How do courses work on Kannu?
When it comes down to it, a Kannu course is just a private space for any number of approved students to learn from you, and each other. Scheduled courses can have specific start and end dates, or extend indefinitely. We also have Adaptive mode for a more self-guided approach. Courses can be cloned as well, so you can make templates, or recurring courses with specific cohorts in each.
Is Kannu a software-as-a-service (and what does that mean)?
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps are subscription-based services that run "in the cloud." That means we host and maintain all of the infrastructure you need, and ensure things are always running smoothly. On top of that, updates are automatic and constant (usually one to two per month), so you never have to handle any upgrades yourself to get new features, or handle increased user load.
Is the information kept in my Kannu platform secure?
Absolutely. We adhere to strict standards based on data privacy policies around the globe. We also enable tiered role management for admins and instructors to configure user access.
Do I retain ownership over the course materials and content I put up in Kannu?
Yes. Whatever you put on Kannu belongs 100% to you.
What's special about Admins?
Roles like Instructor, Course Staff, or Student are course-specific, but Admin is a sitewide role. It gives you access to the Admin Dashboard, a powerful set of tools to let you manage courses and users, dive into platform analytics, and personalize your system.
What happens when a course closes?
Once a course closes, it goes into Archived mode. Archived courses can still be accessed, but the exact behavior is configured by your Kannu administrator. When a student accesses an archived course, it can be configured to only display the course Syllabus, give read-only access to the entire course, or from the course settings, you can add some additional configuration on what should happen after a course ends / archived?
What's a Session?
Sessions are a fundamental part of the Kannu experience, as they are where most course content is created and lives. They can be thought of as individual classes themselves, and you might have one Session for each class meeting or lab.
How you choose to use Sessions is up to you. Some instructors use it as a virtual lecture space, uploading instructional content to focus on specific topics, for one class or multiple. Others use them to document/record in-class discussions that students will then be able to refer to throughout the course. Others use it for references, collecting external resources in a single, easy-to-use space.
That's why the Session media player allows you to embed video, images, audio, presentations, documents, and even iFrames, so that you can deliver content however you like. Sessions also include our full-featured content editor, so you can write media-rich articles and lesson plans.
Sessions are carefully designed for better engagement and retention. They can also guide students to other areas of the course (like Forums and Coursework), so we recommend considering them as a central pillar of your course.
What do I need to include in my Syllabus?
While you don't need to include anything in your Syllabus, it does provide an opportunity for you to (1) get students familiar with the details of your course, and (2) take advantage of some nifty features, like automatic welcome emails when students enroll. For better presentation, use the "Show/Hide" options to only deliver the content you want to deliver, or add your own custom sections using the Add New Section area.
How can I interact directly with my students?
There are a number of ways! You can make posts in the forums if you'd like to engage the class in a public setting. More formally, you can make Announcements, which are posted to the course Announcement feed, their Updates toolbar, and optionally delivered to their email. You also have access (via the Students page) to the email addresses of all of your students, if you need to contact them individually. Lastly, you can contact students via the Kannu messenger.
How are users counted?
With Kannu, you're only charged for active users (users who actually log in and use the system within a given time period).
Is there a limit to how much content I can create and/or upload?
We try to be as generous as possible, and work with you to determine a content policy that makes sense for you.
Can I use a custom URL for my Kannu portal?
Absolutely. You can use any URL you own for your portal. Our team will walk you through getting everything connected.
I could use some more in-depth information on specific features. Where can I go?
If you are or have been an instructor in at least one course, the username/password combo you use to access your Kannu portal also gives you access to our Instructor Training Portal. You'll automatically receive an invite to it within 24 hours of becoming an instructor. It has video guides to all of our features, and is updated whenever we add new ones.
The site you're on now is also a repository of articles and FAQs to help you get to know Kannu. You can search for content, or browse through the categories. Let us know if you feel an article is unclear, or if you'd like to see a new one about certain features. You can also reach out to us at support@kadenze.com (or fill out this web form) and we'll get right back to you with whatever info you need.