GETTING STARTED WITH CANVAS QUICK STEPS

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1 GETTING STARTED WITH CANVAS QUICK STEPS Below are some of the keys steps to get instructors started with Canvas. Please refer to for a full list of guides and up to date resources. The link to access Oregon State University s Spring 2014 sandbox environment is: oregonstate.instructure.com/?login_success=1 Your ONID login will not work in the Canvas sandbox, but you can use any of the following generic usernames and password to log in (both student and instructor logins are available): Username (10 instructor and 10 student usernames) open_instructor1-10 open_student1-10 Password (one password for each username group) testing123 testingabc Click the Courses link near the top of the Home page to view sample courses. (1) MODIFY YOUR SETTINGS AND NOTIFICATIONS Within Canvas, you can customize your personal profile (Display Name, Time Zone, Profile Image) and can customize the notifications that get pushed out to your OSU account. SETTINGS Login to Canvas Access Settings at the top right Access Settings at the top right Select Edit Settings to change your Display Name (what other students see displayed when you participate in class) or your Time Zone. The instructor will still be able to see your official name in the grading area; this only changes your name when participating in the course to other students. Click on the Image to the left of your name to edit your profile image NOTIFICATIONS By default Canvas will forward Inbox messages and important course information to your default E- mail address but it is recommended that instructors review and customize the Notifications to best meet their own needs. Access Settings at the top right of Canvas Review your Ways to Contact at the top right, if you would like to add additional addresses, cell phone numbers for text messages, Facebook, or Twitter as a means to receive notifications you can do this under Ways to Contact and/or Web Services at the bottom. Note: Cell phone message charges may apply so it is recommended that you use only at first until you become familiar with the volume of notifications you may receive. Access Notifications at the left of Canvas to customize the Notifications that are forwarded out of Canvas to your preferred contact method(s).

2 Highlight over a cell to change the frequency of a Notification. The most common Notifications enabled by instructors on an ASAP basis are the Conversation (inbox) messages. Some instructors prefer not to receive any notifications sent outside of Canvas and prefer to login directly to see updates within their course(s). Note: You cannot disable the Canvas Inbox. (2) ACCESS A CANVAS COURSE CANVAS DASHBOARD When you first login to Canvas you will be taken to your Canvas Dashboard. This page shows you Recent Activity from all of your classes on the front page. At the right you will see your Todos (items that are ready to be graded). At a glance when you first login to Canvas you should be able to see what is going on in all of your classes. Click on any item to drill deeper and enter into a course. GLOBAL NAVIGATION At the top of Canvas is your Global Navigation menu; you will see this throughout Canvas. Global means that it refers to all of the course(s) you have inside of Canvas. So if you highlight over Course & Groups it will show you all of your Courses & Groups. If you access the Assignments from the top Global menu it will show you all of the upcoming assignments in all of your courses. If you select Grades at the top it will show you a high level overview of Grades across all of your courses. COURSE MENU Highlight (don t click) over the Courses & Groups menu to select a course to enter. Once you have accessed a course you will see the Course specific menu at the left. Instructors may hide tools at the left so you may not see the same list of menu items in each course. There are indicators on some tools displaying that new information has been added since the last time you accessed a course.

3 UPLOAD A SYLLABUS In Canvas you can upload your Syllabus as Word or PDF Document or you can choose to copy/paste the text of your syllabus directly into Canvas. Click on the Syllabus link within the course menu at the left Click on Edit Syllabus Description at the top right Paste the text of your Syllabus within the edit window OR click on the Files tab at the right to upload a Word or PDF Document Click on Update Syllabus to save USING THE CANVAS INBOX At the top right of Canvas in addition to the Settings is your global Inbox. This allows you to send and receive messages to any instructor or student that is enrolled in one of your classes. Address a message by typing the name of a course or name of a person into the To box. Type the message into the Message box and optionally add file attachments or media recordings. Click on Send to send a message. ADD ASSIGNMENTS (GRADING COLUMNS) Create an Assignment for everything you grade a student on during the semester, this may include quizzes, written assignments, participation, attendance, a final, a midterm, etc. Access Assignments within the course menu at the left Click on +Add Assignment Type in the Assignment name, select a Due Date if applicable, and provide a total points possible Note: Extra credit assignments should have 0 points possible so that they are calculated as extra points Click on Update

4 (6) CREATE MODULES AND UPLOAD FILES/WEBLINKS If you wish to add files such as Word Documents and PowerPoints to Canvas or like to give students web page links to reference, the Modules is the preferred way to organize your content. CREATE A MODULE Access Modules within the course menu at the left Click on Create a Module for each section of your course (some instructors break their course into Chapters, Weeks, Sections, Modules, etc) Type in the Module name, checkmark the box if you wish to lock the contents of the module until a specific start date Note: When using the prerequisite requirement be sure to add both the requirement to one module and the prerequisite to the other module. It requires two steps. Click on Add Module ADD/ORGANIZE CONTENT Within a Module, select the Gear icon and then +Add Content Select the type of item to add, you can add links to quizzes/assignments/discussions or to content such as PowerPoints, Word documents, and webpage links Select add File to add a Word Document, PowerPoint (created outside of Canvas) Select add External URL to add a webpage link Select add Content Page if you wish to create a document within Canvas If you are adding a new item look for the New link at the bottom of the list Add the item to the module Reorder the item within a Module using the double arrow to the left

5 (7) HIDE UNUSED COURSE NAVIGATION Prior to publishing a course, it is recommended that any unneeded navigation links at the left be hidden from the student so as to simplify their navigation and direct them. Access a Canvas course Click on Settings within the course navigation at the left Select the Navigation tab at the top Drag and drop unused menu items from the top to the bottom Hide as many navigation links as possible to simplify the student view. Hiding a link does not disable the tool; it just hides it from the student. So if you have the links to your Quizzes, Assignments, and Discussions within your Modules, it often makes sense to hide these from the navigation in order to direct students to sequentially accessing materials in the Modules. (8) CHANGE YOUR HOMEPAGE LAYOUT The Homepage of your course can be customized. The default is the Recent Activity Dashboard, which displays the current Announcements to your students as well as any recent changes you have made to your course. However you can also choose to create a custom page (a Page I Design Myself), or you can have the Syllabus Be the Homepage, or you can have the Modules Be the Homepage. Change the Homepage and test each option: Click on the Home button within your course to move to the Homepage Click on Change Homepage Layout Select an option and click on Update Layout (9) VIEW THE COURSE AS A STUDENT Prior to publishing a course, it is a good idea to view the course under Student View in order to test it fully before it s published. Access a Canvas course Click on Settings within the course navigation at the left Click on the Student View button Preview the course as a student; click on all items to fully test the course. You can take quizzes, view grades, access all links as a student Click on Leave Student View at the bottom right when done with the preview (10) PUBLISH THE COURSE In order for students to see a Canvas course, the instructor must publish it. It takes just a few seconds to publish a course. After publishing a course, changes you make may send students a

6 notification if they have opted into receiving notifications (students may receive an every time a date is changed, every time a new assignment is added, every time the point value is changed, etc.) It s recommended that the majority of changes be made prior to the course being published. Click on Home within the course navigation at the left Within the box at the top of the course, click on the word published Click on the Publish Course button that appears at the bottom. Note: Once a course is published it cannot be unpublished.