Honoring Instructor Excellence in Canvas
Canvas Hall of Fame
The Northwestern Canvas Hall of Fame is an annual award established to honor instructors who go above and beyond to create engaging learning experiences for their students using the Canvas Learning Management System. Each year, winners are announced and awarded during the spring quarter. Nominations for the Hall of Fame come entirely from students in one of three categories:
- Most Innovative Course Site: This award is given to the instructor who best exhibited an innovative approach to the delivery of their course in Canvas. This open category allows students to identify what they find innovative in Canvas.
- Best Use of Video: This award recognizes faculty who use Zoom or Panopto to deliver or supplement lecture content in an engaging and, where possible, interactive way.
- Community and Accessibility: This award honors faculty who have successfully integrated the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility into their Canvas site.
Read on for information on past inductees of the Canvas Hall of Fame.
Most Innovative Course Site
2026
Serious Play: From the Sandbox to the Stage
Roxane Heinze-Bradshaw and Elizabeth Norton
Associate Professor of Instruction and Associate Professor, School of Communication
This is a very interactive Canvas page, highlighting the main themes of the class in a fun and interactive way. The instructors use videos and articles in an excellent manner to foster curiosity towards the course topics.”
COURSE HIGHLIGHTS NOTED BY THE SELECTION COMMITTEE:
- Content presented with narrative context in pages to give students guided path through course content. Obvious care was paid to the student experience of navigating through the course, which is especially important for first-year students.
- Fun nature of course content reflected in Canvas course design.
- Incorporated student responses and feedback into subsequent lessons.
Best Use of Video
2026
Classical Mechanics
Alexander Tchekhovskoy
Associate Professor, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences
This course was exceptionally effective because the instructor structured it so that most of the conceptual material was covered through high-quality videos recorded outside of lecture time. This approach freed up class sessions for what is often the most challenging part of physics (solving problems) allowing students to actively work through examples with guidance and feedback. The videos themselves were far more engaging and clear than any textbook explanation.”
COURSE HIGHLIGHTS NOTED BY THE SELECTION COMMITTEE:
- Videos made using a lightboard to allow students to see the thinking process of the instructor.
- Videos presented in 10–15-minute chunks.
- Flipped classroom model is highly valued by his students.
- Videos embedded in quizzes to allow comprehension check questions at the end of the videos that are easily visible to the instructor in Canvas.
Community and Accessibility
2026
Global Health and Bioethics
Beatriz Reyes
Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies; Associate Professor of Instruction, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences
Professor Reyes fosters a strong sense of community through discussion boards and reflections that encourage empathy, cultural awareness, and ethical reasoning. The course’s layout, clarity, and welcoming tone make it both intellectually rigorous and approachable for all learners.”
COURSE HIGHLIGHTS NOTED BY THE SELECTION COMMITTEE:
- Warm and welcoming language throughout the course, clear expectations for students.
- Clear, thorough generative AI use policy in the course syllabus, including acceptable and unacceptable uses of generative AI for the course.
- Mid-quarter feedback survey and in-class discussion of feedback with adjustments made to course based on student feedback.
Past Winners 2025
MOST INNOVATIVE COURSE SITE
Fundamentals of Computer Programming
Yiji Zhang
Assistant Professor of Instruction, McCormick School of Engineering
"Many CS courses have a lot of resources on their Canvas course site: homework assignments, office hour schedule, class recordings etc. Prof. Yiji organizes her canvas site in a way that makes everything easy to find. The links on top of the page on the home page makes it easy to see a whole course overview. Furthermore, she highlights her support as a mentor and openness to feedback at the bottom of the home page, making it easily accessible.”
WHAT THE SELECTION COMMITTEE SAID: “The consistency of the content, with repeating weekly structures and clear guidelines, help students know exactly what to do and when. The tools used in the course are well integrated into the Canvas site and the course pages are all attractively designed. The early and late token system for assignment submissions gives students control in managing their coursework.”
BEST USE OF VIDEO
Principles of Orthotic and Prosthetic Practice
Mindy Thorpe
Assistant Professor, Feinberg School of Medicine
The lecture videos for this course are very interactive and offer a new way of learning. [Some] lectures incorporate Panopto quizzes which are accounted for in an assignment grade. This method of learning holds students accountable for watching lectures, while allowing the professor to view a student's progress.”
WHAT THE SELECTION COMMITTEE SAID: “The combination of instructor-created videos, videos from other program instructors, and relevant videos from external sources combined to make an effective remote teaching environment. The use of Panopto quizzes and other reflection prompts in the videos guided students to assess their own learning. The videos were well made with good instructor presence to keep students engaged."
COMMUNITY AND ACCESSIBILITY
Introduction to International Relations
Danielle Gilbert
Assistant Professor, Faculty Associate, Institute for Policy Research
"Prof. Gilbert incorporated a variety of supplemental readings that contextualized ...the textbook. Many such readings, like ones from Enloe, Cohn and W.E.B. DuBois provided critical re-evaluations of the prevailing narratives in IR. Not only did this provide a clearer picture of the world of IR ..., it truly interested me in the content on a much deeper level. Prof. Gilbert didn't just succeed at depicting IR through the lenses of the many people who REALLY create history, but making it more engaging and special of a classroom experience.”
WHAT THE SELECTION COMMITTEE SAID: “Professor Gilbert's warm, welcoming presence in her course site invited all students to engage deeply with the course content. Her use of active learning practices and student engagement through in-class polling reinforced learning. Furthermore, the course project demonstrates Universal Design for Learning principles by giving students options for how to best show their knowledge.”
Past Winners 2024
MOST INNOVATIVE COURSE SITE
Fundamentals of Computer Programming I
Connor Bain
Assistant Professor of Instruction, McCormick School of Engineering
Computer science is a difficult class to teach, let alone when one is instructing 500+ students. However, Professor Bain's Fundamentals of Computer Programming Canvas site is innovative, accessible, and comprehensive for all students, allowing us to focus on learning and not navigating a website.”
WHAT THE SELECTION COMMITTEE SAID: “This course demonstrates excellent course design and integration of various tools to enhance learning, particularly in the math and coding fields. Numerous nominations highlight the impact of their well-crafted course site. Students praised the organized homepage and well-designed rubrics in assignments, promoting clarity and consistency in learning. Skillfully integrating Canvas with associated tools further enhances the learning experience.”
BEST USE OF VIDEO
Finance I
Erez Levy
Visiting Associate Professor of Finance, Kellogg School of Management
Professor Levy goes above and beyond to upload videos on Canvas explaining various finance concepts. He also uses these videos to provide a step-by-step solution to homework assignments. This is extremely helpful, especially for students who are new to finance and for those who miss a class. No one feels left behind by this innovative approach to making course materials available for visual learners, auditory learners, and those who learn best by doing.”
WHAT THE SELECTION COMMITTEE SAID: “The instructor enhanced the student learning experience by using video solutions for problem sets with step-by-step explanations. The videos have been embedded into Canvas and categorized into modules, making them informative and readily available. The videos created by the professor provided invaluable support to students, especially those who are new to finance. The detailed walkthroughs of practice problems go above and beyond typical instructional methods, demonstrating a commitment to student success."
COMMUNITY AND ACCESSIBILITY
Earth - A Habitable Planet
Rosemary Bush
Assistant Professor of Instruction and Weinberg College Adviser, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences
I really loved this course a lot, and I think the Canvas page mirrored some things I loved so well: it’s very organized and easy to follow, and also it allows you to go above and beyond if you’re passionate about the week’s subject.”
WHAT THE SELECTION COMMITTEE SAID: “With an impressive Pope Tech score and completion of the Mission: Accessible challenge, the instructor’s commitment to digital accessibility is commendable. The course incorporates Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, offering multiple means of representation to ensure that content is accessible to all learners.
The instructor’s proactive approach is evident in how they break down weekly tasks and provide clear guidance. By offering class readings primarily in digital formats and including resources in various formats, they cater to differing learning preferences. Utilizing Quizlet as the primary means of quizzing enhances engagement and reinforces learning objectives.”