The first thing you should do before publishing the course is to edit the Course Navigation. Unlike Blackboard, the instructor control of the Canvas Course Navigation is a bit more restrictive.
Course Navigation items include:
Home (Required)
Announcements
Assignments
Attendance (Hidden unless made available)
Chat (Hidden unless made available)
Collaborations
Conferences
Discussions
Files
Grades
Modules
Outcomes
People
Pages
Quizzes
Syllabus
Settings (Visible to Instructors and TAs)
Instructors can reorder the tabs and even hide some of them. Tabs cannot be renamed. The purpose of this restriction is to attempt to streamline and simplify the menu options presented to students.
Canvas has integrated a web conferencing tool called Big Blue Button to extend the learning environment to the virtual space enabling synchronous (real-time) online meetings. Conferences allows users to
broadcast live audio and video
demo applications on your desktop
share presentation slides
demo any online resources
Conferences have a number of potential uses for both traditional face-to-face as well as distributed learning situations. Some possible use cases include virtual:
lectures
office hours
student group meetings
study groups
Students can even create their own conferences if they have:
Access to the Conferences menu item within a course
Have been placed within Groups The Conferences tool is a standard tool available to Student Groups in Canvas.
To learn more about Conferences in Canvas, feel free to view the Conferences Overview Video and the Conference Tutorials on this page.
For questions about how these features might be implemented into a course design/course activities, please contact Geisel Instructional Technology Staff to schedule a one-on-one session to discuss these tools.
Canvas integrates Google Docs to allow multiple users to collaboratively edit documents. Since the Google Docs and EtherPad document changes are saved in real-time, changes made by any of the documents multiple editors are immediately visible to everyone with access to the document.
Google Docs
To learn more about the Collaboration tools in Canvas, feel free to review the Collaboration Overview Video and the Collaboration Tutorials linked to from this page.
For questions about how these features might be implemented into a course design/course activities, please contact Geisel Instructional Technology Staff to schedule a one-on-one session to discuss these tools.
With the Groups feature in Canvas, instructors can organize the students into groups so they can work together on group projects and assignments: a paper, a presentation, etc. A Canvas group will provide students with a collaborative workspace where they can work in that small group to share files, hold video conferences, or work on group assignments created within the course.
Within Groups, instructors can:
Create a new group set and create subgroups automatically or manually
Assign students to subgroups automatically or manually
Allow students to sign up for their own groups
Expand and collapse subgroups
Move students into different subgroups
Create group collaborations
View all activity within all the groups within a course
View all created groups within the course
Edit or delete group sets
To learn more about groups, feel free to watch the Groups Management Video and the Groups Tutorials listed below.
For questions about how these features might be implemented into a course design/course activities, please contact Geisel Instructional Technology Staff to schedule a one-on-one session to discuss these tools.
If this site does not provide you with the information you need or you’d really prefer to sit down and work through the course site setup with a real person, feel free to contact Geisel Instructional Technology to setup a personalized session.
There are a number of ways to control content availability within a module. When editing the module settings the options presented are:
Control Option
Description
Option 1: Lock module until a given date
Locks all items within the module until a given date.
Option 2: This module is complete when
Sets requirements on individual items within the module
Option 3: Before students can view this module
Sets module availability based on the completion of other modules
Option 4: Students must move through requirements in this module in sequential order
Requires students to view content or complete tasks in order within a module.
The options above can, and in some cases must, be used in combination with each other. Examples of how the controls can be combined are as follows:
Example 1: Involves One Module Requiring students to move sequentially through the module only works if the “This module is complete when” option is selected and requirements are set on the items within the module.
Example 2: Involves Two Modules Setting the “Before students can view this module” option requires that previous modules have the “This module is complete when” option selected and requirements on items within the module be set.
The following instructions will outline how each of the module availability options is set and the ramifications of those settings.
Option 1: Lock Module Until a Given Date
This is a very simple control option. When a module is locked all of the content linked within the module is unavailable the students. It is only when the module is unlocked that the pages, links, quizzes, assignments, etc become available either all at once or in sequence depending on additional module settings.
To lock a module until a given date:
Click Modules in the course menu.
Select the cog icon to the right of the module you wish to edit.
From the resulting menu, select Edit.
In the Edit Module Settings window, select the checkbox lock module until a given date.
Select an Unlock At date.
Note: Modules do not have an option to release by Section.
Click [Update Module] to finalize the module settings.
Option 2: This Module is Complete When
This option allows instructors to place requirements for completion on the content within the module.
The requirement options on content within a module include users must:
View the item (can be applied to all items)
Contribute to the page (can be applied to Pages and Discussions)
Submit the assignment (can be applied to Assignments and Quizzes)
Score at least (can be applied to Assignments and Quizzes)
Requirements can be placed on all or some of the content; however, if the option to require students to move sequentially through the module is selected requirements must be placed on all of the items within the module.
To set the module completion option:
Click Modules in the course menu.
Select the cog icon next to the module you wish to edit.
From the resulting menu, select Edit.
In the Edit Module Settings window, click Add requirement under the This module is complete when prompt.
Select a content item from the For menu.
Select an option from the User Must menu. Note: The available options will vary depending on the content item type.
Repeat 4 – 6 until all of the requirements have been added.
If appropriate, select the checkbox for students must move through requirements in this module in sequential order.
Click [Update Module] to finalize the module settings.
Discussion by Section Workaround:
To control the availability of Discussions to different sections, set a score at least or submit the assignment requirement on a quiz or assignment item that has different due dates set by section.
Option 3: Before Students Can View This Module
This option can override Option 1:Lock module until a given date option as it is driven by the completion of earlier modules not by date.
Example: If a module is set to be available on November 18, but a student has not yet completed the requirements for the previous module by November 18, that student will be unable to proceed to the new module until they have completed the previous module.
To set the Before Students Can View This Module option:
Click Modules in the course menu.
Select the cog icon next to the module students must first complete.
From the resulting menu, select Edit.
Complete the This Module is Complete when steps for the required module.
Once the completion settings on the previous module are set, repeat 2 – 3 for the module you wish to set the prerequisite.
In the Edit Module Settings window, click Add Prerequisite under the Before students can view this module prompt.
From the They must complete menu, select a module that must be completed.
Repeat 6-7 as necessary.
If the module should be locked until a given date, click that checkbox.
If completion of this module will be required for future module release, complete the This Module is Complete when section.
If this module should be completed sequentially, click that checkbox.
When creating Discussions, it is possible to set the date and time availability of a forum. Unfortunately, it does not appear to be possible to make discussions available to different sections at different dates/times either from within the Discussions area or in Sections.
For workarounds, see the Module is Complete When section within the instructions outlining Modules: Controlling Content Availability via Modules noted below this section.
To Set Discussion Availability:
Click Discussions in the course menu.
Click on the Discussion you wish to edit. Note: If you have not yet created a Discussion, click [+ Discussion] then jump to step 4 below.
Click [Edit] located at the top right.
At the bottom of the page, set the Available From date.
When creating Quizzes, it is possible to make the quizzes available at various dates and times to different sections. It is important to note that the sections must be created prior to applying them to the Quiz.
To Set Quiz Availability:
Click Quizzes in the course menu.
From the Quizzes list, select the quiz you want to edit. Note: If you have not yet created the Quiz, select Create a New Quiz at the far right of the page.
On the quiz page, click [Edit].
Select the Settings tab and scroll to the Assign option at the bottom of the page.
Click in the Assign field to reveal a dropdown menu of options to select and select the section or individual to whom the quiz should be released.
Note: If setting availability for all students in the course, select Everyone.
6. Click on the calendar icon to select a Due Date for that section.
Click on the calendar icon to select a Due Date for that section.
Click on the calendar icon to select an Available From date/time.
If applicable, select the Until date. Note: Selecting an Until date will lock the quiz and prevent students from taking it after that date/time.
Click [+Add] to add another section due date.
Repeat 5 – 9 to add additional sections and individuals as needed.
Click [Save] to apply the settings.
Quizzes can also be moderated to allow individual students extra attempts or extra time. See the Moderate Quizzes tutorial for additional information.
When creating Assignments, it is possible to make the assignments available at various dates and times to different sections and individual students. It is important to note that the sections must be created prior to applying them to the Assignment.
To set assignment availability:
Click Assignments in the course menu.
Select the Assignment you wish to edit from the Assignments list, Note: If you have not yet created the Assignment, select Add Assignment at the far right of the page.
Within the expanded Assignment , click [Edit].
Within the Assignment, scroll down the page to the Assign area.
At the bottom of the page, click in the Assign To field and select a section or student as appropriate.
Note: If setting availability for all students in the course, select Everyone.
6. Click on the calendar icon to select a Due Date for that section.
Click on the calendar icon to select an Available From date/time.
If applicable, select the Until date. Note: By selecting an Until date, the assignment will automatically become locked once that date/time is reached so students will not be able to submit the assignment after that date.
Click [+Add] to add another due date.
Repeat 5 – 9 for all sections.
Click [Save] to apply the settings.
Quizzes can also be moderated to give users additional attempts if necessary. See the moderate quizzes tutorial.
In the Pages section of the course, it is possible to hide individual pages from students. Unfortunately, this is a manual process and cannot be set to release on a specific date and time.
In the All Pages list, pages that are hidden/unpublished are greyed out. Note the side by side comparison below of the Instructor view vs. Student View of the Pages.
To Hide/Unpublish Page:
Click Pages in the course menu.
Click [View All Pages].
From the All Pages list, find the Page to be hidden/unpublished. Note: Newly created pages are automatically unpublished.
Click the cloud icon to the right of the page as illustrated in the graphic at the top of this page.
A grey cloud indicates the page is hidden/unpublished.
A green cloud with a check mark is published and visible to the students.
