Canvas Start of the Semester Checklist

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Clipboard with checkmarks and Canvas logoWelcome back!   Here are a few things to check as you set your courses up in Canvas for the semester. The Canvas Community is a great resource if you have questions about using Canvas. You’ll also find answers to many questions on the Office of Information Technology Support site.

 

 

Check box  Make your course available to students

  • Check the Start and End Dates for your classes. By default, students cannot view classes outside of those dates, even if the course is published.  Make sure to set the course end date so that students can use it to study for finals, submit final projects, and to check their final Canvas grades. We recommend setting the end date for three weeks after the last course meeting date. Go to the Course Settings to check and change the dates. Click on the Update Course Details button to save the changes.
  • Publish your course by clicking on the Publish button in the upper right menu of the Home page

Check box Rename your course to add the semester and year

Check box Import Content from another Canvas course

  • Go to Course Settings for your new course and click on the button to Import Content into Course
  • Under Content Type select Copy a Canvas Course
  • Search for the course name
  • Choose All Content unless you want to only copy over specific content or want to exclude Announcements created in your prior class.  Note that Announcements from the prior semester are automatically included in an “All Content” import.  These announcements will be available to students in the current course unless you delete them from Announcements. If you have announcements we recommend choosing “Select Specific Content” and not importing announcements.
  • If you want Canvas to try and adjust your Due Dates on Assignments, also select Adjust Events and Due Dates
  • Click on Import
  • Complete instructions with screenshots are available in the Canvas Community

Check box Check for Broken Links in Your Class

  • If you have imported material from another Canvas class, it’s a good idea to check for broken links before publishing your course. The links may work for you, but not for your students.  Links to external resources may have changed since the last time the course was taught.
  • Go to Settings and click on the last button on the right for Validate Links in Content

Check box Combine multiple sections of a course

  • If you teach more than one section of the same course, you can combine these into one Canvas course. Please be aware of potential FERPA issues if you combine course sections that do not meet together.  You can take some steps to protect students’ privacy by removing People from the menu, and not combining discussions. Instructions for combining courses are available from the Canvas Training Center.

Check box Add TA’s, Non-grading TA’s or additional instructors

  • Go to the People link in the course menu and select +People.  Enter the TA(s) email address, change the role to TA, Non-Grading TA, or Teacher and click on Next. Verify the correct person is being added and click on Add.  Complete details on permissions for each role may be found in this support article on adding people to Canvas.

Check box Send a message to your students

Check box Meet with Instructional Technology

  • We’re available to help you design your Canvas course, set up your grades, learn how to use new tools such as Google Drive, video conferencing and lecture capture, and to answer questions.  Contact us at support@stedwards.edu.