Files in Canvas are exactly what they sound like. You can upload images, documents, and other media to use throughout all of your courses or specific to a single course.
Canvas Instructor Guide: Files
Pages can be used in many ways. Pages can contain course content, or you can grant students access and use them to create shared documents for sign-ups or collaborations.
Canvas Instructor Guide: Pages
You can approach files on Canvas in a few different ways. If you anticipate reusing the same files, images, documents, and media in multiple classes, you might want to upload to your global files and then copy them into the individual courses as needed. Canvas allows users to create folders to organize files, making it easier to find them later.
Alternatively, you can upload files to a course as you go. If you decide later that you want to reuse the file in another course, you can always copy it to your global files, or copy it directly into the new course.
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.
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.
Pages are a type of content item that can be used to present information or instructions to students. Pages are
similar to web pages, and they can include a wide range of content types, such as text, images, videos, links,
and embedded media. Once a page is created, it can be linked to other course materials, such as modules,
assignments, or discussions. Students can access pages by clicking on the page link in the course navigation
menu or by following links within other course materials.
Pages in Canvas can be used in a variety of ways, including:
View Page History
Page revision history can be viewed by clicking on the ellipses at the top right of the page. You can view revision history and restore a previous version, if necessary.
Course Home Page Customization
Pages can be used for many purposes in Canvas. They can function as informational pages, collections of links, collections of images, or class wikis. You are able to set editing permissions of specific pages based on the function you want them to serve.
Find the "Pages" tab in the course left side bar menu.
This will take you to a list of class pages. If you haven't created any pages yet, this will be blank. To create a page, click on the red "+ Page" button in the top right corner.
This will create a new page. You have access to various formatting tools those available in standard word processing programs.
Once you have your page set up, be sure to click either the "Save & Publish" or "Save" buttons! "Save & Publish" makes the page available to students.
By default, only the instructor / creator of a page has permission to edit it. If you would like to make a page editable by students for collaborations, look for the "Options" menu at the bottom of the page. Under "Users allowed to edit this page" select and set a group for editing permission. Be sure to click "Save & Publish" or "Save" when you are finished! Page permissions can be changed at any time.
You may want to create a shared or collaborative page in a course to use as a sign up sheet or a group wiki. This tutorial demonstrates the process by setting up a sign up page for class presentations.
Create your page as demonstrated in the previous tutorial: in the course side bar at left, select "Pages" then click on the red "+ Page" button in the top right corner.
Begin entering content into your new page.
Click the "Insert" drop down menu, then select "Table."
Select the number of rows and columns you want to start building your table. Rows and columns can be added as needed once your table is created.
Fill in your table as needed. For this example I set columns for presentation dates and presenter names, and the rows indicate when presentations will take place.
For this to work as a collaborative sign up page where students can enter their names, you need to set the page permissions to allow students access to edit. Do this by looking for the words "Options Users allowed to edit this page." In the drop down menu select your access preference.
Don't forget to click "Save & Publish" or "Save" when you're done. Make sure that your page has been published to make it accessible to students!
You can embed Google files directly into your Canvas Pages. Create a new page, and click the Google Drive icon above the text editing box.
This will bring up a pop-up window that asks you to select the Google Drive you want to access.
Confirm the drive you want to access, and another pop-up window will display the files inside your drive.
Select the file you want to embed, then save your Canvas Page. Your file will now appear directly in Canvas.
This demonstrates how to create a shared Google document that students can edit collaboratively, but the process is the same for shared slide shows, spreadsheets, and so on.
This example shows how to share files directly with participants. You can also use Canvas Collaborations (directions in Canvas's Instructor Guide: What are Collaborations?)
First, create the file you want to share in your Google Drive. Once it's set up, locate the "Share button" in the top right corner of the screen.
Click the "Share" button and edit your sharing settings. Under the "General Access" heading, select "Anyone with the link" from the dropdown menu.
Then, select "Editor" from the Role dropdown menu. This will allow all of the participants in your class to access and edit the file.
Click the "Copy link" button; the link will be copied to your computer clipboard. Click the "Done" button when you're finished.
Navigate back to your Canvas course.
You can add this link to a Canvas page, assignment, quiz, or anywhere a content box is available. If you are using modules, you can add the file as a module item using these steps:
If you are using modules, click the "+" button in the module where you want the shared file to be accessed.
Select "External URL" from the dropdown menu, paste the link that you copied from the Google file, and give the item a name. Click "Add Item" when you have finished filling in the fields.
Your editable file will appear as an item in the module (in this example, it is "Sample Shared Editable Doc."
When students click on this item in the module, they will see an editable file embedded in Canvas, and can add to it as they would any Google Drive file. If they want to access the file in Google Drive, they can click the rectangular icon next to the file name in the gray bar at the top of the document.
Tech support: For technical assistance, start a ticket with WITS
Brainstorming: For ideas on how to use tools in your course, contact the DLS