Canvas Tutorials

To begin, log in to MyWillamette and select Canvas from the menu bar at the top of the page. 

When you first open Canvas, you will see a grid for your various courses. These will be categorized in various ways, like Published Courses and Unpublished Courses. Click on the course that you want to set up. 

You can set the home page of your course to any of your pages (this is covered in another tab of this tutorial). I currently have the syllabus set as the home page for the test course. You can begin building your course by selecting any page from the left side menu. I will begin with the syllabus.

To begin editing any page, navigate to it and click the "Edit" button at the top of the page.

Now that you have clicked "Edit," you will be taken to a page where you can create or edit content. 

Paste or type the material you want to appear in the text box provided. There are styling tools available, and you can insert links, images, media, tables, and so on. We will cover those options in more depth in other tutorials. 

For my syllabus, I wanted to include a downloadable version of the syllabus for students, and I wanted to add an image to create an interesting landing page when students first accessed the class. 

I had previously uploaded my file and image, so I clicked on the "Insert" dropdown menu and selected the appropriate category. The "Image," "Media," and "Document" options ultimately route you into the same system, so for if some reason one selection doesn't work, you will still be able to look for your file within the side menu that opens.

The "Insert" dropdown opens a side screen selection system called "Add" on the right of your screen. I looked for the image and file that I wanted to find. In this case, I had saved both files in my "Course Files" folder on Canvas, so I was able to find them by selecting "Course Files" in the top field and "Images" in the dropdown below that. 

I will show you how to upload and find files in Canvas in another tab in this tutorial.

To save new content or save an edit on any Canvas page, look for the red button below the text box. Because this sample is a syllabus, the button says "Update Syllabus." Other pages will have a button that says something like "Save." It will be located in the same place on the screen. 

If you would prefer a different page for your course home page, you can change it at any time. Select the "Choose Home Page" button from the menu at the right of the screen.

This opens a pop up with a list of page that you can choose from. Select the new home page that you want to set and click the "Save" button.

To upload files specific to one course, look for the "Files" tab in the left side menu (circled in red). Once you click this, you will see a list of folders and files in the course. To upload a file, look for the red "Upload" button at the top right of the page (circled in purple). You can create folders to organize your materials using the "+ Folder" beside the "Upload" button.

If you want a file to be available in many courses, you can also save it to your personal files in Canvas. Regardless of where you upload a file, you can always copy it into your personal files or another course. 

To access your personal files, click on the "Account" button with your profile picture at the far left, then select "Files" from the pop out menu. 

Now you have a list of files and folders available to you at the global level in Canvas. If you want to download, rename, move, delete, or share a file to Canvas Commons, hover over the file and click the three dots. This opens a drop down menu with possible actions. You can copy files to different classes using this method. 

Once you have enough of your course built out that it would be useful to students, be sure to publish it! Look for the "Course Status" indicator at the top right of your home page. When a course is published, the "Published" button will display a check mark and be highlighted in green. You can change this status at any time, but once the semester has started it is best not to unpublish a course, because students will not be able to access it. 

Your course does not need to be fully built in order to be published! Each page in Canvas can be individually set to published or unpublished, and you can add to a course after it has been published. 

Changing Contrast for Visibility in the Canvas Interface

The WU default contrast setting for Canvas may make some aspects (like the My Media tab) difficult to see (circled below). You have the option to change the default contrast setting for higher visibility.

To change your contrast setting, click on "Account" in the universal Canvas menu at left. In the pop-out menu that appears, toggle the switch at the bottom to "Use High Contrast UI," then reload the page.

Your default Canvas view will have changed to a high contrast setting. This setting will remain selected unless you switch back to the default view, you will NOT need to do this each time you sign into Canvas.

Duplicating Materials

You can duplicate all materials in Canvas, including modules. You an save yourself time by creating a basic module that acts as a template, duplicating it, and then editing the materials inside each module as needed.

Duplicating Materials

1. Navigate to one of the pages that shows you a list of materials (Modules, Pages, Discussions, Assignments, Quizzes).
2. Click on the three dots at the right in the title bar of the item you want to duplicate. 
3. Select "Duplicate" from the drop down menu.
4. Rename and modify your new item.

Duplicating Modules

This allows you to create a basic module that you can reuse throughout your course. For example, you may want to create a module for each class period or week. You an save yourself time by creating a basic module that acts as a template, duplicating it, and then editing the materials inside each module as needed. The duplication process creates a copy of almost everything in the module (pages, assignments, etc) – Classic Quizzes are the exception, and modules that contain Classic Quizzes can NOT be duplicated.

NOTE: Modules that contain quizzes can NOT be duplicated. I recommend creating duplicates of your modules, then adding quizzes in afterwards. 

To duplicate a module:

1. Click on the three dots at the right in the module bar.
2. Select "Duplicate" from the drop down menu. This will create a duplicate of everything in your module.
3. Rename your module.
4. Modify or delete the materials in your new module, or add materials to the new module.

Start of the Term Checklist

Why can't my students see my course in Canvas?

• Not Created? Be sure to create your courses in Canvas early so students can prepare for the semester!
• Is everything published? Check the Student View to ensure your content is visible to students.
  • Verify links and assignment dates are correct. If you've copied a previous course, these and other items may no longer be accurate.
  • Want to hide some content until a later date? Check out more on locked modules: How do I lock a module?

Course Content

• Copy course content into each section you are teaching.
• Set a course home page. You might also want to set announcements to show on your homepage.
• Hide navigation links for tools you are not using.
• Check that your quizzes settings and points are correct.
• Publish course content:
  • Modules
  • Pages, assignments, and items within Modules
  • Publish your course

Additional Resources

• Canvas Best Practices