Library: Canvas Faculty Guide: Canvas Organziation

Home Page

What are the choices for a home page? Why does it matter?

The Home Page is the first page your students see when they enter your course. You have several options for a home page:
Front Page: Create your own page that includes a welcome message, links, images, or other information
Course Activity Stream: Use the course activity stream as a home page to show recent activities (announcements, discussions, assignments, etc.)
Modules: You can choose to show all course modules to students as the home page; this can act like a table of contents for the course
Assignments: you can select assignments as a home page, but note that this is only best if your course structure relies heavily on assignments
Syllabus: Similar to a Front Page, but can also list course assignments by default at the bottom of the page; a popular method is to add a banner, provide key information and policies, and include a downloadable copy of the syllabus
Announcements: show recent announcements are part of the Course Home Page

What are modules and why should you use them?

Modules are used to organize course content by weeks, units, or a different organizational structure
Modules can contain files, discussions, assignments, quizzes, and other materials (think of it as a folder that organizes other materials)
When you add a new module, it automatically sorts to the bottom of the list (scroll down to find the new module)
Create a module, give it a name, and add items
Easily move or reorder modules
Publish or unpublish each module (make visible or invisible to students)
Create prerequisite activities that students must complete before moving on in the course
Track student progress through a sequence of learning activities

What are the features of the calendar?

The calendar is a global feature, which means that users can see all course assignments and events in a single place
The calendar helps to remind students of graded assignments with specific due dates
The calendar automatically syncs with other features in Canvas, so changing the date of an assignment on the Calendar will show in the assignments list and vice versa
You can quickly add assignments to a blank course, and choose to fill in the details later
You can filter the calendar view by course
Add an event (a non-graded Canvas activity) with links to readings you'd like students to do before a class, or create a reminder for a field trip
Set a Scheduler appointment group aside for students to meet with you (students can sign up for times in their own calendars) as a virtual office hour sign-up
For a full list of how-to guides, see the Calendar section of the Canvas Instructor Guides list

What are files and how do you use them?

Files can hold course files as well as personal files
Files can hold assignments, syllabi, readings, other documents, user-specific files, and more
Instructors can lock files so they can only be viewed by direct link or unlock after a certain date
Files can be placed in Modules, Assignments, or pages

What are groups and what can you do with them?

Groups facilitate semester-long projects among students (allows them to communicate and work on documents collaboratively)
You can create group sets automatically or manually in a course, or create self-sign ups in a group set
Add students to a group set automatically or manually
Assign a student leader to a group to help manage the group
Selectively message students who have not yet signed up for a group (in self-sign up) and remind them to do so
Allow students to form their own groups in the course (groups made by students cannot be used to assign group projects)
See the Canvas Instructor Guide for a list of how-to articles on groups

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