Canvas Support | Canvas Course Template | Curriculum Design Consult | Canvas Tasks - Start the Semester Right!

Overview

Welcome to UWM's resource to help you get started teaching with Canvas:

📌 If you're new to Canvas - Go through the topics on this page in order. This will introduce you to Canvas and then guide you in building your class.

📌 If you've used Canvas before - Feel free to skip around topics as needed.

1 Access Canvas 2 Account Setup 3 Locate Classes 4 Copy Course Content 5 Configure Course Settings 6 Create Syllabus 7 Set Up Gradebook 8 Organize Course 9 Add & Delete Content 10 Groups 11 Design for Accessibility & Inclusivity

1 - Access Canvas

Do the following to access Canvas, UWM's Learning Management System (LMS).

When Is Your UWM Account Activated?

Overview

Your access to UWM systems such as Canvas is driven by the HR hiring process and by the school/college process of assigning courses to instructors.

Written Procedures

When Your UWM Account Gets Activated

Information About your UWM Account

Tip - For information on how to activate a new instructor's digital identity, refer to the UWM Identity and Access Management website.

Log in to Canvas

Canvas Login Procedure

1. Open your browser and go to Canvas using one of the following methods:

Option 1: Open the UWM Canvas website directly (https://uwm.edu/canvas).
Option 2: visit the UWM website (https://uwm.edu). Click Faculty / Staff at the top of the page, and click Canvas.

2. Click the Log Into Canvas button.

3. When prompted, enter your UWM email address and your password.

4. Click the Login button to continue.

5. Authenticate using your multi factor authentication method.

Contact the UWM Help Desk if you receive an error message.

Tip - Get Canvas on your mobile device with the Canvas Teacher's App. Learn more about teaching with the Canvas Teacher's App.

Take a Canvas Tour - Where's Everything Located?

Overview

The following video takes you on a brief tour of Canvas to help you identify and locate Canvas functions and elements.

Important: At 02:31, the video refers to the Start a New Course button, and this button does not appear in UWM's instance of Canvas.

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2 - Set Up Your Canvas Account

Perform the following one-time setup tasks in Canvas to get the most out of the system:

Set Up Your Canvas Profile

Overview

Go to Account > Profile to edit your profile

Increase your online presence by updating your Canvas Profile with:

A profile picture
Your contact information, biography, and links to your websites and so on
Your preferred pronouns

Your Canvas Profile picture appears in:

Canvas Inbox messages
Announcements
Discussion posts
The People tab

Students can click your Profile to see additional information like contact information.

Tutorial Videos

Updating Your Canvas Profile

Configuring Canvas User Settings

Written Procedures

Tip - Use Adobe's free online image resizer and select Custom Size to change the dimensions of your picture.

Choose Which Notifications You Receive from Canvas & When You Receive Them

Overview

Select Account > Notifications to get to Notifications page from dashboard

Notifications are messages Canvas automatically sends to you when various events occur in your class.

Each teacher and student in Canvas sets up their own individual Notification Preferences to tell Canvas how and when they want to receive course Notifications. Teachers cannot set up Notification Preferences for their students.

Notifications can be sent via email or text message. You can also get alerts on your mobile device if you use the Canvas Teacher's App

Tutorial Videos

Select Which Notifications to Receive and When (Global setting that applies to all classes)
Turn Off Notifications or Select Which Notifications to Receive for an Individual Class (Optional - Overrides global Notification settings for a single class)

Written Procedures

Select Which Notification You Receive and When (Global setting that applies to all classes)
Turn Off Notifications or Select Which Notifications to Receive for an Individual Class (Optional - Overrides global Notification settings for a single class)
Receive Notifications via Text Message.

Tip - CC Yourself on Canvas Messages You Send through Canvas Inbox.

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3 - Locate Your Classes

Locate your upcoming classes and add them to your Canvas Dashboard for easy access.

Locate Your Canvas Classes & Arrange Your Dashboard

Overview

The Canvas Dashboard is the first page that appears when you log in to Canvas. The Dashboard contains convenient shortcuts to your Canvas classes. The Dashboard does not update automatically with each semester, so at the beginning of each semester you must locate your new courses and add them to your Dashboard.

Tutorial Video - Locate Courses and Select Courses to Appear on Dashboard

Written Procedures

Select Which Courses Appear on Your Dashboard

Tip - If you cannot locate your courses, refer to the Troubleshooting Guide: Locate Missing Courses document.

Learn When Canvas Courses Are Created

Read about Canvas course creation to learn when your courses will appear in Canvas each semester.

Overview

Blank courses for the new semester are automatically created in Canvas 60 days before the start date of the course (not the semester start date), and students and teachers are added to the class at that time.

Important: A newly-created Canvas class is immediately available to its instructors and TAs, but the class is not visible to students in Canvas until the instructor publishes the class.

After courses are created in Canvas each semester, you need to add the courses to your Dashboard in order to see the classes when you first log in to Canvas. Published classes you have added to the Dashboard appear at the top of your Dashboard, and unpublished classes you have added to the Dashboard are located at the bottom of the Dashboard.

unpublished course location.jpg

Written Procedures

If you cannot find a course, review Troubleshooting Guide: Missing Courses.

Tips - If your official Canvas course for the semester has not yet been created, you can ask for a blank sandbox course to be created for you to use to develop your course. The blank sandbox course is simply an empty course that does not contain students and is not connected to a semester. Once the official semester course is created in Canvas, you must copy your content from the sandbox course into your official semester course and then publish the course to make the content available to students. Click here to request a blank sandbox for course development purposes.

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4 - Copy Content from Past Courses (Optional)

Copy content into your current Canvas course from another Canvas course.

Copy & Import Course Content

Overview

Canvas allows instructors to copy some or all content from their past Canvas courses to import into their current semester's courses.

If you plan to make minimal changes to the course content such as changing assignment point values and adding and rearranging resources, you should copy all content from the past course.
If you are redesigning the course and making significant changes, it is recommended that you copy portions of the content you plan on using rather than copying the entire course. You can import small portions of content into your new course as many times as you like.

Tutorial Video - Copying Course Content, Updating Dates, & Validating Links

Written Procedures

Copy Content from Another Canvas Course Using the Import Tool

Tip - You can only copy content from courses where you are listed as an instructor. If you need to copy content from another instructor's course, the instructor must add you to their course in the Instructor role. If the instructor is no longer at UWM, have your department chair contact CETL cetl@uwm.edu to request that you be added to the past course as an instructor so you can copy course contents.

Check for Broken Links

Overview

Once you import content into your current class, it is a good practice to use the Validate Links tool to make sure the class does not contain broken links to content that no longer exists or cannot be accessed by your students. E.g., a link leads to a website that has been taken down, or a link leads to content that is located in a previous semester's Canvas class.

Tutorial Video - Validating Canvas Links

Written Procedures

How Do I Validate Links in a Course?

Tips - In the Link Validator results, a link with the Deleted tag means the broken link was directing students to content that has been deleted from the course. Links without tags are invalid or unresponsive links.

Changing Due Dates & Available Dates of Imported Content

Overview

When you import content from a previous semester, the imported content retains the past due dates and past available dates. While you could individually edit each assignment, quiz, and discussion to change their due dates, Canvas provides a way to change all your assignment, discussion, and quiz dates on a single page. Note that adding dates to assignments is not required.

Due At - This is the date and time by which students should submit work in Canvas. Students can still submit work to the assignment after the assignment's due date, but the student's submission will automatically be marked as late in the gradebook. Note that this is the date for the assignment that appears in the Canvas Syllabus.

Available From - This is the date and time the assignment opens to accept student submissions.

Available Until - This is the date and time the assignment locks and no longer accepts student submissions.

Tutorial Video - Changing Dates of All Assignments on One Page

Written Procedures

Change Assignment Available and Due Dates

Tip - When setting due/availability dates for an assignment, note that you can assign different due dates and availability dates to specific students, sections, and groups. E.g., If a student needs a deadline extension for an assignment, you can edit the assignment and add a different due/available date just for that specific student.

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5 - Configure Canvas Course Settings

Configure settings in your course to enhance your students' experience in the digital learning environment.

Adjust Course Settings

Overview

While it is not necessary to review every setting on your course's Settings page, it is a good practice to review and configure the settings listed under Settings > Course Details tab > More Options because these settings determine how students experience Discussions, Groups, Announcements, Grades, and more.

Tutorial Video - Configuring Canvas Course Settings

Written Procedures

In the left-hand course navigation area, go to Settings > Course Details tab > More Options. The following are our recommended settings:

Field	Recommended Setting
Number of Announcements Shown on Homepage	Choose whatever value you prefer.
Let Students Attach Files to Discussions	🗹 Checked
Let Students Create Discussion Topics	☐ Unchecked
Let Students Edit or Delete Their Own Discussion Replies	🗹 Checked
Let Students Organize Their Own Groups	☐ Unchecked
Hide Totals in Student Grades Summary	☐ Unchecked
Hide Grade Distribution Graphs from Students	🗹 Checked
Disable Comments on Announcements	🗹 Checked if you don't want students to reply to your announcements

Tip - When you copy course content from semester to semester, the course you import into will inherit the course settings of the copied course.

Upload Course Card Image

Overview

Instructors can upload a Canvas Course Card image to their Canvas course in order to help students easily identify the course. The Course Card image will appear on your students' Canvas Dashboards.

Tutorial Video - Uploading a Canvas Course Card Image

Written Procedures

Add Image to Course Card

Tip - The image you upload for your Course Card should be roughly 262 pixels wide by 146 pixels high.

Streamline Course Navigation

Overview

Create a clear path through your course for your students by streamlining the left-hand navigation. Instructors can hide elements in the course's left-hand course column from students in order to reduce student confusion and remove clutter in the course navigation. We recommended that you enable the following elements in navigation and disable (hide) the other navigation elements from students:

Announcements (Even when enabled, the eye slash icon appears next to Announcements until you post your first announcement to the class.)
Grades
People
Syllabus (Enable only if you plan to use the Canvas Syllabus Tool. Disable if you plan on uploading a syllabus file to a module instead.)
Collaborations (Enable only if you plan to create collaborative Office 365 documents in your Canvas class.)
Zoom
Search
Attendance (Enable only if you plan to use the Canvas Roll Call attendance-taking tool.)

Navigation items with the eye slash icon are hidden from students

Tutorial Video - Streamlining Course Navigation

Written Procedures

Adjust Which Links Students See in Canvas Course Navigation

Tips

If you plan to take attendance using the Canvas Roll Call feature, make sure to enable Attendance in course navigation, or you will not be able to use Canvas's attendance-taking tool.
You cannot make Files visible to students in course navigation. Instead, you must upload your files to the Files area and then post files to Modules, Pages, etc., rather than directing students to the Files area in course navigation.

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6 - Add a Syllabus to Canvas

Create a syllabus that welcomes students, sets expectations, and helps students understand what it takes to be successful in your course.

Locate UWM's Syllabus Statements

Overview

UWM's Secretary of the University provides a page containing syllabus links, policies, and statements that you should link to or add to your syllabus.

Tip - Consider linking to UWM's policies in your syllabus rather than copying and pasting the content. This method saves space and ensures that students see the most up-to-date policies.

Syllabus Statements and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Overview

UWM's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) also provides sample syllabus statements for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the classroom. Below are additional sample statements from other universities that you may find helpful:

Illinois State University, updated January 17, 2023
University of South Carolina (see Academic Integrity statement)

Both statements make it a point of wrapping the discussion of AI around academic integrity.

Tip - Review UWM's Secretary of the University's website for recent additions to syllabus statements and policies regarding AI.

Add Your Syllabus to Canvas

Overview

In Canvas, instructors can provide their syllabus to students in either of the following ways:

Method 1 - Upload a syllabus file (doc or pdf) to Canvas and insert the file in a module. Advantages of this method:
- You have control of what gets added to the syllabus and the order things are added.
- Students have a file they can print.

Syllabus file in module

Method 2 - Use the Canvas Syllabus tool to construct a syllabus directly in Canvas.
- Linked assignments, quizzes, and discussions with due dates are automatically added and linked in the Canvas Syllabus. They are listed chronologically by due date. Items without due dates are listed alphabetically. Note that you cannot change the order of how these elements appear in the Canvas Syllabus.

click Syllabus in course navigation to use Canvas syllabus tool

Tutorial Videos

Uploading a Syllabus File to a Module

Using the Canvas Syllabus Tool

Written Procedures

Uploading a Syllabus File to a Module

To add a new syllabus file - Upload the syllabus file to your course Files area using the Add Files feature, then add the file to a Module.
To update a syllabus file that is already in your Canvas class – Avoid adding a new syllabus file to your course every semester. Instead, replace the old syllabus in the Files area. With this method, the syllabus is updated everywhere it was linked in your Canvas course.

Using the Canvas Syllabus Tool

Tip - If you need to update your syllabus file, replace the old syllabus in the Files area. With this method, the syllabus is updated everywhere it was linked in your Canvas course.

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7 - Set Up Gradebook

Set up your Canvas Gradebook to keep students informed about their progress in your class.

Understanding Gradebook Setup

Overview

A key element of learning the Canvas Gradebook is understanding how your gradebook is connected to the Assignments page. Most of your Canvas Gradebook setup will be done on the Assignments page. The Assignments page controls the following:

What columns are created in your Gradebook
What columns are deleted from the Gradebook.
The default order of columns in your Gradebook.
What subtotal columns appear in your Gradebook (e.g. subtotal columns for Quizzes, Discussions, etc.)
Whether your Gradebook is weighted or unweighted.
Whether lowest or highest scores for certain types of assignments are dropped.

The following video explains the connection between the Assignments page and the Canvas gradebook.

Tutorial Video - Canvas Gradebook and the Assignments Page

Written Procedures

Understanding the Assignments Page

Tip - While all graded items (Assignments, Quizzes, and graded Discussions) reside on the Assignments page, Discussions you create in Canvas will not appear on the Assignments page until you edit the Discussion and check the Graded checkbox to make the Discussion a graded discussion.

Create Assignment Groups

Overview

All graded items (Assignments, Quizzes, and graded Discussions) reside on the Assignments page of your Canvas class. Each of these graded items on the Assignments page automatically creates a column in the Gradebook.

Assignment groups are categories on the Assignments page that contain and organize your assignments, quizzes, and graded discussions.

By default, Canvas puts all your Quizzes, graded Discussions, and Assignments into Assignment Groups labeled “Assignments” or "Imported Assignments." Rather than using these default Assignment Groups, we recommend that you create your own Assignment Groups based on your syllabus categories, using names such as Quizzes, Exams, Essays, Discussions, and so on.

Each Assignment Group automatically creates a subtotal column in the Gradebook. For example, if you organize your Quizzes into an Assignment Group that you title Weekly Quizzes, a Weekly Quizzes subtotal column automatically appears in the Gradebook.

Important - If you plan to use a weighted Gradebook, Canvas requires that you create one Assignment Group for each weighted category.

Tutorial Video - Adding, Editing, and Deleting Assignment Groups

Written Procedures

Adding Assignment Groups

Moving or Reorder Assignment Groups

Moving Assignments to Assignment Groups

Creating Drop Lowest/Highest Score Rules for Assignment Groups

Deleting an Assignment Group

Tips

Pay close attention to how items are ordered and grouped on the Assignments page because this determines how the Gradebook appears to you and your students:
- The way you order Assignments on the Assignments page determines the default order of columns in the Gradebook.
- The names you give to Assignment Groups appear as subtotal columns in the Gradebook.
Assignment Groups are required if you will be using a weighted Gradebook.

Determine if Gradebook Is Weighted or Unweighted

Overview

By default, your course Gradebook is unweighted. If you would like to use a weighted Gradebook, you can enable Weighted Gradebook on the Assignments page.

What Is an Unweighted Gradebook?

Unweighted Gradebooks are also called points-based Gradebooks. In an unweighted Gradebook, Canvas calculates final grades based solely on each Assignment's point value. Assignments with higher point values will have more impact on the final grade, and Assignments with lower point values will have less of an impact on the final grade. The Canvas Gradebook is unweighted by default.

What Is a Weighted Gradebook?

A weighted Gradebook organizes and calculates student grades based on the percentage value you assign to different Assignment Groups you create in your course. For example, if you create a Quizzes Assignment Group for your Quizzes and set the Assignment Group's weight to 25%, Canvas will calculate the average score of all of a student's Quizzes and will then make that score worth 25% of the student's overall course total. When setting up a weighted Gradebook, make sure that the weights you assign to your Assignment Groups total 100%.

Assign a percentage to each assignment group in weighted gradebook

How Do You Set Up a Weighted Gradebook?

On the Canvas Assignments page, you create Assignment Groups for different categories of Assignments such as Essays, Discussions, Quizzes, Exams, Projects, etc. Note that it is helpful to students to label each Assignment Group with the word "total" at the end (e.g., Quizzes Total) because each Assignment Group appears as a subtotal column in the Gradebook.
Once you create Assignment Groups, you add/move all your course's graded items (Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, etc.) into the Assignment Groups you created.
Next, you enable Weighted Gradebook on the Assignments page, and you assign a weight to each Assignment Group. An Assignment Group's weight is the percentage its Assignments will count toward the total course grade. The percentage you assign to each Assignment Group should total 100%.

Tutorial Video - Setting Up a Weighted Gradebook

Written Procedures

Weighting the Gradebook in Canvas

Tip - If you have a weighted Gradebook, it is important that all Assignments within a weighted Assignment Group have the same point value in order for Canvas weighted Gradebook calculations to work out correctly. If items in an Assignment Group have different point values, then the items in the Assignment Group will not have the same weight. For example: if an Assignment Group contains Quiz A - worth 10 points and Quiz B - worth 100 points, Quiz B will be worth ten times as much as Quiz A in Canvas’ calculations for the Assignment Group.

If you are not using a weighted Gradebook, having assignments with different point values in the same Assignment Group is fine and will not adversely affect Gradebook calculations.

Add Columns to Gradebook

Overview

When you add a graded item (Assignment, Quiz, or graded Discussion) to your course, it automatically adds a column to the Gradebook; however, if you need a column in the Gradebook where you can simply enter a score and students do not have to turn in anything, you can create a No Submission Assignment through the Assignments page.

Instructors create No Submission Assignments for things like awarding class participation scores, assigning grades for speeches, and more.

Tutorial Video - Adding a No-Submission Column to the Gradebook

Written Procedures

Do the following to add a column to the Gradebook where you can simply enter scores and students do not have to submit work to the Assignment:

Click Assignments in the left-hand navigation to go to the Assignments page.
Click the + Assignment button, and give the assignment a name and point value.
In the Submission Type field, select No Submission.
Add additional assignment details as necessary, and click Save and Publish.

This adds a column in the Gradebook and does not require students to submit work. Note that there is no need to add this Assignment to a Module because the purpose of creating this Assignment is just to add a column to your Gradebook.

Tip - You can enter scores for an Assignment through Speedgrader, or you can click a cell in the Gradebook and enter the score.

Determine when Students See Grades & Feedback for an Assignment

Overview

In Canvas Gradebook, you set a Grade Posting Policy for the course that determines when students will see their grades and feedback for Assignments. Posted grades are visible to students in your course. Hidden grades are visible to instructors and TA graders but not students.

Grade Posting Policy Options

Automatically Post Grades - As soon as an instructor grades a student's work in Canvas, the student can see their grades and feedback.
Manually Post Grades - Grades will be hidden from students until the instructor manually posts grades for an assignment (this publishes grades for a column in the gradebook).

Tutorial Video - Setting a Grade Posting Policy for Your Class

Written Procedures

Using Grade Posting Policies in a Course

Select a Grade Posting Policy for a Course

Select a Grade Posting Policy for an Individual Assignment (this overrides the Grade Posting Policy for the course)

Posting Hidden Grades for an Assignment

Student Grade Visibility Flowchart

Tip - You can override the course Grade Posting Policy for specific Assignments. For example, if you have your course Grade Posting Policy set to Manual, all Assignment grades will be hidden from students until you post the Assignment's grades to the class; however, if your class also has Quizzes that will be automatically graded by Canvas, you can change the Grade Posting setting for each Quiz to Automatic posting so that students see their Quiz scores immediately.

Late & Missing Work Policies

Overview

In the Canvas Gradebook, you can set policies that Canvas automatically applies to missing and late work.

Missing work - Work is considered missing when the due date has passed and work has not been submitted to the Assignment. You can set a Missing Submission policy that automatically applies a grade you specify to all missing submissions. Only submissions with a status of Missing will be affected by the Missing Submission policy. In the Gradebook, cells that are shaded red are missing submissions.

Late work - A submission is considered late when work was submitted to an assignment after the assignment's due date. You can set a Late Work policy in the Canvas Gradebook to automatically apply score deductions for work submitted after an Assignment's due date. In the Gradebook, cells that are shaded blue are late submissions.

Red cells indicate missing work, meaning due date has passed without work being submitted. Blue cells indicate work is late, meaning it was submitted after the due date.

Tutorial Video - Applying Late and Missing Policies

The beginning of this video explains how to apply Late and Missing Policies in the Canvas Gradebook.

Written Procedures

Set Late Submission Policies

Missing Submission Policies

Tip - Learn more about the meaning of Gradebook Icons and Colors before the semester starts.

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8 - Organize Course Content & Design Course Layout

The following is an overview of best practices in designing the look and feel of your course content in Canvas.

Recommendations for Organizing Course Content

Overview

Organizing the content of your course in a user-friendly manner allows students to easily locate resources and Assignments in Canvas. Consider incorporating the following best practices to make your class more user-friendly:

Course Element	Information & Best Practices	Example
Modules	Modules are collapsible containers you create on your Canvas course home page. Modules hold and organize course content & Assignments. Create a Module for each week, class session, or unit in your course.
Module Contents	Modules should contain everything students need for the week, unit, or session. You can add the following elements to Modules: Assignments Pages Files Links to websites Discussions Quizzes Text Headers
Text Headers	Text Headers are simply words you insert in a Module to help categorize or define the contents of the Module. Text Headers make your Modules easy for students to scan. Increase the indentation on items under Text Headers to make headers stand out.
Pages in Modules	Pages in Canvas are elements that can contain text, links, videos, images, files, and more. Use Pages in Canvas to streamline your homepage by moving the Module's readings (links, videos, text, and files) into a single Canvas Page titled Readings that appears as a link in the Module. Make content on pages easier to read and scan by: Chunking content into short paragraphs. Using bulleted lists. Using headings for different content on the page.

Tutorials & Procedures

Refer to the sections below on Creating Modules, Adding Text Headers to Modules, and Adding Pages.

Tip - Contact the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) if you would like help designing the look and feel of your Canvas class.

Creating Modules

Overview

Modules are virtual containers you can create on the front page of your Canvas class to organize course content for your students. We recommend creating one Module for each week, course meeting, or unit - whichever works best for your class. Once you have created a Module, you can add Assignments, Pages, links to websites, files you uploaded to the Files area, and more to the Module.

Publishing Modules and their items make them visible to students. A green check appears next to published items. Unpublished items are not visible to students and are indicated by a circle with slash icon . Note that you must publish a module in order for students to be able to view any of the items in the module.

Tutorial Videos

Written Procedures

Tip - Click the Student View button to view your course as a student to see what Modules and items students can and cannot see.

Adding Text Headers to Modules

Overview

Text Headers are short lines of text you can add directly to a Canvas Module. The Text Headers help structure Modules and provide context for other elements in your Modules.

Text headers separating other module elements

Tutorial Video

Text Headers and Indenting

Written Procedures

Add Text Headers to Your Modules

Tip -

To create a content hierarchy within a Module and to help students visually scan a Module, consider using the Increase Indent feature to indent items under a Text Header.

To indent an element, click the 3 dots to the right of an element & click increase indent

Creating Pages to Streamline Content

Overview

Pages in Canvas are elements that can contain text, links, videos, images, files, and more. After you create a Page, you can edit the Page to add content to it through the Rich Content Editor (RCE).

Why Use Pages?

If you have a large number of resources, your Modules can look cluttered, which can feel overwhelming to students.

Module is cluttered with too many resource links

You can use Pages in Canvas to streamline your homepage by moving the Module's resources (links, videos, text, and files) into a single Canvas Page that appears as a link in the Module.

Multiple readings and videos are moved into a single page in the module

You can embed videos on the Page, which makes your content more visually-engaging.

Readings & Videos page with links to readings and embedded videos

You can make the content on on your Canvas Pages easier to read and scan by:

Chunking content into short paragraphs.
Using bulleted lists.
Using headings for different topics on the page.

Tutorial Video - Creating Pages in Canvas

Written Procedures

What Are Pages?

Create Pages

Add Content to Pages with the Rich Content Editor (RCE)

Make Your Page Content Accessible in the RCE

Tip - Apply the RCE's paragraph styles to your headings because these formats are accessible and can be read by screen readers.

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9 - Deleting Existing Content & Adding New Content

Make changes to your course content using the following tutorials.

The Right Way to Delete Course Elements

Overview

Simply removing an item from a Module typically will not delete it from your class. Instead, do the following to delete an element from your course.

To Delete...	Follow these steps...
Graded items (Assignments, graded Discussions, and Quizzes)	Delete the graded item through the Assignments index page. If you simply remove the graded item from a Module, the item still exists on the Assignments page and in the Gradebook.
Ungraded Discussions	Delete the ungraded Discussion through the Discussions index page. If you simply remove the Discussion from a Module, the Discussion still exists on the Discussions index page.
Files	Delete from the Files area. If you simply remove the file from a Module, the File still exists in the Files area.
Pages	Delete from the Pages index page. If you simply remove the Page from a Module, the Page still exists in the Pages index page.
Text Header or external link in Module	In the Module, click the kebab to the right of the Text Header or External Link, and select Remove to permanently delete the text.
Module	To delete an entire Module, click the kebab on the right and then click Delete. Note that we recommend first deleting the contents of the Module using the procedures listed in this table.

Tutorial Video - Deleting Items in Canvas

Written Procedures

Remove an Item from a Module without Deleting the Item

Tip - If you accidentally delete an item, use the Undelete feature to retrieve it.

Working with Files - Uploading Files, Deleting, or Replacing Files.

Overview

To share files with your Canvas class as an instructor:

1. Start by uploading a file to the Files area of your course. Note that students do not have direct access to the Files area of the course.

2. To give students access to a file in the Files area, you can add a link to a file in a Module. You can also add a link to a file anywhere the Rich Content Editor (RCE) appears, such as Announcements, Pages, Assignments, Syllabus, Discussions, Quizzes, and so on.

Embedding PDF files in Pages

While you can only provide links to most file types, if you upload a .pdf file, you can embed the pdf file in a page anywhere the RCE appears (Announcements, Pages, Assignments, Syllabus, Discussions, Quizzes, etc.) as shown below.

open pdf file that is embedded in a Canvas page

Tutorial Videos

Uploading, Deleting, and Replacing Files in Canvas

Embedding a pdf File in a Canvas Page

Files - What Takes Up Space in Your Canvas Course?

Written Procedures

Uploading Files to Canvas

Adding File Links in Pages

Embedding a pdf File in a Page

Deleting Files

Updating and Replacing Files in Canvas

Adding Files to Canvas Modules

Course Size Limit & Maximum File Upload Size

Overview

Assignments in Canvas are a way for instructors to collect work from students and to assign grades and feedback to student work through Canvas SpeedGrader.

When you create an Assignment in Canvas, you set the following:

Assignment name & instructions to students
Assignment point value
How scores are displayed
What kind of submission is required from students
Number of submission attempts
If assignment is an individual or group assignment
Dates assignment opens, is due, and closes

Refer to the Canvas documentation for a full list of assignment settings and options.

Note that when you create an Assignment, Canvas automatically adds a column for the Assignment to the Gradebook.

Creating Assignments

There are two ways to add assignments to your Canvas class:

Add Assignment via the Assignments Page

Click + Assignment on the Assignments page to create the Assignment and configure the Assignment details.
Then add the Assignment to a Module by clicking + in the Module and selecting the Assignment.

Click + Assignment on Assignments page

Add Assignment via Module

In a Module, click + to create an Assignment. This adds the Assignment to the Assignments page and adds a link to the Assignment in the Module in one step.
Then click the Assignment, and click Edit to configure the Assignment's details.

Click + in the module

Assignment Submission Type Settings

Submission Type settings for an Assignment determine what kind of work students are required to submit to the Assignment. While there are a number of Assignment Submission Type settings and combinations you can choose, the most common Assignment configuration creates an Assignment in Canvas where students can upload and submit files.

To allow students to upload files to an Assignment, edit the Assignment and select the following Submission Type settings:

Submission Type - Online
File Uploads - checked
Restrict Upload File Types - Optionally, check and enter doc, pdf, docx to restrict student uploads to file types that Canvas allows you to preview and annotate in Speedgrader.

Submission Type is online with File Uploads checked

Tutorial Video - Assignments Overview

Written Procedures

Create Assignment

Add Assignment to Module

Edit Assignment Settings

Delete Assignment

Assignment Availability Dates & Due Dates

Overview

The Discussions tool in Canvas offers a flexible platform for instructors and students to participate in text and multimedia conversations with each other. The discussions are not held in realtime; instead, the discussions can take place at any time and from any location. Discussions can be used for students to build community, expand on ideas, engage in debates, reflect on course concepts, and more. Canvas Discussions allow students and instructors to enhance their discussions with images, files, audio, and video content. Canvas Discussions can be graded or ungraded. Note that files uploaded to graded Discussions do not count against your course size limit, but files uploaded to ungraded Discussions do count against your maximum course size of 2 GB.

Discussion Options

Canvas provides instructors with a variety of options to choose from in order to customize course Discussions. The following Discussion settings are the most standard configuration for Canvas Discussions. This configuration creates a graded Canvas Discussion where students can reply to each other.

In the Options section of Discussion settings, check Allow Threaded Replies and Graded to create a graded discussion where students can reply to each other.

Allow Threaded Replies - Checked - Enabling this setting allows students to reply back and forth to each other.

Graded - Checked - Enabling this setting makes the Discussion a graded discussion, which means you can assign points to the Discussion, grade the discussion in Speedgrader, and the Canvas will automatically create a column in the Gradebook for the graded Discussion. Graded Discussions are also automatically added to the Assignments index page.

This is a Group Discussion - Leave unchecked to create a Discussion where all students in the class can interact with each other. Only check this field if you created Groups in your Canvas class and want to restrict Discussion interactions to members of the same Canvas Group. For example, if you you check This is a Group Discussion, Canvas creates a separate version of the Discussion for each Group, so Group A members would have a separate Discussion from Group B.

Tutorial Video - Discussions Overview

Written Procedures

What Are Discussions?

Discussions Overview

Creating a Discussion for the Entire Class

Creating Group Discussions (Separate Discussions for Different Canvas Groups)

Threaded Discussions

Discussions Index Page (List of All Course Discussions)

Closing a Discussion for Comments

Grading Discussions in Canvas Speedgrader

Deleting a Discussion

Replying to a Discussion as an Instructor

Viewing and Sorting Discussion Replies as an Instructor

Subscribe to a Discussion

More About Discussions

4 Tips to Design an Engaging Discussion in Canvas

Tip - Students can record audio and video replies in Canvas Discussions. upload audio/video files to Discussions from a computer, and also upload audio/video files directly from their mobile devices to Canvas Discussions.

Working with Quizzes

Overview

In Canvas, instructors have two quizzing tools: Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes.

Important: CETL strongly recommends using Classic Quizzes rather than New Quizzes until further notice due to a number of technical and accessibility issues with New Quizzes.

Instructors can create Classic Quizzes to create online Quizzes and Surveys. There are four types of Classic Quizzes:

Graded Quiz - The most common type of Quiz. The Quiz awards points based on correct answers to questions in the Quiz.
Practice Quiz - A Quiz with correct/incorrect answers that students can use for practice. The student will see a Quiz score after taking the Quiz, but the grade does not appear in the Gradebook.
Graded Survey - A graded Survey rewards students with points for completing a Survey but grading is not based on right or wrong answers.
Ungraded Survey - An ungraded Survey obtains opinions or other information without providing a grade.

After you create a Classic Quiz in Canvas, you need to configure the Quiz settings to determine things like the type of Quiz and whether students see correct answers, and then you add Quiz questions to the Quiz. When students take the Quiz, you can use the Moderate function to grant students more time, more attempts, and so on,

Tutorial Video - Quizzes Overview

Written Procedures

Creating Quizzes and administering them to your students involves the following steps:

1. Create the Quiz - Go to the Quizzes page, Click + Quiz button, and create a Classic Quiz. This creates a Quiz shell that you will add questions to.

2. Edit the quiz details and settings - Choose settings that determine the type of Quiz, when students see answers, etc.

3. Add questions to the Quiz -Note that all Quiz questions except for Essay questions can be automatically graded by Canvas.

4. Publish the Quiz - Consider going to Student View to preview the Quiz and take the Quiz as a test student to make sure things are working correctly.

5. Set accommodations for the Quiz - Use Moderate Quiz to grant a student additional time or attempts.

5. Grade the Quiz - Once students have taken the Quiz, you can use Speedgrader to manually grade essay questions. Canvas grades the other Quiz question types automatically.

Tip - You can randomize Quiz questions by using Question Groups. You can insert questions into the Question Group in two ways: 1 - Insert Quiz questions directly into Question Groups in your Quiz. This method is easiest to set up, and the questions reside inside your Quiz. 2 - Another option for adding questions to Question Groups is to create Question Banks and insert the Question Bank into the Question Group in your Quiz. Question Banks exist outside your Quiz and are more challenging to set up and maintain, but the advantage of Question Banks is that they can be reused in multiple Quizzes.

Working with Pages

Refer to the section above on Pages

Adding Links to Websites

Overview

Use the Add External URL feature to add links to external websites to your Modules.

When adding an External URL to a Module, the dialog box includes an option to load the URL in a new browser tab. When this option is selected, Canvas will display the page to students outside of Canvas. If the External URL is part of a Module Requirement, Canvas will also register the progression so that the Module footer will appear and allow the student to advance to the next Module item.

When this option is not selected, the content is embedded in an iFrame for easy viewing. However, some sites have disabled embedding and require users to open the content in a new window. Users can open the link in a new window by right-clicking the link and selecting the option to view in a new window or tab.

Tutorial Video

Written Procedures

Add an External Link to a Module

Tip - Contact UWM's Library if you have questions about locating permalinks (persistent links) to resources available through the Library databases, such as journal articles, e-books, videos, and other resources.

Enabling Attendance Feature

Overview

Instructors can keep track of course attendance by taking attendance through the Roll Call Attendance tool in their Canvas class.

A student's attendance grade is determined by the number of days they have been present or arrived late, out of the total days for which the instructor has recorded attendance in the Roll Call Attendance tool. Instructors do not specify in advance which days they will take attendance or the number of days they will take attendance. Instead, the instructor simply takes attendance for a specific day in Roll Call Attendance, and Canvas updates the students' attendance grades on an on-going basis based on how many days of attendance have been taken so far. Note that marking a student as Present equals 100% for that date, marking a student Late equals 80%, and Absent equals 0% for that day.

The first time you take attendance, Canvas automatically creates an Assignment called Roll Call Attendance (with a default value of 100 points) on the Assignments page and adds a Roll Call Attendance column to the Gradebook. The Assignment will not appear until you have taken attendance for at least one student. Note that you can click the Roll Call Attendance assignment name in Gradebook and edit the assignment's point value.

Do not delete, rename, or unpublish the Roll Call Attendance Assignment to avoid calculation errors.

Using Roll Call Attendance

To use the Roll Call Attendance tool, instructors must do the following:

1. First enable the Attendance link in the course navigation.

2. Next, to adjust the Roll Call settings, such as the point value of the Attendance Assignment, Late Penalties, whether attendance counts toward the final grade, and so on, click Attendance in the left-hand navigation, click the gear tool, and click Roll Call Settings.

Click Attendance in the left hand navigation and then click Roll Call Settings and Reporting. Then click Roll Call Settings.

3. To take attendance, click Attendance in the course navigation, click the More icon for each student to mark a student as Present, Absent, Late, or Excused.

Tutorial Video

Written Procedures

What is the Roll Call Attendance Tool?

Enabling the Roll Call Navigation Link to Enable Roll Call Attendance in a Class

Adjusting Roll Call Attendance Settings

Taking Attendance with the Roll Call Attendance Tool

Running a Downloadable Attendance Report

Understanding the Roll Call Attendance Gradebook Column

Tip - The default value of the Attendance Assignment is 100 points, but you can change the Attendance point value to anything you want. You can also change the percentage value for Late Attendance from its default value of 80%.

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10 - Groups & Group Work

The Canvas Groups feature allows instructors to divide students into smaller subsets in order for students to collaborate on group projects, turn in group assignments, and participate in smaller Canvas Discussions.

Creating Groups in Canvas

Overview

When you create Groups in your class, Canvas prompts you to first create a Group Set which acts as a container for related Groups. For example, if you want students to work in groups on a presentation, you would create a Group Set with a name like "Group Presentation" and would then create individual Groups within the Group Set. After you create Groups, you can add students to the Groups automatically or manually. In addition, Instructors can allow students to choose their own groups.

Canvas automatically creates a Group Site in your class for each Group you create. The Group Site is like a mini version of the Canvas class and contains the Group's own Calendar, Discussion board, and Collaboration tools. Only students in the Group have permission to enter the Group Site and use the Group's collaborative tools. Instructors can navigate to each Group's Site through the People page.

Access Groups via the People page. Group Set tabs appear at top of screen. Click a group set tab to see its groups. Click kebab to the right of the group and select Visit Group Homepage to see group's mini Canvas site.

Group Assignments

Check an Assignment's This is a Group Assignment checkbox to turn the Assignment into a Group Assignment. Instructors can then choose whether they will assign a grade to each Group member individually or if they will assign a single grade to the entire Group. Note that when one member of a Group turns in work for the Group Assignment, Canvas makes it the submission for the entire Group.

Group Discussions

In a Discussion, check the This is a Group Discussion checkbox to create an identical Discussion for each Group. Students can only view their own Group's Discussion posts and can only participate in their own Group's Discussion.

Creating Groups

To create Groups in your Canvas course, do the following:

First create a Group Set. A Group Set acts as a container for related Groups. For example, if you want students to work in groups on a presentation, you would create a Group Set with a name like "Group Presentation."
Once you have created a Group Set, you can create Groups in the Group Set. For example in the "Group Presentation" Group Set, you could create "Bio 101-Group 1," "Bio 101-Group 2," "Bio 101-Group 3," and so on.
Next, you add students to the individual Groups.
Group work:

- To create a Group Assignment, edit an Assignment and check This is a Group Assignment, and select a Group Set.
- To create a Group Discussion, edit a Discussion and check This is a Group Discussion, and select a Group Set.

Tutorial Video - Groups Overview

Written Procedures

What Are Groups?

Creating a Group Set (Container for Groups)

Creating Groups

Adding Students to Groups

Allowing Students to Choose their Own Groups

Sending a Message to Group Members

Viewing Content & Student Activity in a Group

Overview

Instructors can create Assignments where Groups can submit work for grading. Instructors can choose whether they will assign a grade to each Group Member individually or if they will assign a single grade to the entire Group. Note that when one member of a Group turns in work for the Group Assignment, Canvas makes it the submission for the entire Group.

Creating Group Assignments

Once you create a Group Set and create Groups in the Group Set, you can create Group Assignments.
To create a Group Assignment, create a new Assignment or edit an existing Assignment and check This is a Group Assignment checkbox.
Do one of the following:
- To assign a grade to each Group member, check Assign Grades to Each Student Individually.
- To assign the same grade to every member of the Group, leave Assign Grades to Each Student Individually unchecked.
Select a Group Set in the Group Set dropdown field (the Group Set is the collection of Groups that will be associated with this Group Assignment).
Click Save.

On the Assignment's details page, check This is a Group Assignment

Written Procedures

What Are Groups?

Creating a Group Set (Container for Groups)

Creating Groups

Adding Students to Groups

Making a Group Assignment

Grading Group Assignments

Viewing Content & Student Activity in a Group

Overview

Instructors can divide students into Canvas Groups to give students an opportunity participate in smaller Canvas Discussions. Students can only view their own group's Discussion posts and can only participate in their own group's Discussion.

Creating Group Discussions

Once you create a Group Set and create Groups in the Group Set, you can create group discussions.
To create a Group Discussion, create a new Discussion or edit an existing Discussion and check This is a Group Discussion checkbox.
Select a Group Set in the Group Set dropdown field (the Group Set is the collection of groups that will be associated with this group Discussion).
To create a graded Group Discussion, make sure the Graded checkbox is checked.
Click Save.

Check Graded and This is a group discussion to make a graded group discussion

Tutorial Video

Written Procedures

What Are Groups?

Creating a Group Set (Container for Groups)

Creating Groups

Adding Students to Groups

Making Separate Discussions for Each Class Group

Viewing Content & Student Activity in a Group

11 - Design an Accessible & Inclusive Class

Do the following to design a Canvas course that welcomes all students and allows all students to access content and feel that they are part of the class. If you have a student who requires accommodations, contact UWM's Accessibility Resource Center (ARC).

Adding Accessible Text to Canvas

Overview

Watch the following video to learn about best practices in accessibility and design for text and images you add to Canvas in Pages, Announcements, Discussions, and more.

Tutorial Videos

Accessibility and Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE)

Alt Text for Images in Canvas

Applying Heading Formats in Canvas

UDL for Canvas Courses

Written Procedures

Contrast Checker for Determining if Colors Are Accessible

Alt Text Decision Tree for Help Writing Alt Text

Tip - If you have additional questions about accessibility in Canvas, contact UWM's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL).

UDOIT

Overview

UDOIT is a tool in Canvas that you can use to scan your courses to identify to help resolve accessibility issues in your class.

Tutorial Video

Written Procedures

Using UDOIT to Find Accessibility Issues

UDOIT Cloud Accessibility Tool website

Tip - UDOIT is designed to complement rather than to replace Canvas's native Accessibility Checker,.

Word, PowerPoint, & More

Overview

Remember to keep accessibility in mind when you create course materials like Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and Excel spreadsheets to upload to your Canvas class.

Written Procedures

Making Word Documents Accessible

Saving a Word Document as an Accessible PDF

Documentation Accessibility Standards

Making PowerPoints Accessible

Making Excel Accessible

Tip - Tips for Designing Accessible Word Documents, PowerPoints, and Email Communications.

Video Captions

Overview

Canvas Media Recorder and My Media (with Kaltura Capture) are the two video uploading and recording options that are available to instructors and their students in Canvas.

Canvas Media Recorder

The Canvas Media Recorder is a simple webcam/audio recorder that is built into the Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE). Note that the RCE appears when you are editing/entering text in Canvas Pages, Discussions, Quizzes, Assignments, Announcements, Syllabus, and so on.

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How does Canvas Media Recorder handle Captions?

Canvas does not caption videos uploaded or recorded through the Media Recorder in the RCE. To add captions to videos, Instructors must manually create the captions in an external tool and then upload the captions (VTT file) through the Media Recorder in the RCE.

My Media

My Media is a streaming server that is integrated with Canvas - it's a bit like Youtube for UWM videos. Instructors can upload large audio and video files to My Media. They can also use My Media's recorder, Kaltura Capture, to record video, audio, and screencasts. When you record video/audio with Kaltura Capture, the file is automatically saved in My Media.

You can access My Media by clicking your Canvas account and then clicking My Media.

access my media.jpg

How does My Media handle captions?

When you upload a video to My Media, machine-generated captions are automatically generated.
You can edit the machine-generated captions in My Media

Tutorial Video

(Coming soon)

Written Procedures

Captioning at UWM

Downloading Transcripts of My Media Videos

Tip - If you have a student in your class with documented captioning accommodations, the Accessibility Resources Center can provide assistance with captioning media.

Enabling Zoom Transcripts

Overview

Zoom can automatically transcribe the audio of a meeting in realtime. Additionally, if you record your Zoom meeting to the cloud, you can also enable audio transcriptions that will appear in the recording of your meeting.

Tutorial Video

(Coming soon)

Written Procedures

Enabling Zoom's Automated Captions (Live Transcriptions) for Meetings

Enabling/Disabling Audio Transcription for Zoom Cloud Recordings

Tip - Zoom has a number of recommendations for recording audio that will result in more accurate transcripts.

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