Canvas Tips for Educators

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As our upper school has started to robustly use the learning management system Canvas, I have a few tricks and tips that might be helpful on the educator side of things:

• Things to be aware of when creating digital quizzes (here is a video explanation of information below😞 

• Options for shuffling answers. If you create multiple choice or true/false questions in a Canvas quiz, the correct answer will always default to the top answer (a) unless you do one of the following:
  • When creating a question you can manually pull the arrow that points to the correct answer down in the question so that you are randomizing the answers yourself. OR...
  • When setting up the quiz, choose the "shuffle answers" box so that the quiz itself with automatically shuffle the answers for you. The downside of this is that you can't use answers like "all the above" or "both B and C" because it may look different for your students. 
• Allowing for extended time on tests. If you are a teacher that sets an amount of time for a quiz or a time availability (a close time) when you assign a quiz that quiz will automatically be submitted when that time is up. If you want to allow students extended time for tests, don't use the availability but require an access code. This way once the class is over, the students can access the quiz afterwards as well. For this option, I would suggest changing the access code after each class for integrity purposes.

• Using Calendar Events for non-graded assignments for students (here is a video explanation of information below). There is one way to add things to the students' calendars that does not impact grade book. (You can also create an assignment that is labeled "no submission" and it will allow you to put a grade in for it and will show up on your grade book. This might be a good choice for dressing out in P.E. or journal checks):
  • Create an event. Choose to click on the calendar link on your blue vertical navigation toolbar. 
    • In the top right corner of the calendar view click on the + to add an event.
    • Title your event that lets your students know what the expectation will be. You can add more details by clicking on "more options."
    • The event will default to being added to your personal calendar, so make sure you use the drop down box to choose the class you want to share the event to.
    • Click submit. (The event will now show up on the students' calendar and "upcoming" list). 

• Deleting the MISSING label after something is turned it late (here is a video explanation of the information below). I feel like this is something Canvas should fix automatically but if a student turns in an assignment late and you put the grade in, you will need to:
  • Click on the across arrow inside the assignment box for the student in question.
  • When the sidebar pops up change the assignment to either "None" or "Late (blue)" based on your needs. This will remove the missing label in your grade book, the students view and the parent view. 
  • It is helpful to look over your grade book occasionally to see if there are any pink boxes and whether they need to be fixed. 

• Moderating a quiz. There are times when students might need an additional attempt at a quiz (here is a video explanation of the information below). As a teacher, you can click on a quiz a student needs to access and then in the upper right corner clicking on "Moderate this quiz," then click on the pencil next to the student you want to moderate the quiz for. This allows you to:
  • Give individual students multiple attempts at a quiz
  • Give immediate access to individual students take a quiz without having to go through the process of reassigning the quiz to the student.

• Communicating with students inside of Canvas. Students are getting used to receiving information about their courses through Canvas. If you are in a situation where you need to communicate important information to your students quickly you have two options (here is a video explanation of the information below😞
  • You can create Announcements for your course that you can assign to all your classes or to individual classes. It could be useful if you were absent one day because you could actually delay when it is posted after creating it and allow your students to see it as they enter the classroom. You can also allow them to reply to an announcement if you need feedback before the next class meeting or ask them to "like" it to show that it has been read. To use announcements:
    • Go to Settings in your class and move Announcements up for students to view.
    • Click on Announcements
    • Create the announcement and assign it to the class based on your needs.
  • Using the inbox inside of Canvas allows you to send messages to whole classes, individuals or groups. This is a very quick way to get students to go to one location to receive information from you instead of going outside of Canvas to check their emails. To send messages to your students:
    • Click on the INBOX on your blue vertical navigational toolbar.
    • In the middle top of the next page, click on the paper with the pencil icon.
    • Create the message you want to send (you can even attach files or videos that you might want your students to be able to access) 
    • Make sure you choose the correct course or people you desire to communicate with via Canvas email.
    • Press send.