Welcome to episode 5 of the canvas Casters in this episode. We take a journey with Chris Giles a canvas administrator at Beaverton School District in Beaverton, Oregon whether it is a journey across continents or a journey of learning Chris gives us some great insights. If you're a teacher using Canvas OR involved in the administrative side, Chris's big Three won't disappoint here. It is episode 5 with Chris Giles. Welcome to episode 5 of the canvas casters with Chris Giles a canvas administrator at Beaverton School District in Oregon. Beaverton is a public school district of nearly 41,000 students in 34 elementary schools. Eight middle schools six High School's five options schools and to Charter Schools. Schools had so many. All right. I know like it's baffling Chris facilitates canvas PD and use of digital platforms throughout the grades 6 through 12 Beaverton has approximately 20,000 students using canvas on a weekly basis hashtag canvas fam. Join us in welcoming Chris to the show. Let's go Chris now crops with yeah with those numbers. I was you need so And claps right? Thank and then we'll be good to go. That is incredible the 24,000. But yeah, that is Bonkers. It's insane guy is going to say a partridge in a pear tree when you get off the line exactly. That's what I was thinking in perfect. So right off the bat let's let's go right to the topic that everybody is is questioning, which is that Chris from Oregon right now Twitter username is at okay, that's beautiful. How does that happen? Open are you from Canada? Because people have questions no, I'm totally a hundred percent from Canada was born long time ago. And I'm from I'm from New Brunswick's I'm from the very far when people say Canada, especially this part of the country they all like, oh Vancouver like know about 3,500 miles east Toronto no way far, so I'm from like New Brunswick, which is right above Maine, you know, I'm not the farthest away, but I'm pretty darn far right you went to one side in North America to the other I did which is interesting because if I were to fly back home, I'd fly from Portland to Portland. Wicked I've always wanted to do that actually. Yes, my ten-year-old would be like, whoa, bro. That's that's your thing. Now everybody's bro. I'm like that's so much that's a lot of miles be racking up them Scott miles that have to drive to so it wouldn't be into Canada. Just put me in within driving distance. I'm right not only like Far Corners of North America, but you're also like super far south for some part of your life and leaving the country. So give us the background everything kind of outside of your educational career that led you up to now tell us a little bit about Chris. Well, I am from Canada obviously so and I went and I moved to Arizona to finish my education degree. So I went to Northern Arizona University and I taught in Phoenix at a title one school district for 15 years. So the same school different classrooms same school different grade levels, sixth grade junior high technology classes Ela Middle School Ela, and then it was probably around 2012. I was at school making photocopies and doing lesson plans. On Saturday my wedding anniversary when it just finally dawned on me. I can't do this anymore. So I called my wife and said this is my last year teaching and she's like cool and so I went about the rest of the year filling this great sense of relief like gosh, I'm not gonna teach next year and then I don't know what I'm going to do next year either anyways, but Dad be a little scary right? Like ask me like, what are you going to do? And my first answer was like I'd be a gardener day issue at this point. Those skills are being a gardener. Not a bad game submit my ghanian. the rest of your just knowing that feeling the relief and then a friend of mine and who is a mentor for a good part of my life in the district audit sent me a job description for a job in Brazil and I laughed at it as like there's no I want to go to Brazil to teach but I applied while I was on the train with my grandfather traveling to California and I heard back a week later asking for an interview and the director wanted to interview me and then so I'm having my interview and she's like, what does your wife do you and I like She's a teacher will put it on right now and like literally like Barbie sitting next to me and her jammies. I said, are you serious? She was no put on right now. So I literally turned the computer over because we're Skyping and she's like, okay Barbie tell me about yourself and so sure enough through that process. We were basically given a week to make up her decision about whether we wanted to go teach in Brazil and it basically came down to we can you live in America and pay bills or we can live in Brazil and pay bills. So we basically decided it's probably way better for our family to move Brazil solid. Yeah thought there for two years. I didn't I be School and then moved back from Arizona. We moved there with a two-year-old and a four-year-old and move back with my same two kids and plus my son was also born in Brazil. And then I spent two years working at the Arizona Department education supporting K-12 standards where I work with an amazing amazing group of people and then I was hired for this position specifically to move to Oregon. So we literally Came Here sign for house flew back home pack up the house drove over here all within seven days yeesh. That's incredible. It reminds me of my first King job which kind of a similar not a similar situation like that. That is this that's insane, but we were actually hired very similar to each other as far as getting teaching jobs in the same my hometown and then we had gotten married on Saturday moved on Sunday. And our first teacher day was that Monday? Yeah. So we had also did the craziness of just making decision and starting school immediately. It was it was an insane time so I can imagine adding kids to the mix you don't have time. Regret it. You're like, oh, we're sorry. We can't regret it. Now. We're on our way. So right it's just rip the Band-Aid right on. Yeah. Now before we get into the real business of talking a little bit about canvas. I need to know as a person who is a huge Oregon Ducks fan myself. There's a whole backstory to that that I'm not going to get into but just let it be known that I'm a huge Ducks fan as a person who lives in Oregon Chris ducks or Oregon State I got No, first answer would be I'm a Michigan Wolverines fan. That's true. I've been enough which won't get any Love From The Boilermaker and Hoosier business in this chat, but it will brain scan for a good product good part of my life. Now, is that because up in Canada? There's a bunch of those in real life. Yeah, probably, I'm sorry. Sorry and I have to say if I had to choose between beavers Ducks. I like ducks like the uniforms and I think their quarterbacks amazing. Absolutely a great quarterback the past few years. So so yes, I'm more of a duck fan. It beerus fan but Michigan, yes for sure miss skin even though they're not playing Amazing this year, right? Yeah. I actually mad respect for being a big fan of the Big 10 being out there and Pac-12 country so much respect Chris. I also noticed that you spent some time in Brazil tell us more about the time that you spent there. Like I said it was but 2012 was when I accepted a job down there. So my wife and I both moved down to Brazil their two-year-old and a four-year-old and 22 Check bags. Hmm time out. How does that work? Because I get really been out of shape when I have to like their way in my bags and they're checking. Yeah, hold on. Hold on 22 check bags times 50 bucks a pop. I don't know what Anna like an overseas flights 60 bucks a bottle. So we actually the rules have changed a little bit but back then it was back then 2012. We were able to have I think up to 10 check bags per ticket and So we actually end up buying 18 gallon Rubbermaid tubs used from someone who's selling them because they were going out of business. So we bought all these tubs for five bucks each and we packed what we need to take with us. So it mean kids kids clothes school clothes toys, which you know, you have a two-year-old a four-year-old. And so anyways, we put all that stuff in the plane. I pictures of Anna prove it and we went down there we taught for two years at an IB School so layers of instructions in English, but it's you know an IB School, so I taught NY p and p YP which basically means I They're pure IP technology teacher ages 3 to grade 5 and I was a 6th grade through 10th grade middle school and YP Design Technology teacher. So I taught sixth graders through 11th grade 10th graders. So in any given day or week, I had three year olds to 16 year olds coming to my class nice including my two little ones. I feel like moving from Brazil back to the US. I mean, what was that feeling like because I just have this in my mind that Brazil is just like this amazingly beautiful place. That's probably just based on TV. Yeah. What was that? Like was it were you excited? Were you anxious? I mean to pick up and go to Brazil's one thing to pick it all up two years later and come back as another thing. Yeah, and you are right Brazil is beautiful country it totally is but it's also intimidating. It's a, you know, go down there. We don't speaking we don't I don't speak any Portuguese her Spanish is far better than my ass my Spanish for sure, even though I spoke a little bit of French growing up in Canada. That doesn't help me in foreign country except for like Latin still doesn't help me when somebody speaking really fast, but it was so it was a challenge to live there. The first year was brutal the second year was much better, but we just had great people that we work with. We got to know a lot of people and moving back after two years. This is going to sound probably crazy and weird, but we spent the first few nights when we moved back to Arizona first. We went to QT quick trip and make sure we got big their spouses of dr. Pepper because they don't have any down there and then we spent a few days I would say it could have been two days or three days in a row going to Walmart and Walking up and down the aisle because there are now like in the land that is not something I thought no idea that was coming up. Yeah, it's quite amazing. We would just walk up and down Walmart aisles. It would just be like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. Wow, that is note that is never been said in the history of podcast. That is so crazy. I mean, I know people are going to bag on Walmart and stuff but I could have said it about tardy it could it could been any like massive store where it's all in one. It just Brazil is not Convenient design that way so yeah convenience and you have plus and minuses for both systems for sure a dr. Pepper and Walmart. That's so for the listeners at home. Here's what we need to do. You just have to understand that the best way to not be completely annoyed by the existence of Walmart is to leave the country for approximately two years. Then you come back and live it when it's refreshing convenient. That's awesome our Target and I knew whatever right? Yeah. I think teaching in Brazil was was manly eye-opening for myself for sure. I mean, I don't speak to my wife because she's a natural born teacher. So she's already caught like some mad skills, but for me teaching and an IB School was just mind-blowing because the philosophy is much different than a traditional then what I was used to as far as teaching so I felt like I grew a lot as far as teaching. I yeah, I just grew a lot as a teacher. So coming back to Arizona from that experience. I think really helped me Chris. Can you speak to a little bit you talked very early on about how like one day you are. It was your anniversary and you were making copies and it's like a weekend. Yeah, and you're just like, you know what I'm not going to teach anymore. So was it burn out like what caused you to mentally get to that point? So before this I was teaching at technology class to Junior High to middle school. So I had seven eighth graders and elective that come into my classroom every day every week. We did some amazing stuff like this was in like nineteen. This was like in 2005. I already had my students with their own digital portfolios. We were already doing video pot. Audio recordings audio recordings we're killing it then the crash happened and I lost that position and became a full-time Ela teacher which is fine, but it was it was very challenging because new curriculum the class sizes went up my last class in 2012. I had 47 students. Yay. Wow, 47 eighth graders. In fact, it became a competent it became a competition is to which of my colleagues would have the next student and have our class size go up by one or two because 47 students times that many desks in a classroom. Yeah where it was brutal. So how did you know? Yeah and just the area. I taught at required a lot more energy students came with it was a title one school. So Title One School District. So students came with a lot of I should say a lot of needs they came with needs that were probably different than maybe another school be that was kind of one and so it required a different energy level and then we no joke I had to write lesson plans. Which is fine. I write lessons plans anyways over page and a half each for every lesson plan for every day available to my administrators every day at any time. There was just other requirements that became super taxing in a space where I had four classes in my largest class is 47 and mentally I don't think I was I don't think I could handle any more. I think I was really getting stressed out and it wasn't so much the student. It wasn't, you know, I had a terrible pilot students by any means it was just simply it just became too much I couldn't do it anymore. And I'm glad you're sharing that story. I think it was important. I I was a little worried about asking it. I think there are so many other teachers in this profession that that feel the exact same way that I think that's part of the reason why Marcus do what we do as far as being you know, and and I think that's probably why you're doing what you're doing now, which is to support teachers when they feel that overwhelming sense of yeah, I don't want to do this anymore because it is Meaningful and there's there's something that eventually LED you to be an education. So what can we do to get that back? So thanks for sharing that appreciate you being honest with us and open it up on the yeah, I'll and I can appreciate you know, the the element that you know, everybody's got their sort of their Journey. You know, I certainly have had some experiences where I could say the similar sort of thing that Chris said in terms of you know, it wasn't the kids, you know, a lot of times that's the only Solace of sometimes being you know in education is that connection with with the students is the best part and sometimes that's the case and I definitely bad experience where that was the best part in everything else around it. As what was the most challenging we what we can see here for sure and we'd talk about this, you know, almost every episode just the journey that the path that you take through those years getting to a point where kind of find your spot find your Niche. It sounds like in Chris's case, it wasn't conventional and unconventional situations in classrooms, but then it was also you know Global, I mean he's a world traveler so you got a lot going on there Chris. I want to hear a little bit more about You're your current role there Beaverton. I work in a corporation of about 4,000 students and you're talking about over 40,000 students just the sheer number and how that looks and how that works on a day-to-day basis is just really daunting for me. Tell us a little bit about what your role is specifically in like what your things that you you tackle on a day-to-day basis. So I was hired specifically to be to come up here to Beaverton School District Two. Work with our campus roll out and basically help with implementation and they'd already kind of set up some of the support. They already had created an environment where we had a canvas facilitator at each building matter of fact extra first year. We had two or three people who are considered canvas facilitators who were basically support staff at each of those sites. And then I came along in my role was to help in any way possible make this a transition from teachers who've never used any ology from teachers have used a different LMS from teachers who from wherever they're at to basically getting our students and our teachers using this LMS and we're also a one to one school district grade 6 through 12. So you're talking to I think our stats are we deployed 30-some thousand devices if you conclude Chromebooks and iPads, so, you know, we give you a Chromebook now what basically out the LMS canvases was basically the glue kind of like, how are we going to get students and teachers? Is in the same space and make this work. So my first year I did a ton of professional Velma did two or three or even four sessions every day. I'm sorry every week after school and I would go into classrooms and work with teachers. I would go and just support staff with during staff meetings are I would say during lunch time or prep time. I've just this is when I'm coming in and so I did that every as much as I could possibly get my first two years. Last year things a little bit differently. I didn't have to go into classrooms as much instead. I could be more of a school-based like go in and and be available for schools. I still do trainings. How is there enough time in the day or in the week or in the month to be quite honest the Indian religious short answer would be there's obviously not enough time. Like I said when I first got here, they had a little bit of structure. They really had a chemist facilitator at each building. I had met them all but my goal was to basically meet all them and kind of form base. The team approach like how are we going to get our teachers on board? So it was I don't want to say it was a perfect trainer trainer model because it was not but it was definitely be working with staff in that role to help their staff. And so those individuals would be open to help their staff. They're teaching their most of our teachers so they can only help win a when they're not necessary teaching and then I did a lot of Afterschool PD like hey, I'm doing a session at site a from 3 to 4, you know sign up and come to the PD, so I did tons of Tons of PD everyday know that didn't hit every single staff member of buddy hit a lot and enough to get I guess you could say get the ball rolling. Basically, it's just constant. Like I just it was just constant constant connecting with people making relationships with people. It just sounds to me like you really in a case like that, you know speaking to the large, you know, the expanse of your corporation like you really are depending upon reaching out to building level leaders teachers in the classroom. Those that have been Sort of assigned as facilitators and even those that aren't basically you need teacher leaders at every building to be your you know, your Posse. Basically, it's not only teachers. Can you tell Chris about how coaching roles we can you know support with administrators and how that works with their teachers, but unless you have bought an administrators, you could really kind of fail at this job. So did you have was everyone on board? Well, first of all, there's no No way in this planet, we would be where we're at without amazing people. I mean I every person is probably going to say the same thing and I can say that with confidence that we had the facilitators in each building that and mind you before I got hired. They had done a little bit of training that summer had introduced it to the whole staff probably in the spring. So this is happening before I got hired and so there really wasn't like quote anybody who was an expert there were teachers who were I believe part of a pilot and there were teachers who were like, Individually or independently using canvas just like there are teachers using Google classroom or using schoology or Edmodo. So when I was hired on thankfully some of that support staff is already there. I had I made my absolute hundred percent goal to make sure that I worked extremely close with it, like made them my best friends and that was based on my experience at the part of Education. Arizona was I wasn't going to be successful unless I had it in my corner and not just like support but like we're teaming up. To go into the whole administrative and that big question. So first of all canvas is not mandated. So our school district teachers do not have to use canvas when it was first rolled out. So that in itself is freeing but also kind of a barrier right an administrator or principal at a building couldn't tell his their staff. Hey, you have to use canvas because again, it wasn't necessarily A District set mandate again that brought freedom to people to make the choice, but it also kind of created an extra layer of challenge for me and for people who I work with to say We want you to use this and then question is well, why are the question was? How long is this going to be here for so there I will say there was probably administrators including my boss who is an amazing person. He was on board because he quite honestly when you hired me and they were probably some individual individual administrators who are like, yeah, I can get behind us but no one said let's get going. Nobody said I don't believe anybody administrative. So I went and said hey we're a hundred percent is we're going forward. We're moving forward. Nothing was more like a I guess you'd call a Grassroots effort. As that grassroot effort started you are a key element in the adoption and roll out. We know of canvas there at Beaverton. What advice would you give others because I'm currently right now in the midst of adopting canvas and we're in a pilot program transitioning from obviously another LMS to Canvas. What are some tips and advice you would give to those that are kind of in the thick of it right now getting started. I think if I could speak from like my position meaning I got to work with it. I get to work with I've a great relationships with our chief technology officer and other colleagues. So from that point of view when you're trying to convince or convey a message as to we should be using this product, I think starting with why you've probably heard it a hundred times starting with why and I was not an expert with us. It's really quite honestly, I'm still learning if I had to stand in front of some staff and say Hey, listen, we're going to choose this tool. We went through an RFP. We're going to use this tool in the the most question will be about why I think coming from it from a point of view of we want to give our students the best student experience that they can receive in a K-12 experience. I feel like something that's similar to their entire Twitter grade 12 or 12th grade progression is if I'm a given a tool a digital tool as a kindergarten 1st grader all at 12th grade help me interact with this tool helped me become a learner help me be able to contribute help me do all these things as a student and I think one of the Slaves to sell the idea of an LMS is it's something that will give our students a similar student experience last year a person who Jim Newton to guy I work with he's an it. He made a statement he goes. Well, what is the Beaverton student experience and I kind of we all kind of looked at them and basically from that kind of devise, you know, we give our students six through 12 of Chromebook and we say here you go. Well, that's all we do. What is their experience going to be it is going to be so vastly different amongst every class a visit. Every school if it's now on the one hand, that's okay. I'm not saying that every student in school experience should be the exact same if we're giving you a Chromebook to have an experience of learning to be successful. What does that mean? And then this year? I feel like I took it a step further. And so Under the Umbrella of the student experience. Well, how do we create a space where we have a summer student experience? So going back to your question? How do we help people kind of move towards getting an LMS? Well, I feel like let's give her to our students a tool that will help them have a similar student experience in the classrooms. They visit in in the We'll see move through so that we can help them be successful through their care entire K-12 career because reality is when you graduate from high school and you choose to go to college or a technical school. You will encounter an LMS of some sort. So let's get you set up for living and breathing and working in a digital experience know I love that. That's the exact approach we're taking I was so it was so refreshing to hear you say that because that is what we are trying to accomplish with the rollout, which is they're going to encounter some sort. Sort of of LMS or some sort of customer management system and we want it to look exactly like or we want them to be familiar with the tools inside of this thing so that they're successful not only in their in their trade and then their job, but also on that other end that basically they have to prepare for so I love that so I would say that would be for my big picture if I were to go smaller picture working with actual individual teachers. Let's try to give our students a tool that will help them be successful and create a similar student experience. It's really hard to argue. I feel against wanting to Set our students up for success by using a common tool. I think it's hard to argue against that absolutely and a good friend of mine. Rebecca had pointed it out to me two years ago. She she had basically said once solid way of getting our teachers on board is to go at go after their heart which is to the student. That's a really good stuff. I want I have to ask the tough questions here. So we are we talk one of the regular parts of the podcast is to talk about know our failure moments for some of us like me it's hard to pick one. Because there are so many but we embrace it we embrace, you know, the learning that comes from that and we feel like the best way to model that is just to always ask our guests that same question. So Chris give us one of your fail moments in education the first of all smiling and laughing because when I listed the cone is when she was on the podcast with you first of all, she's amazing. So, yes, she was able to answer this question with such Grace that I was like, holy crap. How am I going to even top that? Not going to try to top it but I will say two things real quickly. So one I felt like her response which is about relationships like changing your mindset on the relationships with students was much more important. I think that's what I felt like she was saying so on the one hand I will say my greatest quote failure and greatest bounce back with learning that I don't necessarily not here to just make my kids listen and sit and learn I'm here to build relationships with them so that when that kind of took place in mind you that was over a span of some years that was probably my greatest failing forward moment, which is basically learning that but in my role here currently, I'm not going to say I don't have any failure moment because there's probably who are listen to me who like, oh my gosh this that's not true. So I instead I just I felt like I wanted to call it a growing moment instead of a failure mode because I am having a hard time picking one, but my growing moment here in my position was learning that when I was sitting in a in a training at the very beginning when I first was hired and we had a trainer here and he was Some training he's doing a great job and one of the teachers raised her hand and said so what does canvas look like just in everyday life of a teacher and I don't remember the response, but I think I remember them possibly struggling I struggled and so that was like the first few months I was here and this is your 4 and I still think about that question. And the reason why I'm calling this my growing moment is because my first year I spent a lot of time going through cameras one-to-one 201 and 301 with teachers. I offer these sessions all over the place. Are we going to learn 101 do this is we're going to learn. Earn and then 201 we're going to step it up and do assignments. And it's 3 or 3/1 do modules second year is when it finally dawned on me. That doesn't answer the question. What does canvas looks like in the day of life and teacher and I had a really completely a hundred percent revamp my teaching of how I was going to get teachers to use canvas my second year and so basically re-evaluated it and talking with my with my really good colleague Paul ottoman. Basically, it came down to I'm going to teach teachers how to use canvas in 3 steps and I'm going to promise them in 15 minutes. They're going to become the canvas ninja and Pretty much was my growing moment, which was now I can actually officially answer that question. How is canvas using the day of like a teacher? I can answer that really great solid evidence of how this can be used in your classroom. And then from there we've reduced this whole stress about canvas and how do I use it to the point where you're using it and in 15 minutes, you can walk away from here and tomorrow morning in your classroom. You can use it and you can feel confident. So I think that's my growing moment. I guess if that's I can call it that listen. Tonight I taught English high school English for 15 years. So anytime somebody can you know manipulate the language a little bit and use some words there. I dig it. I like that a lot. And I love that. The moment was a bunch of moments, you know, it was it was a it was a span of time coming to a realization but that realization is amazing and that's something I think everybody that's listening from you know classroom teachers K through 12 instructional coach Tech coach. Tech directors adding everybody can latch onto that which is really awesome. So it definitely shows your you know, your introspection which we all have to be able to do. I love Chris that you can speak to what canvas looks like in an everyday situation and you said like that question, you know really impacted you so it's your turn you get to tell us now what canvas looks like on a day-to-day basis, but giving us your big three we calling it The Big Three. We're probably going to change the name it. A point but right now it's the big three. These are your three go to tips tricks for the canvas Community again. I'm the Newbie Marcus has been in the game a little while. So you probably know some of these but I just this is when I just get to sit back and take notes. So it's your turn tell us all the great stuff that you can do in canvas that you love. I have to give you like to list quickly not just one because because of my position my unique position of being able to be somebody who's quote administrator who has to overlook things and deal with stuff and that and Then also been a classroom teacher and have also taught online. I was an adjunct for a Grand Canyon versity. So with that being said, I feel like I have the experience to bring into this question two different lists your kind of like my position where you're working to support staff you're working with it. I think your first thing is you need to connect with people. I made it my goal to connect with with every possible canvas person in my position that I could connect with within reason, so I was connecting with people from Howard County. Ernie Joelle and Anna Hart County Neil out of out of Clark County out of Vegas. I was connecting with Broward County Orange County Brad out of Blue Valley. So I made it my goal to connect with people have video chats with them ask them how to do things and ask them for help. So that was my biggest takeaway is reach out our connect with people and my second one in my position is if you're going to do a roll out and you're going to work with teachers start simple, if you really want teachers to kill it their first year with canvas with the most bang for the least amount of energy possible. Tell him how to use a calendar dust is it like just canvas calendar and you can answer what's due when it's due and how do I find it in one space? So that's a big thing is start simple. Like don't go down modules don't go down assignments. It's all going to happen. But I feel like you just need to have it. You need a teacher build a walk away the next day and go how do I use canvas? Oh, yeah. I can just put in an agenda. Here's my gender for the day it answers what we're doing. How do I find it? And what's going on boom? And then my third thing would be making sure you have Tier 1 support if you're a district of my Sighs or anything of even more than by 10,000 like if you don't have Tier 1 support, what are you doing to yourself? Because you cannot possibly pay a person to be available 24 hours a day 365 the price that we pay for tier one. That's my top three as far as people who are in my position and we've had we've had the support with our pilot program that we're doing. Yeah, and it's phenomenal. Yeah, I do have I do have a I do have a tech admin in the building that looks at me a little funny their former Tech and now it's teacher but she looks at me and she goes that's not Eddie. That is not how you use it. They're going to stop and I go no that is exactly like they've told me anything we need. Yeah, we just continue to ask my God my like I train my teachers you got a question that you think is Google able you check support and you send a you know, and if you feel like it's an emergency click that it's an emergency now then so when she freaks out, you know that not everything is an emergency and I'm like if you're a teacher and you got 30 kids in the class and you can't move on to the next thing that's an emergency. Absolutely. Yeah, and a good thing is we don't have to judge that like That is not for me to say you click the button and go just it right just do it. Right right. So and then I shout out to them because they are phenomenal. I asked them the harder questions the questions that sometimes it can answer because I'm coming from an administrative point of view where a teacher my ass different implementation questions. But again P big big huge help and as far as like if I could say three things for being a teacher or at least in this position as using your day, very classroom. I would say definitely the one is connect like, you know code had mentioned the community. I mentioned I say the It is well, I definitely say try to get into the community, but don't be afraid to go on Twitter and ask for help because there's a lot of help out there again. Use Tier 1 if you have your school district acid and then number three, I think you should be honest with your students and yourself. You don't know everything when it comes to Canvas. I feel like I probably know 25% of canvas really. Well, I feel like I know 2.5% Yeah. Yeah, right. And and so I feel like as it I have to be willing to say I don't know. Yes, so I just and you have to it. It's okay. I think it's totally fine. I think that I salute our are going to love us anyways, if we don't know something. Yep. So in the realm of Lis who should people follow on social media who are some people that have inspired you as you went through this journey some of our canvas listeners out. There are even some some tech leaders or teacher leaders out there that are just looking for people to follow on social media who we recommend and I don't know anybody's Twitter handle, but I mean, like I said, I connect with Joe Allen out of Howard County and Neal. Clark County and of Vegas, and I know that it'll probably on Twitter but they're fantastic but it starts Twitter getting Williams. So it's at getting Williams. He's from the Netherlands and the reason why I kept it with him is because here's a here's a guy who's doing something. He canvassed in Europe and I'm like, what are you doing? And how are you doing it and he's amazing. I've been able to chat with him. Like video chat. The other person is Brad Moser out of Blue Valley. He makes me want to be like him. Basically, it's hard to say that and my friend my friend Brent a Warner who teaches in California community. College she works with I believe he works with English language students and I want to pigeonhole him but he's pretty amazing because he's not a canvas administrator like me. He is a teacher who's using it and he's got a lot of feedback and I love talking to him and then of course our good friend of mine who I actually work with Rebecca Larson. She's one of our chemists facilitators and also teacher at Sunset and so hers is at Sunset Larson and then finally a new person I just met and I'm not going to pronounce her last name because I will mispronounce it probably but her name is first name is Laura and I am she's in a Mesa. Other schools in Phoenix and she is doing amazing things as well. And then there's probably 500 other people that I can add to this list. So what is do you have Laura's Twitter handle? Yes, I do. So Laura's Twitter handle is to me at Laura. So la Ura mme. E-w. Oh Jo. She does a lot more on Instagram than per se Twitter. That's actually where I connected with her quite honestly, most people who I've connected with on Twitter or somehow out of someplace. I really try to make sure I get a chance to video chat with them and Connect with them and ask questions and just talk very cool. So we know how to find you on Twitter. Is there any other platform that you are active on that? Our followers can give you a follow Instagram? It's the same. It's the same handle. Okay, tweet it Instagram. Okay, Mark. We're really good. We're really good. Yeah, that's what that is. That what that's no shame is what that is called. Shame no shame in the game now. So yeah, definitely. I mean I'm onion skin, but mostly it's my life and my family's but what we do at work too and then probably the canvas Community as well. I'm not near as activists Kona or as as much as I'd like to be and make sure you give a lot of love to your CSM. If you have one like we have a CSM or customer service manager and hours name is Jana and she's amazing. So if you're a district that's going to adopt canvas. You'll probably get a CSM, but make sure you give a lot of love and support to them because Their job is mind-blowing and our CSM is amazing. I feel the same way. Our CSM is Jordan. Yeah, and that dude. It's like anything I need he's on it. And even when we even we use the Tier 1 support, like I don't know if he gets follow-ups on that but he's like hey, I saw some emails come through like let me know what you need. Yep, and it's incredible. So it's like we always talk about like everybody in the community is super helpful and the kind of wrap you around in the support blanket and say everything's going to be fine when you're Hang out at like 3:00 a.m. And like I don't know how this is gonna happen. Yeah and Jordan and Joe are Jordan comers, he's been amazing like that guy. I don't know how he does. Like you said. I don't know how these people do it because they're eat sleep with indecently invis. Yeah, I don't think it really makes no way. There's no way they did. Yeah. Okay. Oh, sorry. We're not doing that anymore. No, well Chris on behalf of canvas casters myself and Eddie. We want to thank you so much for your time. It's been a really insightful. Conversation can't wait for everybody to hear this episode. And remember we don't work for canvas canvas works for us Eddie, and I want to thank some of our latest Twitter followers and fans of the podcast. Mr. Clink at VA teacher 32 from Virginia Joe Wakeman at Wakeman Joe in Nevada. Oddvar breca at oddvar underscore breca in Norway Francis Quirk at Francis quirk in London, England and Morgado @viki Morgado one in Ontario Canada, welcome to the canvas fam.
Welcome to The Canvascasters Podcast. In this episode, Chris Giles (@ohcanadatweet .... OH CANADA!) joins us from Beaverton, Oregon! A Canvas Administrator at Beaverton School District in Oregon. Beaverton is a public school district of nearly 41,000 students in 34 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 6 high schools, 5 Option schools, and 2 Charter schools! Chris facilitates Canvas professional development and facilitates the use of other digital platforms for grades 6-12 specifically. Beaverton has approximately 20,000 students using Canvas on a weekly basis. Chris has a unique voice to share through his educational journey and offers a different perspective as an Admin at such a large district. In this episode we discuss:  • His brief exit from the classroom, moving to Brazil, and working with the Department of Ed in Arizona. • What Canvas looks like in an everyday classroom. • Setting students and teachers up for consistency and success in an LMS. • Our love for Tier 1 support through Canvas & our CSM's! Those that have inspired Mr. Giles through his educational journey: gideonwilliams @gideonwilliams Brad Moser @bmos Brent Warner @BrentGWarner Rebecca Larson @SunsetLarson Laura Wojciechowicz @lauramaewojo  A special thanks to all our listeners and recent followers of the podcast. Mr. Klink @VAteacher32 Joe Wakeman @wakemanjoe  Oddvar Brekke @oddvar_brekke  Frances Quirke @francesquirke  Vickie Morgado @vickiemorgado1 