory over a top London club.

Loic Remy scored the only goal of the game as Newcastle went ninth, three points behind Spurs, who would have gone level on points with second-placed Liverpool if they had won this match.

Tottenham went into the last international break on the back of a home defeat to West Ham and their players will join up with their countries this week with further doubts over the club's top-four prospects.

For Spurs, France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was a frustrated spectator on Sunday.

Lloris was knocked unconscious a week earlier at Everton and Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas was heavily criticised for letting him finish that game.

Portuguese boss Villas-Boas had insisted Lloris would play against Newcastle but the former Lyon goalkeeper was told to rest after medical advice.

Spurs' head of medical services Wayne Diesel said: "We've continued to monitor Hugo all week and after discussions, Andre and the medical department have agreed to afford the player a couple more days rest.

"Hugo is naturally disappointed as he was keen to return to action however we feel this decision is in the players' best interest."

Brad Friedel started in goal and Lloris watched the game from the bench.

The American veteran was involved in the early action and had to tip away Mathieu Debuchy's volley, then block Yohan Cabaye's effort when he collected the rebound.

Remy had already gone close when he raced through, from Cabaye's pass, and was tackled by Vlad Chiriches as he attempted to shoot.

But the French striker grabbed the lone goal of the game in the 13th minute.

Paulinho was robbed of the ball in dangerous territory by Yoan Gouffran, who then slid the ball through for Remy to breeze past Friedel and pass into an open goal.

Spurs were getting increasingly frustrated as they tried to get back into the game.

They were limited to long-range efforts, with Jan Vertonghen trying his luck unsuccessfully from open play and a free-kick.

Krul alo saved superbly from Roberto Soldado's backwards header after he met a free-kick.

And the second half saw Krul pull off more stunning saves to keep Spurs at bay.

Paulinho set up a chance by feeding Andros Townsend on the right, and when the cross was dummied for Christian Eriksen it needed Krul to save with his trailing leg.

Krul then kept out Gylfi Sigurdsson's free-kick after a wicked deflection and immediately denied Younes Kaboul before Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa pulled off a spectacular goal-line clearance.

Townsend was also denied twice by Krul with efforts from the edge of the penalty area.

In the final stages, Krul also blocked a close-range effort from Paulinho while Vertonghen headed against the bar from a corner.

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Buzz: racing's fallen hero

Jockey Desiree Gill has died from injuries she received after falling from her horse at the Sunshine Coast.

Desiree Gill with her husband Barry Gill. Source: Supplied

Anyone attending the Melbourne Cup carnival could be excused for thinking racing is all about glamour and glitz, millionaires and models, Waterhouses and wealth.

But the beauty of the sport is that battlers can compete against the best.

You get stories like Takeover Target, the $1000 horse, owned and trained by a taxi driver, that became the best sprinter in the nation.

Or Polanksi, the $4000 bargain, that last weekend won the Victorian Derby.

Desiree Gill was another great racing story - just like Gai Waterhouse and a lot of other women who have excelled in the sport.

On Melbourne Cup day last week, Gill rode four winners and a third placing on a five-race card at Thabeban Park, Bundaberg.

She spoke about it in the local paper the next day.

"It was a lovely I could hear the crowd as I came around the home turn," she said.

"There was one race when I could hear my husband yell out 'go you old girl', which was pretty special."

Tragically, Desiree Gill died over the weekend.

She was riding a horse called Celtic Ambition, an $18 chance, in race five at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday night.

The Programmed Property Services Maiden Handicap - 1600m.

Her riding fee $143. Just another race. $6500 first prize money.

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As the field thundered towards the 1200m mark, Celtic Ambition clipped the heels of another runner.

Desiree fell heavily and suffered severe head trauma.

She was rushed to Nambour hospital, placed on life support, but passed away overnight.

Other jockeys at Caloundra were too traumatised for the meeting to continue. It was abandoned after the fall.

Desiree was 45 years old, married to Gympie based trainer Barry Gill and mother of two sons aged 21 and 19.

She had been riding for about 20 years and had 98.5 winners.

She had won the South-East Queensland Country premiership for the past two years

Desiree and Barry were well known for travelling to tracks hundreds of kilometres from Gympie, two hours north of Brisbane.

She rarely rode in the city but was well known in the bush.

Racing Queensland issued the following statement yesterday morning.

"She was a highly experienced and respected jockey whose untimely death has shocked and deeply saddened the racing industry.

"Desiree was widely admired and loved for her passion for the racing industry and in particular, her commitment to developing the next generation of jockeys."

Her death comes just a few months after Darwin's leading rider Simone Montgomerie died following a fall at their annual Cup meeting in August.

It puts everything else that happened over the weekend into perspective.

Sure the Wallabies and Kangaroos won, as did the Wanderers and Sydney FC. It means nothing.

Not when we've lost a mother, a wife … and a very capable jockey.

The stewards report

Approaching the 1200m, Celtic Ambition fell. As a result of this, jockey D. Gill sustained serious injuries, resulting in her having to be transported to hospital.

Following advice from the club's medical officer, it was decided unanimously by the riders in the remaining races, and in consultation with members of the club committee and executive, that the remainder of the meeting be abandoned.

Evidence was taken from every jockey that rode in Race 5, including that of all apprentices whose evidence was taken in the presence of their respective representatives.

The matter was then adjourned to a further time and date to be fixed.

***

HIGHLIGHT

Sydney FC's gutsy 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory on Saturday night with just 10 men on the field.

It was a magnificent performance that gives their long-suffering fans new hope for the season and coach Frank Farina some job security, at least for a couple of weeks.

LOWLIGHT

Allessandro Del Piero's diving performances on Saturday night were the best since Matthew Mitcham's perfect 10 and gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

This guy is a superstar player and almost as good an actor.

TIME TO MOVE ON

So the Kangaroos have beaten Ireland 50-nil at the rugby league World Cup. These lead-up games are an absolute waste of time.

Care factor zero. Bring on the finals.

CHERRY ON TOP

In rugby league, and all sport for that matter, you have good players, great players and champions.

Manly halfback Daly Cherry Evans has improved so much he is hovering between a great player and a champion.

FINALLY

Stop the presses. Wallabies win a Test match.

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NBL: no vendetta against Joey

Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright (left) speaks to the referee during an NBL game against the New Zealand Breakers. Source: Getty Images

THE Adelaide 36ers today will review technical fouls slapped on Joey Wright while NBL referees boss Mal Cooper insists there is no "vendetta" against the Sixers' coach.

"I must stress there's no vendetta against Joey at all," Cooper said.

"Maybe there have been a couple of unfortunate incidents but I will find out from both officials exactly what was said and I will talk with Joey to try and sort it out."

Wright, who has a reputation for volatility but has shown only passion since being appointed coach of the second-ranked Sixers, was hit with a technical foul by Vaughan Mayberry just 4:46 before half-time of Adelaide's recent 96-93 road win over New Zealand.

Import Jarrid Frye was roughly handled by Breakers' swingman Reuben Te Rangi and no call was made, leading to Wright's protestations.

Mayberry replied by giving him a technical foul.

On Friday as the 36ers saw off Melbourne 90-87 at Adelaide Arena, Wright was hit with a technical foul by Nathan Durant 43 seconds from half-time.

Wright had been animated about a no-call when Gary Ervin was knocked to the floor after releasing a three-point attempt.

Wright already had received what appeared to be an unwarranted earlier warning from referee Michael Aylen, prompting Durant's tech.

In both instances, the technical fouls looked more the work of trigger-happy refs than officials understanding man-management.

"Michael (Aylen) and Vaughan (Mayberry) are our Olympics referees so I will talk with both but I know no-one has any axe to grind against Joey," Cooper said.

Adelaide 36ers general manager Dean Parker said he had no issue with his coach's sideline behaviour and felt the officials may have been overly sensitive.

"I'll speak to Joey first before we look at whether we take it up with the NBL or Mal," Parker said.

"Joey is a vocal, emotive man when he's coaching and we wouldn't want him any other way.

"He's done nothing abusive or nothing incorrect and I do have a concern they're (the officials) jumping on him faster than they need to.

"Are they jumping on him because it's him? Calls like those have the potential to be game-changing."

Adelaide is on the road back to Auckland on Friday to again face New Zealand, the Breakers beaten 91-78 by Townsville this weekend and currently seventh on a 2-5 record.

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Test stars stood down from Shield

Sir Ian Botham chats with fellow cricket great Allan Border about which players he thinks will make the difference during the 2013/14 Ashes series.

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Hauschildt's amazing year

Melissa Hauschildt celebrates after winning the Australian 70.3 half ironman in West Australia. Photo: Delly Carr/IM Media Source: Supplied

FORMER Commonwealth Games steeplechaser Mel Hauschildt has ended the year as Australia's top triathlete after yesterday adding a major Australian 70.3 half ironman victory to the two world crowns she snared earlier this season.

In only her third season in a sport she took up to avoid the crippling injuries which hindered her athletics career, Hauschilt yesterday completed her best ever season in triathlon with her ninth victory from 12 starts in 2013.

"It's been almost a faultless season and I couldn't be more delighted,'' said the 30-year-old after her win in the Mandurah 70.3 championships, which doubles as the unofficial Australia championships for the distance

"To win two world titles and an Aussie one, you just couldn't ask for more than that.''

Hauschilt, who yesterday beat former Olympic distance world No. 1 Annabel Luxford in the 1.9km swim, 90km cycle and 21.1km run, is one of only two Australian triathletes to have won a senior world triathlon crown this year.

The Brisbane-based triathlete won both the world 70.3 title and the ITU long distance crown while fellow Queenslander Mirinda Carfrae won the Hawaii ironman world championships in Kona last month for the second time.

Hauschilt said she has found her home in triathlon _ a sport which better suits her once fragile body.

"I had a lost of stress fractures when I was running,'' said Hauschilt ,who prepared for yesterday's race with a third place at the Noosa Triathlon last Sunday.

"Now I spend a lot more time on the bike and less on the running and that is paying of for me on the injury front.''

Hauschildt covered the course in 4hrs 03min 45 sec with New Zealander Terenzo Bozzane winning the men's crown in the Western Australian race.

Bozzane finished in 3:42.58 with Australians Tim Berkel (3:44.30) and Sam Appleton (3:45.01) filling the minor placings.

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Tigers prove point versus Hawks

The Melbourne Tigers' Mark Worthington can't stop the Hawks' Rhys Martin from driving to the basket. Source: News Limited

THE Melbourne Tigers haven't had the league's leading scorer since Andrew Gaze was still doing his thing more than a decade ago.

Yesterday Chris Goulding again showed why he is the man to change that statistic.

After an indifferent start - his first points came from a three-point bomb on the quarter-time buzzer - the Tigers scoring machine flicked the switch and then when the game was on the line delivered to get his team home 81-76 against a dogged Wollongong Hawks.

Goulding finished with his first NBL double-double - 29 points and 12 rebounds - as the Tigers withstood a last quarter comeback to close out their third victory of the season.

While there were several other important contributions including 20 points from Mark Worthington, some improved output from Canadian centre Scott Morrison (12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks) and valuable defensive minutes from youngster Owen Odigie, it was two big plays from Goulding which decided the contest.

With less than two minutes to go the Tigers star drove to the basket, sucking two defenders to him before producing a brilliant no-look behind-the-head pass to Morrison for an easy dunk.

Then with 34 seconds to go and the lead only two points, Goulding wandered into the corner and despite defenders all over him nailed the winning jumper.

Hawks guard Rotnei Clarke, a former US college star with Butler University who led his team with 17 points, summed it up best afterwards: "He (Goulding) is a great player, he takes some tough shots and they go in."

Tigers coach Chris Anstey was happy to mention Goulding, who is averaging 26.6 points this season to lead the NBL in scoring, in the same sentence as Gaze afterwards.

"I don't think this club has had a scorer like him since Andrew Gaze," Anstey said. "That's what he is to us right now at the offensive end, you put the ball in his hands and he creates something.

"Even the bad shots he takes you still expect to go in, and when I say that, they are a bad shot for others but not for him."

It has already been a big year for the Tigers reigning MVP after a workout with NBA star Kyrie Irving earlier in the year led to an invite to the Cleveland Cavaliers' pre-summer league camp and then a spot on the team for its series in Las Vegas.

Worthington, who previously played with Goulding at the Gold Coast, afterwards praised the maturing of his teammate which the man himself admitted was a factor in overcoming his tardy start.

"It is something I have been working on," Goulding, 25, said. "I've realised over the last couple of years that it is a long game, 40 minutes is a long time.

"I think in my earlier years I would have got a bit antsy and tried to force it a little bit but the same thing happened in Adelaide (on Friday night) as well, personally I didn't get off to a great start but it's a long game.

"So I just had to stay in that mindset, try not to force it, take the opportunities when they come."

The victory over the Hawks, who now slip to 1-5, was important for the Tigers given they came up short, 90-87, to the Sixers in Adelaide on Friday night.

Anstey praised his charges for willing themselves over the line given they were once again hampered by injuries with Lucas Walker (illness) sitting out while Nate Tomlinson also battled through a stomach ailment.

"We needed a win, and we ground it out," he said.

The Tigers next game is against the Cairns Taipans on Saturday night at The Cage.

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Rawiller whips away Cup heartache

After a trying week where Nash Rawiller watched the horse he was dumped from Fiorente win the Melbourne Cup, he bounced back with a win in the Crown Oaks on Kirramosa.

Nash Rawiller after winning on Kirramosa. Picture: Quinn Rooney. Source: Getty Images

NASH Rawiller was the hard-luck story of the Melbourne Cup, but he enhanced his reputation as one of the nation's premier jockeys during a stellar spring carnival.

Rawiller was dumped from the winning ride on Fiorente for Gai Waterhouse, but he won three Group 1s, a Group 2, two Listed races and two other quality events during the carnival.

And that was despite missing the two Moonee Valley meetings because of suspension.

If results at the carnival are an example of how his sudden availability is appreciated by trainers, Rawiller will be a power without any dependency on Waterhouse.

Nash Rawiller winning on Dothraki during Stakes Day at Flemington. Picture: Quinn Rooney. Source: Getty Images

He did not ride a winner for his former employer during the carnival, but was snapped up for winning rides by Victorian trainer David Hayes, New Zealander John Sargent, Queenslanders Robert Heathcote and Danny Bougoure and NSW's Chris Waller, John O'Shea and Gerald Ryan.

He has the best of both worlds - freelancing for top rides and still maintaining a strong bond with Waterhouse.

"I think it has been good for me. I have a manager, Brett Grant, who has made a massive difference for me,'' Rawiller said.

"I can seek rides that haven't necessarily got the form but are on the way up. Longport was the perfect example. He ran really nicely first-up and I got the ride and won the last race at Flemington.

Nash Rawiller is nursing more than a sore ego after being forced to ride bareback when Opinion lost his irons in the Carnival Handicap.

"When I was full-time at Gai's, I couldn't look for rides outside the stable until after weights were declared. By that time everybody had moved and there wasn't a lot available to me."

Rawiller was chuffed to be given the Ron Hutchinson Award for the best performance in a Group 1 race during the Flemington carnival.

"That was the icing on the cake," he said of the award presented to him in the Victoria Racing Club committee room after the last race on Saturday.

"It was an absolute honour. To be chosen to win that award is a terrific compliment, especially as it comes from Ron Hutchinson, who is a legend in Australian racing history."

Rawiller, 38, was unsure what race won him the award, but he'd like to think it was for his relentless pumping to get grand mare Red Tracer over the line ahead of stablemate Catkins in the Group 1 Myer Classic.

Nash Rawiller has topped off a fantastic Flemington carnival by riding Longport to a victory in the Emirates Airline Handicap.

"It was great to get her over the line because she has come a long way,'' he said.

"I have had eight rides on her for seven wins (two Group 1s, two Group 2s and two Group 3s among them) so she is special to me."

Rawiller said he loved coming home to Melbourne to ride, but for the time being he would concentrate on Sydney racing and travel only for carnivals.

"The carnival in Melbourne is just amazing,'' he said. "They do it so well, with the crowds, the tracks, the way they showcase racing."

Rawiller started the carnival with victory in the first race on Caulfield Guineas day, and ended it with success in the final race at Flemington.

There were a few bumps in between - notably his "straightback" ride on Opinion when the irons broke when the horse jumped in the 2800m race, and his heartbreak at missing the Cup ride on Fiorente - but Rawiller reckons all up he's come out of the carnival a big winner.

NASH RAWILLER'S SPRING CARNIVAL WINS

CAULFIELD

Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m) Moonlight Hussler $17

Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) Solzhenitsyn $6

Group 2 Tristarc Stakes (1400m) Red Tracer $3.90

MOONEE VALLEY

Suspended for both meetings

FLEMINGTON

Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m) Red Tracer $3.10

Schweppes #flemingtonfling (1000m) Bernabeu $13

Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) Kirramosa $2.70

Listed Hilton Hotels & Resorts (1400m) Dothraki $12

Emirate Airline Handicap (1400m) Longport $7

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Fawad's Test hopes take a spin

NSW duo Steve Smith and David Warner hit Sheffield Shield centuries in their clash with Victoria.

Fawad Ahmed bowls for Victoria against New South Wales Blues without much success. Photo: Michael Dodge Source: Getty Images

FAWAD Ahmed has bowled himself out of Test contention.

The leg-spinner was always going to be the gamble that Australia could not afford to take once Shane Watson broke down with a minor hamstring strain.

Watson will play in the first Test against England at Brisbane's Gabba next week as a batsman but will not bowl.

Fawad had a bad week of Sheffield Shield cricket for Victoria, reinforcing the view that he is simply too big a risk.

His elimination from the Test candidates leaves just one place in the team up for grabs.

It is a tight tussle between Tasmanians George Bailey and Alex Doolan which will be decided when the selectors finalise the side at a meeting in Brisbane tonight.

Bailey was a standout during the recent one-day series in India while Doolan has been in sublime form at the start of the first class summer.

As by far the most productive one-day batsman in the side since joining the 50-over team early last year, Bailey remains the favourite to collect a baggy green cap.

Fawad shot into Test calculations when he claimed 6-68 for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia recently.

In his past three Shield innings, including two against NSW last week when he bowled to Test captain Michael Clarke and destructive opener David Warner, Fawad had collective figures of 1-166.

Worse than that, he has conceded more than four runs an over.

The only way Australia was going to take a punt on Fawad was if he continued taking bags of wickets and Watson was able to bowl as a fourth seamer.

But with only three front-line fast bowlers, including a sometimes wayward Mitchell Johnson, the selectors are not prepared to gamble with Fawad.

He may still play later in the series if he can begin claiming wickets again and Watson resumes bowling.

Nathan Lyon's start to the Shield season for NSW has been no more than steady but his accuracy will be vital to try and create pressure on England.

Leg-spinners have a better record at the Gabba than off-spinners in Test cricket, largely thanks to Shane Warne.

The game's greatest spinner claimed 68 wickets in 11 Tests at an average of 20, the most wickets ever taken at the Gabba by any Test bowler.

Richie Benaud is the next most successful leg-spinner with 23 wickets in five Tests at an average of 26.

However Lyon is one of just three off-spinners to claim more than eight wickets in a career at the Gabba. He has 11 at 24 in two Tests after a good first game against New Zealand.

The most successful off-spinner at the Gabba is actually West Indian Lance Gibbs, who once held the record for the most number of wickets in Test cricket.

He claimed 14 wickets in two Tests, while Ian Johnson took 12 wickets in six Tests.

Likely team: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (c), Steve Smith, George Bailey, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon. 12th James Faulkner or Ben Hilfenhaus.

Leg-spinners

Shane Warne - 11 tests - 68 wickets - average: 20 - best figures: 8-71

Richie Benaud - 5 tests - 23 wickets - average: 26 - best figures: 6-115

Doug Ring - 2 tests - 14 wickets - average: 19 - best figures: 6-72

Off-spinners

Lance Gibbs (WI) - 2 tests - 14 wickets - average: 23 - best figures: 5-8

Ian Johnson - 6 tests - 12 wickets - average: 20 - best figures: 3-46

Nathan Lyon - 2 tests - 11 wickets - average: 24 - best figures: 4-69

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