Migrate Instruction Into Canvas

Please use the links below to navigate the page. For each step there are instructions for best practice at CGCC, videos, and links to the Canvas LMS Guides and Community pages to assist in this transition. Some of the videos will be created by the CTLA and others are directly from the Canvas LMS video library. Here is the link to the full Canvas LMS instructor and student videos guides. Use the arrow on the bottom right of the page to scroll back to the top. Please contact ctla@cgc.edu with any issues.

1. Login to Canvas and find your course
2. Set the course navigation
3. Create modules to structure course
4. Upload course content and files
5. Create assignments for grading activities (including quizzes and exams)
6. Publish content AND the course
7. Verify settings for notifications
8. Communicate with Students

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1. Login to Canvas and Access Your Course Site

1. Go to learn.maricopa.edu to access Canvas.
2. Login with your MEID and password. Need to figure out your MEID and password? Use the MEID Finder Tool
3. You should see your course on the Dashboard. If you do not see it right away, go to Courses, All Courses. See the Canvas guide to Change the Courses Displayed on Dashboard

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2. Set the course navigation

Think simple! If you were to look at your course as a student the way it is now, you would see a bunch of links on the left menu that take you to empty pages. There are 14 default menus for Canvas and we suggest using only 3 plus the home page: Announcements, Grades, and Modules. If you start using other Canvas external tools that could change, but for now, let’s simplify! ​
What is the Course Navigation Menu? 
It is the series of links on the left side of your course that help you and your students access areas of your course.

1. ​In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.
2. Click the Navigation tab.
3. Drag and drop the menu item from the top of the navigation menu to the bottom or click the three dot menu of the menu item and choose disable and the item will automatically move to the bottom of the navigation menu. ​ 

MENU/INDEX ITEMS TO HIDE

1. Assignments
2. Discussions
3. People
4. Pages
5. Files
6. Syllabus
7. Quizzes
8. Conferences 
9. Collaborations
10. ​Chat

MENU/INDEX ITEMS TO KEEP

1. Announcements
2. Modules
3. Grades

CANVAS GUIDES

How do I manage Course Navigation Links? ​​
​How do I use the Course Navigation Menu as an instructor?

The other links in the top list are never seen by students so do not need to be rearranged (Settings, UDOIT, SCORM, Student Evaluations, etc) When you disable these pages, or move them to the bottom of the list, you will still be able to access them via modules which is what you should set up next! ​

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3. Create your course structure with Modules

Determine how you will organize your course, is it by weeks, units, or some other organizational structure? In a technology driven learning environment, modules allow for students to follow a linear path limiting confusion. We are going to advise to have your home page set as modules as a beginner so that the student can always return home to find the next module to move to. 
Modules can contain: 

• Files
• Discussions
• Assignments
• Quizzes
• External Links, and other learning materials

Modules have a drag and drop feature. You can use the same material in multiple modules or even the same thing in the same module. Modules are the visual display of your teaching content. 

1. Click on Modules from the Canvas navigation, now +Modules (the big blue button top right). 
2. Give the module a name based on the organizational structure of your course. Notice there is a “Lock Until” checkbox. You can choose to set that if you would like to hide modules until a certain time.  
3. The module is created unpublished and empty. Now it is time to use the plus button to add content. 
   
   1. ​Click the plus button to the right of the module. Adding an assignment is default, but if you click the drop-down arrow you will see all the types of content that you can add to a module. 
      
   2. If you would like to edit the module name, prerequisite, or lock date, use the three dot menu parallel to the module name on the right. 
   3. You can tell something is unpublished in Canvas by the grey do not enter sign, a published item is a filled in green circle.​

CANVAS GUIDES

What are modules?
How do I add a module?
How do I lock a module? ​
How do I add prerequisites to a module?
How do I publish or unpublish a module as an instructor? ​

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4. Upload Course Content and Files

Now that the structure of your course is set up, you need to add your content to Canvas and then pull it into the modules. Content could be your lecture slides, handouts, assignments, worksheets, supplemental multimedia, etc. It is not recommended to upload videos directly to Canvas. Instead it is recommended to use YouTube or Screencast O'Matic to host and share your videos with students. Please click on those links respectively for instruction on both. Screencast O'Matic is also a great choice for creating video lectures.
Upload Content to Files
You can upload files you use for your course into Files and they will be accessible in all areas of Canvas so long as they are published and the folder is published (circle parallel to the right of file name).  Since your navigation has Files hidden from students, it is safe to upload any file into your course as you will be pulling and linking to files from other areas in Canvas. 
Access Files within the course menu at the left.

1. Click on the ‘Upload’ button on the right to upload files to your Canvas course.
2. You can also click on the ‘+Folder’ button, if you wish to organize the files you are uploading into folders.  
3. Select the folder you wish to upload files into before you click the ‘Upload’ button.
4. Notice that parallel to the name of folders and files in the Files area is the publish/unpublish button. 

Upload Files Using Rich Content Editor and/or Modules
Alternatively, you can upload files as you go within Modules and anywhere you have access to the Rich Content Editor (Pages, Assignments, Discussions, Announcements, Quizzes, etc.). When you upload via these methods, you can still access the uploaded files from the Files nav menu.
This brings us to creating assignments for grading activities.

CANVAS GUIDES

All Files Guides

• How do I use Files as an instructor?
• ​How do I upload a file to a course?​ 

​How do I turn a hard copy into a PDF to put online?

• Scan-to-me using CGC printers.
• Cam Scanner App

Rich Content Editor Guides

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5. Create Assignments for Grading Activities

Anything that you do in-person we can get some version of it into your Canvas Course. Please see below for assignments with online submissions (or not), quizzes (great for self-graded activities), and discussions (for getting everyone involved!).

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. Creating an assignment adds a column in the gradebook for that assignment. Assignments cannot be directly added to the gradebook. ​

302 - Assignments Overview from Instructure Canvas Community on Vimeo.

FROM ASSIGNMENT COURSE NAV MENU

• Access Assignments within the course menu at the left.
• Under the assignments, click on the ‘+ Assignment’ button on the top right.
• Type in the Assignment name, select a Due Date if applicable, and provide a total points possible 

• Choose a Submission Type from the dropdown box. This is how you want to receive the student work - online, on paper, etc.

• Click Save & Publish if you’d like your students to see the assignment. 

Note:  Extra credit assignments should have 0 points possible to give extra points.

FROM MODULE

• Click the plus button to the right of the module name. 
• Default is assignment, notice in the dropdown many other graded activities to choose from. 
• Click on "New Assignment" 
• Give it a name. 
• Click "Add Item" 
• It is added to the module unpublished with no content. Click on the name of the assignment then EDIT at the top right to add details to the assignment. Publish it to add grades and have students see.
  
• REMINDER: Module must be published for students to see any content contained inside it. 

Quizzes in Canvas

CREATE A QUIZ IN CANVAS
Access the quiz navigation menu to begin to add a new quiz. Fill out the instructions, give it a name, then use the tab on the right to add questions. You can also do this using modules and edit the quiz. 

IMPORT PAPER/WORD DOC QUIZZES TO CANVAS
Canvas and Respondus Exam Authoring tool work very well together to allow instructors to take their paper/word document exams, quizzes, and other learning activities and import them to a version that allows students to complete it online. When using multiple choice, matching, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank questions, it becomes a self-graded activity. So up front, like creating any multiple choice exam, it is labor intensive but the long term rewards are plentiful. 

​Software needed: Respondus 4.0 - please see the install Respondus 4.0 at Home (secure document for MCCCD employees only)

OUTLINE OF PROCESS AND REMINDERS
1. Install software. 
2. Format your test document for proper import using these instructions: Formatting Questions for Respondus  (if you are using a multiple choice test, formatting it is simply putting an asterisk next to the correct answer for each question and getting rid of any headers or titles on the document - save a simple version for import). 
3. ​Close your test document completely, open Respondus 4.0 and follow the instructions: Importing Questions into Canvas. 
​4. Go into your Quiz, now in Canvas under the navigation Quizzes and in Assignments, click on the title and then edit it to set dates, make a time limit, etc. See the 

CANVAS GUIDES
Assignments Guides
What assignment types can I create in a course?

Notes on using Respondus for converting your paper assessments into Canvas quizzes: 
You are transforming your paper exam into a document readable by a computer software program so that you will have a usable version in Canvas. Even when you are marking answers correct or using the term = definition with matching, keep in mind this is simply for Canvas to read. Also, I hear many people worried about their exams being online - there are ways to set up your quiz so that it is not likely for students to be able to copy your content. 

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6. Publish Items and the Course

CANVAS GUIDES

How do I publish a course?

Please see the Canvas Guides listed and check out the Canvas Community: community.canvaslms.com

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7. Verify Settings for notifications

EDITING PROFILE & ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Within Canvas you have the option of customizing your Settings by adding a Display Name, adding a profile Image, and/or changing your Timezone.  

• Within Canvas, click on the Account link at the top left and then click on the Settings button.

• Click on the icon to the left of your name to add a Profile Image (this can be a picture of yourself or any picture that you would like to represent you - i.e. a butterfly, a happy face, etc.).
• Click on the Edit Settings button on the right to modify your ‘Display Name’ (what students see your name as) or to change your Timezone.
• Click on Update Settings to save your changes.
• By default your Firstname.lastname@cgc.edu email should be populated under Ways to Contact. CGC also assigns employees an email that is meid@cgc.edu. It’s important to add both email addresses in Ways to Contact so that you don’t have any issues with emails not going through in the future. 
• Choose your preferred method under the Ways to Contact section by clicking the star next to the email you’d like to get messages to (this should be your firstname.lastname@cgc.edu email so that when you reply it is from the school email). In the next section, you’ll ensure that your notifications are going to your preferred email. 

Note: Maricopa Community Colleges require that faculty use a district email address for all communications with students.

101 - User Settings & Profile Picture from Instructure Canvas Community on Vimeo.

CUSTOMIZE YOUR NOTIFICATIONS
Your Notifications in Canvas is what tells the system WHAT information you wish to be sent outside of Canvas, HOW OFTEN, and WHERE it is sent.  Check your Notifications the first time you access Canvas so that you can customize the messages you may be receiving from Canvas.

• Within Canvas, click on the Account link at the top left.
  
• Access the Notifications to the right. Review and customize each.  
  

Note: The recommended instructor settings would be to receive the ‘Conversations’ messages ASAP to your preferred contact method.  Students can always send you messages via the ‘Inbox/Conversations’ tool in Canvas so it is important for you to view these or have them forwarded to your preferred contact method.

102 - Notification Preferences from Instructure Canvas Community on Vimeo.

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8. Communicating with Students

There are a few ways in Canvas to communicate with students. One is via announcements inside your course that are accessible via the Canvas navigation menu or the Canvas Inbox, Conversations.  Please see the Canvas Guides listed and check out the Canvas Community: community.canvaslms.com

ANNOUNCEMENTS IN CANVAS COURSE

INBOX MESSAGING TOOL 

Announcements are seen by all students in a section of your course. They are accessed via the course navigation menu inside your course, or you can add them to your Canvas Course Home Page. Watch the video about announcements and see the Canvas guide: How do I show recent announcements in the Course Home Page? 
Canvas Instructor Guides: ​Announcement Guide

306 - Announcements Overview from Instructure Canvas Community on Vimeo.

The Inbox is Canvas's email tool. You can choose to communicate to all students in a course, a group of students, or individual students via a message that they can then respond to. When you have notifications set up, you will receive an email with the message in your school email account that you can respond to directly from your Google account (accounts.maricopa.edu). 
Canvas Instructor Guides: Inbox 

104 - Conversations Overview from Instructure Canvas Community on Vimeo.

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