Technology for Teaching & Learning
34 Canvas – Getting Started
Canvas is UF’s Learning Management System (LMS). It can be an efficient way to make course material and grades available to your students. It has features that can help you, whether you just want to house a few files or to teach a fully online course.
Request your Canvas course shell through the e-Learning Course Request form. Do this as early as you can (it can sit until you are able to work on it). Once you have your shell, set the course start date and time. This is VERY IMPORTANT! It starts your class off poorly if students can’t get to your course.
- In your Canvas shell, select “Settings”
- Under the Course Details tab, set the Start date and time (e.g., May 11, 2020, 8:00 am)
- Select the box next to “Restrict students from viewing this course before start date”
- Select “Update Course Details” at the bottom of the page
- Go back to the home page, and select “Publish” under Course Status
NOTE: Many students appreciate being able to log into their course BEFORE classes begin. This helps students to get a head start on course work and to reduce anxiety. If you are willing to open up the class a bit early, send your students an announcement to this effect. However, students may start emailing you with questions right away, so don’t open the class early if you are not able to respond.
How Can I Learn to Use Canvas?
- Face-to-face and synchronous online workshops on how to use Canvas are available through UFIT Training.
- Canvas Guides provide step-by-step instructions for all things Canvas.
- LinkedIn Learning provides short video tutorials on how to use Canvas
- Access LinkedIn Learning through the e-Learning home page
- Use your Gatorlink credentials to access the LinkedIn Library at no cost
- The LinkedIn Library is available to students too!
Communicate with Your Students
Announcements
Use Canvas Announcements to send out general messages to your class. It is a good idea to provide a 0-points assignment that guides your students to set up their Canvas notifications. Otherwise, they may not receive your messages.
- How do I set my Canvas notification preferences as a student?
- Consider setting up “automated” messages before the semester starts these can include:
- Weekly assignment reminders
- Highlight assignment elements where students typically run into trouble
- Link to additional resources that can support struggling or high achieving students
- You can organize your automated announcements using the “Delayed Announcement Modifier” in the Multi-Tool (see below for details)
Setting up some automated messages before the semester starts gives you one less thing to worry about. Don’t forget to set your own notification preferences so that you don’t miss any student questions.
Chat
Chat is a synchronous text communication tool. Some instructors find that it works well for virtual office hours. Enable it within your course by going into “Settings” and dragging it up to the navig