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Reading Lists in Canvas

Information supporting the use of the Reading List app in Canvas.

Why Reading Lists

Reading Lists are an interactive and collaborative way of managing course learning materials.

Teaching staff can:

  • Link students directly to learning materials
  • Ensure copyright compliance of learning materials
  • Get statistics on student usage
  • Collect and store readings, then add them to courses whenever you want
  • Easy to update and rollover lists each semester
  • Collaborate with others to create Reading Lists

Students can:

  • Easily find and access course learning materials
  • Access lists anywhere, any time, on any device
  • Gather resources into a personal repository directly from discovery systems, scholarly sources, publishers’ sites, online bookstores, and other websites
  • Provides functionality to ‘like’ readings and discuss them

Questions? Need help?

Best practice for Reading Lists

Apply best practices when creating or updating your Reading Lists to enhance your students' learning experience for your courses.

The following are some recommended tips from the Library.

Image: Copyright © 2023 RMIT University. Is provided under CC-BY-NC-4.0

  1. Length of the list - Too many readings will result in the list becoming slow to load and difficult to navigate. To optimise the student learning experience, a Reading List should have the appropriate number of weekly readings for the level of study. Consult the course rubric for guidance.
     
  2. Set importance - The significance of the resource should be indicated. Is it required reading? Is there an expectation that it will be discussed in a class setting? Is it to support an assessment?
     
  3. Improve navigation - A well-structured list will guide student learning. To help target and engage the reader the use of weekly topics or section headings is encouraged.
     
  4. Keep readings current - In curating a quality list of resources, they should be current, preferably no older than 5 years.
     
  5. Prefer electronic resources - Minimise print material on a Reading List to increase optimal access for students learning experience.

Copyright University of Queensland. Adapted from Best practice for reading lists. Reproduced with permission from University of Queensland.

What I love about Reading Lists

The following video shows RMIT University academic Cath Nolan from the College of Business & Law talk about Reading Lists.

Why I Use Reading Lists (2:23 min) by RMIT University Library (YouTube)