An evolving "How To" guide to building courses in Canvas

QUICK ACCESS TO THE OFFICIAL CANVAS SUPPORT GUIDES: Instructor Guide    /    Video Guide    /    Student Guide
​WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW TO DO IN CANVAS?
Topics are now organized alphabetically, to make it easier to search for help
Scroll down to the Trainings section to access past training sessions previously listed near the top of this page
Analytics
Assignments

Use the new Rich Content Editor when creating assignments

Create an assignment in which students create a video or audio response within Canvas
Think of this as a simple, built-in alternative to Flipgrid, with the advantage that it goes directly to SpeedGrader in Canvas.
Assorted Topics

Add another teacher, or substitute, to your Canvas course

Force Canvas to ​open a link in a new tab

Undo a mistake or accidental deletion
Building a Course for a New School Year or a New Semester

STEP 1: "Cross-listing" multiple sections of the same course

STEP 2: Removing the class period from the name of a "cross-listed" course

STEP 3: Import a Canvas course from a previous year

WHEN YOU DO THIS, it is very important to remove the old due dates and times from the previous course, so that students don't have tons of old assignments flooding their "To Do" lists and confusing them.

STEP 4 (TuHS only): Double check that grade settings in Canvas are correct 

STEP 5: Set up your Canvas course to send grades to Synergy

ONE. FINAL. STEP. (to complete Passback): "Final Grade Config" in Synergy
Collaborations
Discussions
Files

Understand the Files feature

Create folders within "Files"
Getting Started with Canvas

To get started quickly with the core basics
 "Set Up Your Canvas Course in 30 Minutes or Less"
Google Docs Integration

Using Google Assignments LTI 1.3 ("external tool")

Updating Older Assignments from Google Drive Cloud Assignment to Google Assignments LTI 1.3

Embed a Google Slides show directly into Canvas
Google Meet

Embed a Google Meet link in Canvas
  • SLIDES TEMPLATE (Click "Make a copy" in Google Slides before making any edits): Breakout Rooms
Grading

Set up my grade book

  • To see students' "Total" grades at the front of the gradebook, scroll all the way to the right until you get to the end of the gradebook and you see the column titled "Total." Click the magic 3 dots to the right of the word "Total" and then select "Move to front."
  • To arrange assignments so that the most recent ones come first and the oldest ones appear last (in order to minimize scrolling): Click "Grades" to go to the Gradebook > Click "View" (it is the 2nd option listed in the upper left corner) > Click "Arrange By" from the dropdown menu > Select "Due date: Newest to oldest."

Create a custom grade scale (or set the grade scale in a new course)

Modify final grade categories and set the weight of different assignment group categories 

Grade student work in Canvas using "SpeedGrader"

Grade using Google Assignments LTI
​ 

Make sure grades show up in Canvas 
Groups

Create student groups within a class
  • Official Guide: Groups Overview for Instructors
  • NOTE: In the "Grades" tab, you can change the View to see your course arranged by its different sections (which could be helpful during grading or when updating attendance based on student online activity): Click "Grades" > Click the drop down menu to the left of the Search box (it may say "All students") > Select the specific course section you want from the drop down menu).

Assign a group assignment
​with the option to grade students individually or to give the entire group the same grade
Home Page Design

Make a home page for my class

NOTE: This linked tutorial video is purely optional; it is best for more advanced users who are interested in such ideas - feel NO pressure to do this; if it is too much, move along and don't feel the least bit bad about it.
Incomplete: Providing Access to a Prior Course for Students with an "I"
Mastery Path
Modules
Organize Your Course

Understand course organization: "Modules" vs. "Pages"
  • Module:
    • ​A virtual bucket for items (assignments, quizzes, pages); you can think of it as a unit
    • Module items can be set up to be made viewable and available to students based on different criteria (date, previous assignment completion, etc.)
  • Pages
    • ​These are most similar to a web page
    • A page must be edited manually and can not be made available based on completion criteria

Structure my course for consistency
1. THE BASICS ABOUT COURSE CREATION:
2. TO STRUCTURE COURSES CONSISTENTLY TO REDUCE STUDENT FRICTION ACROSS CLASSES:
Pages

Create a "Page" for my class
Publish

How to publish your course
Quizzes (New and Classic)

Use the "New Quizzes" feature
Rubrics

Create a rubric for an assessment

Important note: IF you are creating an assignment for which you will use an External Tool (such as Google Assignments LTI, Google Drive Cloud Assignment or Turnitin.com) and that you want to use a rubric for, you MUST "+Add Rubric" BEFORE you add the External Tool on the "Edit" assignment page.
Settings

Manage "Course Settings" in Canvas
Share Lessons

Share lessons with colleagues:
Commons VS. "Send to . . ."
​USING CANVAS COMMONS
USING THE "SEND TO . . ." FUNCTION
Synergy Passback / Sync to SIS
Tips & Tricks

"Ditch That Textbook"
20+ Tips for Using Canvas
Trainings

Official Training from Canvas (2021)
  • CANVAS TRAINING (with Cory Chitwood, from Canvas): Jan 13

Teaching & Learning Trainings (Sept 2020)
  • T&L PD SLIDE DECK LINKS (8/31 - 9/8/2020):    Day 1     Day 2     Day 3     Day 4 ​

Crecky D Q&A Sessions (2020)
Turnitin.com Integration

Create an integrated Turnitin assignment or assessment inside Canvas