Prospective Tool Review: Harmonize for Canvas Discussion Board
The FSCJ EdTech team is constantly on the lookout for the latest tools that may benefit our FSCJ community. We recently met with a representative from Harmonize, a Canvas partner that specializes in discussion boards “to create an interactive space for dynamic academic discussion, creative and analytical thinking, and in-depth feedback that drives next-level education.” Harmonize integrates with the Canvas discussion board, updating its look and providing features that are not currently available through Canvas.
Though FSCJ does not have access to this tool yet, Harmonize is willing to offer an extended demonstration if enough of the FSCJ community is interested. Here are some key features and points of interest for Harmonize:
Harmonize allows for multiple due dates in a single discussion. Instructors can assign a due date for the initial post, comments on other posts, and final posts, etc.
Harmonize is paired with Turnitin, so discussion board posts can indicate possible plagiarism.
Harmonize can award auto-completion points if students submit by the deadline (instructor can then adjust points if the content is poor, etc.)
Harmonize allows for video submissions that are also captioned with 95-98% accuracy.
Students get a notification whenever someone comments or reacts to their posts
Harmonize’s interface is designed to look much like what a student may see on social media and can include reaction buttons/emojis - (instructors can also switch to list view and modify if they do not like this feature)
Harmonize provides analytics on student participation and warning signs if a student seems to be getting off track.
Please check out the short video on Harmonize’s webpage for a demonstration.
It is worth noting that Canvas is working on providing some of these features in the near future: they are in process of incorporating Turnitin for discussion boards, but instructors will still not be able to set multiple due dates. More information about Canvas’ updates to the discussion board are coming soon.
Please contact EdTech@fscj.edu if you are interested in either participating or having our team research the possibility of a longer demonstration and/or trial run of Harmonize.