11 Using Canvas
Introduction to Using Canvas
Canvas is a robust learning management system (LMS) designed to streamline and enhance the online learning experience. This chapter will guide you through some of the most important features of Canvas, helping you effectively organize and deliver your course content, facilitate communication with students, and manage assessments. Whether you are new to Canvas or looking to refine your skills, this chapter will provide the foundational knowledge and practical tips to leverage Canvas for an engaging and efficient online learning environment.
Dashboard, Menu, and Settings
Canvas is a fully-featured learning management system (LMS) with various tools and functions. Since there is such a breadth of tools, navigating it can feel somewhat overwhelming at first. Let’s begin by exploring the Canvas dashboard, course navigation menu, and settings.
Modules and Pages
One major benefit of teaching online using a Learning Management System (LMS), such as Canvas, is that asynchronous content and activities can be presented in structured manner. This helps guide the students through the learning activities. In Canvas, this is done by using Modules and Pages.
Modules
Modules are a versatile tool that allow instructors to organize course content effectively. Here are some of the key features:
- Organizational Structure: Modules can be used to organize course content by weeks, units, or other structures, creating a one-directional linear flow for student activities.
- Content Variety: Each module can contain pages, files, discussions, assignments, quizzes, and other learning materials.
- Drag and Drop: Modules and their elements can be easily organized using a drag-and-drop feature.
- Student Experience: Students only see module content that has been published and assigned to the. Modules can be expanded or collapsed for easier navigation.
These features make Modules an essential tool for structuring a course in a way that is both accessible for students and manageable for instructors.
Pages
Pages are flexible digital canvases for educational content. Here are some of the key features:
- Content Hosting: Pages can include text, videos, and links to files and other course content.
- Portable: Instructors can create, edit, and manage pages, duplicate them, or even copy them to other courses.
- Interlinking: Pages can be linked to other pages within the course, creating a network of related information.
These features make Pages a powerful tool for organizing and presenting course materials in a structured way that adds contextual information to learning materials and activities. Whenever you want to add a file, link, or video to a module, consider creating a new page instead so you can add contextual details for students that helps them answer the question: why am I watching or reading this?
Watch this video for an overview of the essential-to-know information for using Modules and Pages within Canvas.
Discussions, Assignments, and Quizzes
Common tools used within online courses are discussions, assignments, and quizzes. Every online course will use one of these features, where many will use two or all three. These tools allow students to practice and for teachers to assess student learning, understanding, and progress. All three of these tools are built into Canvas and have various options and settings.
Discussions
A common and powerful tool used in many online courses is the discussion forum. They are prevalent in asynchronous courses, which are courses where students can access course materials, like lectures and assignments, on their schedule without real-time interactions with teachers or peers.
In online courses, discussions are like group chats where students and teachers share ideas and help each other understand the topics better. It’s a way for everyone to talk about the topics and concepts, ask questions, and learn from each other.
Watch this video for an overview of the essential-to-know information for Canvas Discussions.
Assignments
The Assignments tool in Canvas is typically used for students to submit evidence of their learning, such as written reports, essays, slideshows, and so on. The tool has a variety of features designed to enhance the learning and teaching experience:
- Assignment Submission Types: Online submissions like file uploads, images, text entry, URLs, etc.
- Visibility: Assignments automatically appear in other parts of the course including the Grades, Calendar, and Syllabus sections for easy access. They can also be added within Modules for a structured learning path.
- Differentiation: Assignments can be assigned to everyone, or tailored for specific groups or individual users. An example of this would be to have offer different assignment options or due dates to different students or groups.
- Grading: Facilitates efficient grading through SpeedGrader and supports a peer review process.
These features aim to provide flexibility for instructors and students.
Watch this video for an overview of the essential-to-know information for Canvas Assignments.
Quizzes
Canvas New Quizzes is a quiz engine that offers a range of features to enhance the assessment experience. Here’s an overview of its main features:
- Quiz Creation: Instructors can create quizzes with various question types and settings. Many questions types can be graded automatically.
- Assignment Integration: Quizzes appear as assignments on the Assignments page and can be duplicated for repeated use.
- Accommodations: Instructors have the ability to moderate student attempts and set accommodations for specific students
Watch this video for an overview of the essential-to-know information for Canvas New Quizzes.
SpeedGrader and Grades
When teaching online, it is helpful to use the assessment tools built into Canvas. When students submit an assignment, a quiz, or a graded discussion, the submissions are automatically connected to each individual student and a grade book within Canvas. If you can become fluent in using these tools, it can make your assessment and grading quite efficient.
SpeedGrader
Canvas SpeedGrader aims to streamline the grading and feedback process for instructors. Here’s a brief overview of its capabilities:
- Common Grading Interface: SpeedGrader provides a unified interface for grading assignments, quizzes, and discussions.
- Efficient Evaluation: It allows for quick evaluation of individual student assignments and group assignments.
- Annotation Tools: Instructors can annotate and provide feedback directly on student submissions (e.g., Word documents, PDFs).
- Rubric Integration: If a rubric is used, instructors can fill it out within SpeedGrader to assign grades.
- Gradebook Connection: Grades assigned in SpeedGrader automatically appear in Grades.
Overall, SpeedGrader enhances the grading experience as it is efficient and well-integrated with various Canvas tools.
Watch this video for an overview of the essential-to-know information for SpeedGrader.
Grades
The Canvas Gradebook, or simply Grades, is designed to make grading easier and more organized for instructors. When used well, it can eliminate the need to organize and calculate grades in an external spreadsheet. Here are some of its features:
- Grades: Can be shown as points, percentages, letters, etc.
- Sorting: Instructors can sort by name, date, etc.
- Posting: Instructors can choose to post grades automatically or after all students have been assessed.
- Search: Find students by name if you want to focus on one student.
- Calculating: Canvas can calculate overall course grades by using Assignment Groups and weighting.
Overall, it’s designed to make grading easier and more organized for teachers.
Watch this video for an overview of the essential-to-know information for Canvas Grades.
People, Groups, and Notifications
People, groups, and notifications are not things you will think of a lot when using Canvas, but it is very helpful to have an understanding of their options and how to use them to improve your online teaching experience.
People and Groups
The People menu item is where you go to add others to your course, such as a teaching assistant or co-instructor. Your students are automatically enrolled, but individuals in these others roles often need to be added manually. In this same area, you create student groups, which is necessary for enabling group discussions and group assignment submissions.
Watch this video for an overview of the essential-to-know information for People and Groups.
Notifications
When teaching online, you do not need to be always checking your Canvas course for updates. Instead, you can set notification settings that allow you to receive email notifications in your preferred email inbox or receive push notifications on mobile devices with the Canvas Teacher AppLinks to an external site. installed.
Watch this video for an overview of the essential-to-know information for Canvas Notifications.
Announcements
We recommend using the Announcements tool in Canvas as your primary method for full-class communication. This tool is ideal for sharing regular updates, such as weekly overviews, that apply to everyone in the course. Depending on their notification settings, students can receive these announcements in various ways.
Announcements allow you to communicate with students, but how do students reach out to you? When teaching online, you don’t need to constantly monitor your Canvas course for student messages. Instead, you can adjust your notification settings to receive email updates directly in your preferred inbox or receive push notifications on your mobile device if you have the Canvas Teacher App installed.
For a comprehensive overview of Canvas Notifications, watch this video below.
Video Tools: Panopto and Zoom
When teaching online, it is helpful to engage students using multiple modalities (e.g., written text, audio, video, live sessions, etc.). In order to incorporate video into course, there are two main tools to use: Panopto and Zoom.
The primary value of Panopto is in capturing and sharing content and demonstrations so students can learn new information, review material already learned, and access content at a personally selected time. Panopto can record your microphone, screen, and/or your webcam. In online courses, Panopto videos are often used to present content, as well as a tool to share updates and instructions.
Zoom can be used to schedule synchronous online classes, office hours, and team meetings. Participants can join from anywhere and engage in live conversation. Zoom offers several teaching functions, such as breakout rooms, chat, whiteboard, polling, and screen sharing.
Watch this video for an overview of the essential-to-know information for using Panopto and Zoom within Canvas.
Further Training Materials
If you want to learn more about the specific settings and features, we recommend also enrolling in Canvas Training for Instructors (self-guided course) from USask ICT Training and Development.