Designing and building sustainable Canvas courses and micro-credential programs .
I partner with institutions to translate academic and subject-matter expertise into clear, cohesive learning environments that are ready to launch — and easy to maintain — term after term.
Scope of Work
Over my career, I have seen expectations placed on teaching faculty and program leads expand steadily — often without corresponding reductions elsewhere. Teaching, research, administration, student support, and institutional initiatives increasingly compete for limited time and capacity.
The challenge is rarely a lack of expertise or commitment. More often, it is a lack of time and structural support to design and build courses well.
My work is shaped by this reality. I take responsibility for the instructional design and Canvas build so faculty, SMEs, and program teams can focus on the work only they can do.
Common challenges I help address include:
Courses that need thoughtful design
Moving beyond just content upload to courses with clear learning flow, purpose, and learner progression.
Expertise without available design capacity
Supporting faculty and SMEs who know their field deeply but do not have the time or bandwidth to design and build the course framework themselves.
Inconsistent learner experience across courses or programs
Helping programs establish cohesive, consistent, and clearly branded learning environments that feel intentional and professionally designed.
Compressed timelines with high expectations
Delivering courses and programs efficiently while meeting institutional standards and launch deadlines.
Courses intended to run beyond a single offering
Creating learning environments that can be easily updated, reused, and adapted over time—reducing ongoing workload for instructors and program teams.
Across these projects, my role is to take responsibility for the design and build work so academic and program teams are not carrying that burden alongside their existing responsibilities.
How We Work Together
I work at the intersection of instructional design, learning technology, and institutional practice—translating academic and subject-matter expertise into well-designed, well-built learning environments that can be sustained over time.
Collaboration is central to the process, but my role is to take ownership of the design and build work - not to add another layer of coordination for faculty or program teams.
At a high level, my approach involves:
Designing and building, not just advising
I take responsibility for both the design decisions and the course build, so ideas move efficiently from concept to implementation without being handed back and forth.Working within real institutional contexts
I understand and design within the context of post-secondary and continuing education environments, including corresponding timelines, governance, and competing priorities faculty and teams are working under.Creating clear, maintainable course structures
Courses are designed and built with consistency and future use in mind, so they can be updated, adapted and reused without unnecessary rework.Keeping the process collaborative and pragmatic
I work closely with faculty, SMEs, and program teams through clear communication, shared documentation, and steady progress—without requiring constant oversight.
The goal is always the same: to produce learning environments that are thoughtful, usable, and sustainable — for students, instructors, and the academic institutions.
Fees & Engagements
Engagements are scoped and priced as fixed-fee projects based on the type of work, complexity, timeline, and level of design and build required.
I work across a range of engagement types, from full course and micro-credential design and builds, to course refreshes, to program-level consistency work, and targeted instructional design or instructor Canvas support. Many current engagements involve supporting programs through Moodle-to-Canvas transitions. This work often includes course structure redesign, assessment and activity mapping, accessibility and sustainability improvements, and the development of Canvas-ready templates that instructors can easily maintain over time. Conversion projects are approached as design opportunities—using the transition to improve clarity, navigation, and learner experience rather than simply recreating existing courses in a new platform.
Each engagement is scoped to match program needs rather than forced into a one-size-fits-all package. Fees reflect the work involved in creating coherent, well-structured, and sustainable learning environments—not simply content upload or technical configuration.
Most projects fall within established ranges. Scope, timelines, and fees are discussed and confirmed during an initial discovery conversation to ensure clarity and alignment before work begins.
For reference, full, ground-up instructional design and build engagements typically begin in the low five-figure range, with smaller projects or support contracts scoped accordingly.
About Me
I’m Bryan Braul (MEd), an educational developer and instructional design consultant with over 26 years of experience working across post-secondary and continuing education contexts.
My work has involved designing and building credit courses, micro-credentials, and continuing education programs in close collaboration with faculty, subject-matter experts, and program teams across a wide range of disciplines. This experience has been shaped by long-term work inside institutional environments, where design decisions must align with academic standards, governance, timelines, and delivery realities.
My approach is grounded in research-informed practice and a strong focus on creating practical, student-centred learning environments that integrate cleanly into existing educational systems rather than sitting alongside them.
I bring a platform-agnostic instructional design perspective, fluency with Canvas, Moodle and other learning technologies, and a focus on building learning environments that are effective at launch and sustainable and adaptable over time.
My consulting work builds on — and extends — the design and development work I’ve done within the university setting, offering focused, hands-on support for teams that need courses designed and built as coherent, professional learning environments, delivered efficiently and with care
Colleague Feedback
I’ve worked with instructors, subject-matter experts, and program teams across many course and program development projects. Below are a few recent reflections from colleagues on our work together.
“Migrating and rebuilding my course in Canvas Dashboard last semester seemed daunting, on top of all the other preparations for the start of term. Bryan’s support and incredible expertise with this online platform hugely reduced my workload and resulted in an easily navigable, aesthetic and overall high quality final product, that I would never have achieved on my own. Not only was I extremely happy with the outcome, but my students commented that it was by far the best designed Canvas course site they experienced.”
Mary Beckie, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Alberta
“Working with Bryan made the course design process feel manageable rather than overwhelming. He understood our constraints and took responsibility for the build in a way that respected faculty time and expertise.”
Professor, University of Alberta
“Bryan brings a thoughtful, systems-level approach to course and program design. The courses he builds are not only effective at launch, but easy to maintain and adapt over time.”
Professor, University of Alberta
Contact
If you’re exploring the development of a new course, micro-credential, or full program build — or considering a refresh of existing courses — I’m happy to talk through your context and see whether it’s a good fit.
Initial conversations are informal and exploratory, with no expectation of a defined scope or commitment at this stage.
You can reach me at bryan@coursecraftconsulting.ca or use the contact form below.
If it’s helpful, feel free to share a bit about the type of course or program you’re working on, your timelines, or any challenges you’re navigating. You’re also welcome to reach out simply to connect or ask a question.