Canvas can be a complex place, no matter your level of experience. We’ve provided our Top 10 Tips for Success in Canvas to help you meet your instructional goals in the e-Learning environment.
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Canvas Basics
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Settings
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Navigation
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Organization
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People
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Communication
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Assessments
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Grading
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Files
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Groups
If your course shell has not already been created, please visit the UF e-Learning Course Request Process page in order to request a Canvas shell.
Template Course
Access a UF Fall 2019 template shell from Canvas Commons or download a default template shell and import it into your course.
Support Services for Instructors
- UFIT e-Learning Support
- UFIT’s e-Learning Support is happy to assist you with your needs within Canvas and the e-Learning environment.
- UFIT Center for Instructional Technology and Training Instructional Design & Video Services
- UFIT’s Center for Instructional Technology and Training utilizes educational technology and evidence-based pedagogy to provide faculty support for all elements of the course development process.
- Center for Teaching Excellence
- The Center for Teaching Excellence is dedicated to keeping faculty, staff, and teaching assistants connected and informed through workshops and learning communities.
- UFIT Training
- UFIT Training empowers the UF community with technology to enrich teaching and learning, enable research and improve services.
- Center for Online Innovation and Production
- The Center for Online Innovation and Production is happy to assist you with your course development needs for UF Online courses.
Tips for Success
- Preparation and course launch
- Give yourself time to prepare an existing course for a new semester.
- Ensure that all links work, the syllabus has been updated, announcements are accurate, and everything that students need to access is published and up to date.
- Organization and design
- Create a Start Here/Getting Started module and describe your course goals and your approach to learning. It’s a great opportunity to get students excited to meet you and start digging into the course.
- Ensure that your learning objectives are aligned with your assessments.
- Incorporate basic active learning strategies in your instruction.
- Groups
- If you use groups, check at least twice a day during drop/add to make sure students who add your course are added to a group.
- Communication
- Always include your name and course in announcements, as announcement notifications in Canvas does not include this information.
- Outline office hours in a welcome video and in the syllabus, and prompt students to seek them out when needed.
- Utilize discussions as another opportunity to communicate with students.
- If you use discussion groups, don’t make them too big. A group of 6-10 students is ideal to spark genuine conversation and debate.
- Set clear expectations about when assignments will be graded, when emails will be returned, etc.
- People
- Students will be automatically added to your Canvas course by the Registrar’s Office.
- You can combine sections of the same course in the course request process.