The Canvas layout is fairly straight-forward. After logging in at UBC Canvas, the user will see the Dashboard. The Dashboard generally lists the courses the user has access to (whether as student or teacher). After logging in, the user will also see the Global Navigation (i.e. the far left side-bar). Users can use the global navigation to find the courses accessible to them, check their Canvas inbox, and access profile settings. Overall the Course listing button is the most used part of the Global Navigation. The global navigation also has Calendar and Help features that can be made use of. For more information, see guide to the global navigation(Canvas Official) .

After clicking into a course, the Course Navigation (i.e. side bar immediately right of the Global Navigation) becomes visible. The course navigation provides an intuitive way to access different parts of the class. By following the links provided, users can easily jump to / from assignments, grades, course settings and other pages. Additional links are also easy to add via the course settings. Note that if there’s a crossed out eye icon next to a link in course navigation, students cannot see it. To make a navigation link visible / invisible to students, click on “Settings” in the course navigation, find the relevant link, click the triple dot on the link, and select “Enable” (make visible) or “Disable” (make invisible to students). Remember to click save on the bottom to trigger the changes. For more information on the course navigation, see guide to the course navigation (Canvas Official) .

Need to make a quick notification to the class? Canvas Announcements can be used. Simply click on “Announcements” on the course navigation, then click + Announcement, fill out the title and content, then finally click + Save. Options to specify who can see the announcements, to add files and to allow comments are available. For more information on course announcements, see guide to add an announcement to Canvas (Canvas Official) .

Canvas makes assigning homework and managing marks easy. The best practice for assignments is to group assignments, assign weights to the groups, and then add assignments to the appropriate grouping.

Assignment Groups

Click on “Assignments” in the Course Navigation, a list of assignments associated with the course will become visible. On the page, assignments can be sorted into groups. By default there’re groups such as the generic “Assignment” group and the “Imported Assignment” group, but new ones can be made. Near the top right, click the + Group button, enter a name, hit + Save and a new group will be created. Previous assignments can be dragged & via the 6-dots on their left side into another assignment group. The biggest advantage for using assignment groups is the ability to weigh assignment group marks. On the assignment page, click on the triple dot near the top right, just under “Student View”. An button to set “Assignment Groups Weight” will be visible. Clicking on it will prompt a pop-up box, and clicking the “Weight final grade based on assignment groups” check box within allows for weighing of the various groups. It is encouraged to use this weighing to reflect upon the grade distribution listed in the course syllabus. Note that exams can be included in assignment groups as well. Exams on Canvas show up in the assignments page, and can be dragged / dropped into various groups. However, creating exams on Canvas usually goes through the “Quizzes” section of the course (see below section on Canvas Quizzes). Assignment group names can be changed by clicking the triple dot on the far right side of an assignment group name. For more information on assignment groups, see guide to assignment groups (Canvas Official).

Individual Assignments

After organizing assignment groups, individual assignments can be easily added. simply click on + Assignment and edit the title and instruction of the assignment, then clicking + Save. Options to set the total points of the assignments, submission type, allowed attempts and targeted section / students are available as well. Note that while quizzes / exams are visible on the assignment page, they should be created via the “Quizzes” section of Canvas (see below section). As mentioned prior, after creating an assignment, they can be easily dragged / dropped into groups via the six dots on the right side of each assignment. Note that even assignments on paper or submitted through other means can be created on Canvas for grades record keeping purposes. For more information about Canvas Assignments, see guide to creating Canvas Assignments (Canvas Official).

Publishing

On an individual assignment, if the right side shows a crossed out circle, then the assignment has not been published. Unpublished assignments are not visible to students. To ensure students see an assignment, click the crossed out circle to publish it. Published assignments show a green check mark.

The Quiz Page

Quizzes associated with a course can be added in the “Quizzes” page. Click on “Quizzes” in the Course Navigation to open the page. Then click + Quiz to add a quiz. As of the time of writing (July, 2021) there’re two choices for quizzes, “Classic engine” or “New engine”. Upon creating a quiz, the user will be prompted to choose one of the engines. Until further notice, the Classic engine is recommended. After creating the quiz, two tabs will become visible. The “Details” tab allows for adjustments of quiz title, due dates, assigned students and other administrative settings. The other tab, “Questions”, allows for creation of questions and organization of questions into different question groups. Through adjustments, the instructor is essentially free to implement any and all question types seen in offline exams (though logistics can make some types harder). For more information on Canvas Quizzes, see guide to quizzes (Canvas Official)

If you’re building a quiz for midterm / final, consider also checking out the STP Page for preparing midterms / finals .

The guide continuing below is targeted the classic quiz engine. However the content may be applicable for the new engine as well.

Publishing

Similar to assignments, for an individual quiz on the quiz page, if the right side shows a crossed out circle then it has not been published. Unpublished quizzes are not visible to students. To ensure students see a quiz, click the crossed out circle to publish it. Published quizzes show a green check mark.

Quiz Details Tab

An overview into the important parts on the Quiz Details Page and their options. Usually the other options can be left to default value, however this is quiz dependent. Please remember to + Save any time an option is changed. For Sauder instructors working with Learning Services, much of these settings wil be ensured by Learning Services Exam Support.

• Quiz title: name displayed for quiz
• Quiz instruction: what student sees upon first clicking into quiz, before clicking start
• Quiz type: one of
  • Graded Quiz: marked for correctness, included in grades
  • Ungraded Quiz: correctness shown to students, but not part of grade
  • Graded Survey: no correct answer, marked for completion, included in grades
  • Ungraded Survey: no correct answer, not marked
• Allow Multiple Attempts: can students try more than once
• Let Students See Their Quiz Responses: whether students will see if their answers are right / wrong at the end
• Time Options: there’re two options related to time. Canvas will enforce the stricter of the two option. If nothing is entered for the options then students can access a quiz whenever / however long they like.
  • Time Limit: determines how long the quiz can be accessed (unless the below option is stricter), entered as number of minutes
  • Assign: determines when the quiz can be accessed, a timeframe is entered with “Available from” (starting time) and “Until” (ending time)
  “Stricter of the two options” means whichever option provides the least remaining time. E.g. say a quiz has time Limit of 30 minutes, and is available from 15:00 until 16:00; if a student starts at 15:00 sharp, they will have up to 15:00 + 30 minutes = 15:30 for the quiz; however, if they start at 15:45, they will have until 16:00 for the quiz, even though the time limit is 30 minutes.
• Assign: in addition to time constraints, assign also allow instructors to choose which course section / students will receive the quiz. The “Everyone” option targets all students in course

Quiz Questions Tab

This tab allows questions to be added, deleted or grouped. The + New Question button near the bottom adds a question, whereas + New Question Group adds a group. Questions can be dragged to / from groups by the 6 dots on their left side. Hovering over a question’s right side makes a pencil icon appear. Note that question groups are for organizing and background logistics, students will not see question groups explicitly. Clickin on the pencil icon allows a question to be edited. After editing is complete, “Update Question” must be clicked to save question, note that this does not save the quiz overall, and conversely saving a quiz does not update changes to a question automatically. As such, please update questions AND save the quiz.

When editing a question, a text box will appear to allow for the question instructions. Various question types are available from a drop-down menu near the top of the textbox. These are the most common types and their mechanics:

• Multiple Choice: one correct option out of a few displayed. Enter a list of answers, and click the green arrow on the left side of an answer to designate it as the solution
• Multiple Answers: same as multiple choice, but multiple answers can be clicked on as part of the solution
• Numerical Answers: solution will be a number, with a margin of error allowed
• Fill in the blank: enter the question (e.g. “What is [blank]”) in the question textbox, and list the solutions possible in the blank
• Fill Multiple Blanks: enter the question (e.g. “What is [blank1], and [blank2]”) in the question textbox, and list the solutions possible for each blanks. Use the dropdown menu below the textbox to select which set of solutions to edit.
• Essay Question: enter the prompt in the textbox. Answers are marked manually
• File Upload: enter the prompt in the textbox. Students will upload a file as answer. Answers are marked manually. Type of file can be restricted
• Text (no question): some text to appear in the quiz, does not ask for answer. Usually used for reminders, formula sheet box or other instructions.

In addition to question type, instruction and answers, instructors can also change the marks a question is worth. While editing, on the top right corner of the question will show a blank box labelled “pts: that allows for the worth of the question to be specified. Canvas will tally the question points to compute the total marks used in the exam.

Remember to both Update Question and Save a Canvas quiz after editing. If Sauder Learning Services is supporting an exam using Canvas Quiz, instructors are advised to reach out and have the exam reviewed to avoid possible technical issues.

Having a number of course materials distributed across the tabs on Canvas may make navigating it difficult for students. Canvas Modules is a great way to organize content in an approcheable manner.

Adding a Canvas Module

Canvas modules can be accessed from Course Navigation towards the left side in a course. Click “Modules” to enter the modules page. On the page, click + Module, enter a module name, and hit Add Module to create a new module.

Adding an Item to A Module

There are a number of ways to add an item to a module. If a file needs to be added, it can be dragged from the PC / Mac / Device folder directly into the module box. This will upload and add the file to the module.

Alternative, the “+” sign on the top right of a module box can be clicked on to add items to a module. Upon clicking “+”, essentially any item from the course can be chosen and inserted into the module. Use the dropdown menu to choose item category from Assignments, Files, Quizzes, Pages or other parts of the course. Select the exact item from the list below the dropdown menu. When ready, click Add Item. The item will then be added to the module.

Items can be moved to / from various modules. Click on the six dots on the left side of an item and drag / drop it to the module of choice. To delete an item, click the triple dots on the right side of the item and click “delete”. Note that removing an item from a module does not delete it entirely from the course. If an item needs to be removed from all parts of the course, it should be deleted at the source (e.g. if a quiz needs to be deleted, instructors should go to “Quizzes” and delete the item from there).

Managing and Publishing Modules

To manage a module, click the triple dots on its right side. In the menu that pops up, instructors can edit, move or delete the module. Beside the triple dots, the publishing status of the module can be seen. If there is a crossed out circle, it means the module is unpublished, and students cannot see the module. Clicking the circle will publish the module, converting the crossed out circle to a check mark, and then the module will be visible to students.