starting the semester right

Canvas Tasks to Start the Semester Right!

Do the following to start the semester off right for you and your students.

Review Your Course as a Test Student

Overview

It's important to see how your course looks to your students, and clicking the Student View button allows you to view and interact with your course as the Canvas Test Student. Try navigating your course, accessing resources, submitting assignments, and taking quizzes in Student View. Viewing your course as a Test Student is especially useful in verifying what elements of the course are hidden from students and which are published.

When you click Student View, a row in the Gradebook appears with the name “Test Student.” This allows you to award grades and give feedback to the Test Student as you would any other member of the class.

You can click the Reset Student button to reset the Test Student data at any time. This will clear the Test Student's assignment submissions, grades, quiz attempts, and more. Note that it will not remove Discussion posts made as the Test Student.

In Student View, click the Reset Student button to erase all the Test Student's activity such as Assignment submissions, Quiz attempts, etc. Note that this will not remove Test Student interactions in Discussions. Reset Student is helpful when you want to do something like take a Quiz again as the Test Student when the Quiz only allows a single attempt.

Tutorial Video

(Coming soon)

Written Procedures

Using Student View in Canvas

Resetting the Test Student

Tip - A great way to practice grading with SpeedGrader and working with the Gradebook is to upload an Assignment submission in Student View, and then leave Student View and "grade" the Test Student's work in SpeedGrader.

When to Publish Your Class to Students

Overview

You give students access to your course by clicking the Publish button to publish the course. Students will not see your course on their Dashboard if the course is not published, so it is a best practice to publish your class well before the semester starts to alleviate student anxiety about not being able to see your course in Canvas.

Tutorial Video

(Coming soon)

Written Procedures

How Do I Publish a Course?

Tip - Remember that when your course is published, you can still keep students from viewing course elements by leaving Modules or individual course items such as Assignments unpublished.

Grant TA Grading Privileges

Overview

When TAs are added to your Canvas course automatically through PAWs, you need to grant your TA grading privileges if you want them to be able to grade student work in Canvas. Your TA will then be listed on the People page as having two roles: TA and TA Grader, and Canvas will grant the TA the permissions of the higher role (TA Grader).

If your TA is not in your Canvas class roster, you can manually add the TA to the People page in the TA Grader role.

Tutorial Video

(Coming soon)

Written Procedures

Granting TAs Grading Privileges

Add a TA to Your Canvas Course (in TA Grader Role)

Tip - Never add your TA to the course in the Teacher role.

Check course roster

Overview

The People page in Canvas displays all the students and teachers in your class. Students who are enrolled in your course in PAWS are automatically added to your Canvas student roster. Note that once a student registers for a class in PAWS, it takes a number of hours for the student to be added to the class in Canvas. Refer to the CETL documentation for more information on when students are added to Canvas.

Tutorial Video - People Page Overview

Written Procedures

Using the People Page in Canvas

Tip - When a student is dropped from a course in Canvas, their status on the People page will change to "Inactive." This means that while the student still appears on the People page, they no longer have access to the course materials or Discussions. Inactive students cannot submit Assignments or participate in any course activities. However, their past submissions and grades will still be visible in the Gradebook.

Send a Welcome Message

Overview

It is important to communicate with your class before the semester starts to welcome and orient students and to set expectations. Your options for sending messages to students vary depending on whether your Canvas class is published:

If the class is Published:
- Instructors can post Announcements in their Canvas class. This will also send an email notification to students.
- Instructors can send messages to the class with the Canvas Inbox.
If the class is Unpublished:
- Instructors can email their students through PAWS.

Tutorial Video - Announcements Overview

Written Procedures

Sending Canvas Announcements

Sending Messages Through the Canvas Inbox

Tip - Check the top right of your class to determine if the class is Published or Unpublished.

Establish Online Presence & Community

Overview

Instructor presence involves an instructor's active engagement, communication, and facilitation of the online course. Your active participation in your class can help build a sense of community, establish a rapport with your students, and set a positive tone for the course.

Things to do in Canvas to Establish Online Presence & Community

By implementing these strategies in Canvas, you can establish a strong online presence, build a sense of community, and create a supportive learning environment that enhances student engagement and success in your class.

Send a Welcome Announcement: Send out a warm and welcoming Announcement at the beginning of the semester. Introduce yourself, share your teaching philosophy, and express your enthusiasm for the course. This sets a positive tone and makes students feel more connected to the instructor from the start.

Create a Welcome Discussion: Set up a Canvas Discussion where students can introduce themselves. Encourage them to share their interests, academic goals, and any relevant background information. Respond to each student's introduction to show that you are actively engaged and interested in getting to know them.

Create a Student Questions & Answers Discussion: Create a Discussion area at the top of your class where students can post questions about class technology, Assignments, etc., to the class. Make sure to reply to the questions in a timely manner, and also encourage other students to answer questions posted in the Discussion.

Personalize Communication: Address students by their names in your interactions. This simple act can make the online environment feel more personal and supportive.

Participate Actively in Discussions: Engage in Discussions regularly, pose thought-provoking questions, and encourage student participation. Acknowledge their contributions, provide feedback, and facilitate conversations between students to foster a sense of community. Periodically summarize and reflect on the main points discussed in the online Discussions. This demonstrates that you value student contributions and are actively engaged in the learning process.

Hold Virtual Office Hours with Zoom - This provides an opportunity for students to have one-on-one interactions with you, seek clarification on course content, and build a stronger connection.

Provide Timely and Constructive Feedback with SpeedGrader: Regularly review and provide feedback on Assignments, Quizzes, and other assessments. Prompt feedback demonstrates your active involvement in their learning progress and helps students stay on track.

Record weekly video announcements with the Canvas Media Recorder: Help orient your students to the week and make your course more engaging by recording a short video each week. The following is an example of what your video could cover:

Start by giving students encouragement and reminders.
Briefly talk about the previous week
Discuss details of this week's assignments and give answers to questions about the assignments that students have asked in the past.

Send Reminders and Updates Through the Canvas Inbox or Announcements: Send out timely reminders about upcoming Assignments, Quizzes, and important dates. Regularly update the course content based on current events or relevant developments in the field.

Organize Group Projects or Collaborative Assignments with Canvas Groups: Group Assignments can encourage teamwork and foster peer interactions. Actively participate in Group Discussions and offer guidance as needed.

Additional Resources.

How to Establish a Strong Community in an Online Course

Cultivating Community Building in Online Learning Environments

Tip - Instructors can create reminder Announcements in Canvas ahead of time and use the Delay Posting feature to post the announcements to the class at a future date.

Orient Students to Your Canvas Class

Overview

Consider making a video to introduce yourself, welcome students to the class, and to give your students a tour of your Canvas class.

You can create the video using the Kaltura Capture recorder in My Media.

Tutorial Video

(Coming soon)

Written Procedures

Recording Video with Kaltura Capture

Embedding a My Media Video in a Canvas Page

Tip - If you want to email a link to your video to students in a welcome message, you can copy the My Media video's share link.