Using Canvas

 

IP&T 372 GS Using Canvas


Essential Account Settings

 Action Required

For a smoother user experience,  please follow the steps in each of the drop-downs below before getting started with the course.

1. Verify or Add your Email Address

In order to receive essential course communications and access critical third party software for testing and textbook access, it is vital that your email address is correctly added into Canvas.  Please follow these steps to verify or add your correct email address to the system:

  1. In the left global navigation, click the Account icon.
  2. Choose the Settings link.

  3. In the Ways to Contact sidebar on the right, add the email address you use for campus communication. (If desired, you can also add your phone number under Other Contacts to receive text message alerts.)

  4. Click "Register Email" and confirm it through the email sent to your account.

An image of the notification settings with a number one at the adding an email address link, a number two at the plus sign next to the link, and a number three next to an adding contact method link.

2. Set Notification Preferences

It is important to set your notification preferences at the beginning of each semester/term. Canvas will email or text you reminders regarding activity in your course. 

  1. In the left global navigation, click on the Account icon
  2. Select the Notifications link.
  3. Each notification is set to a default option. To change it, click on the icon (it will become highlighted in green) for your preferred delivery type. The key across the top indicates what each symbol means. 
  4. It is strongly recommended that at least the following settings be changed to "Right Away" or "Daily Summary':
    • Announcement
    • Discussion Post
    • Added to Conversation
    • Conversation Message

Check out the Canvas Tutorial (Links to an external site.) here.

3. Set Your Time Zone

Course dates and times are displayed according to course's time zone (Utah/MST). Individuals can set their own time zone for their Canvas account. If you are taking an online course outside of Utah we suggest that you set your Canvas timezone to reflect the area where you are located. That will help you stay on top of due dates. 

  1. In the left global navigation, click on the Account icon
  2. Select the Settings link
  3. Click the Edit Settings button

An image of the Canvas setting with Edit Settings circled.

  1. In the Time Zone drop-down menu, select the time zone for your user account

An image of the settings with Time Zone circled.

  1. Click the Update Settings button

An image of the buttons on the bottom of the page to save and update your settings.

This will save the settings and you will see the time zone you chose displayed on the page. 

See the Canvas Tutorial (Links to an external site.) here.

4. Add Your Profile Information

You can add information about yourself including a picture that other students and the instructor can see.  

How do I edit my profile? (Links to an external site.)
How do I add a profile picture?

(Links to an external site.)

Basic Navigation

Here are some basics about Canvas that will help you have be successful in the course.

  1. Viewing pages.  It is important that you view and read each page in every unit and lesson in order. The easiest way to do this is to start from the Home page, click on the first page of the module you want to view, and click the "Next" button until you get through all the pages.  You can, of course, return to the home page at any time to see what's coming in future modules.

An image with of the sidebar for Canvas with arrows pointing to the syllabus, calendar, and help links.
  1. Viewing the Syllabus. Look at the navigation links on the left, click on Syllabus, and then read it carefully.
  2. Viewing the Schedule. The calendar is a great place to see your schedule of assignments.  You can also view a list of all assignments at the bottom of the syllabus. 
  3. Getting Help. If you have any Canvas questions, click on the Help link in the far left navigation.  It links to just about every question and answer you could ever have about Canvas. 

  1. Staying Current. Your To Do and Coming Up lists on the right side of the screen will tell you what is due this week and beyond. But be sure to still click through and read all the lesson pages in your course so you will be prepared. In other words, these To Do links are shortcuts to the assignment submission pages and do not replace the normal path through the course.
  2. Reviewing Feedback. Most of your assignments will include personalized feedback from your instructor or through a rubric.  Review feedback by clicking on the Recent Feedback items (under the Coming Up list on the right panel).  You can also access feedback in the gradebook by clicking Grades link in the left navigation. 
 An image of the canvas sidebar with To Do, Coming Up, Recent Feedback, and 9 more circled.

Meeting Module Requirements

Sometimes, modules contain requirements or prerequisites that must be met in order to trigger the availability of a subsequent module or a student grade.  In some cases, this functionality is added to help a student keep track of where they are in the course.  Modules with requirements will be indicated by text on the right hand indicating whether one or more items will need to be completed (1).  Items with a requirement will contain text under the item title to let you know what you need to do (2).  

An image showing the "Complete all items" box to the right of a canvas module (1) and the requirement text underneath the item title.

If a module has a prerequisite module, you will see a lock icon in the top right (3) as well as text that indicates which module is its prerequisite (4).

An image showing the locked icon and text indicating prerequisites for a module

There are 5 types of requirements you may need to fulfill:

  • View item - View the page.
  • Mark done - Click on the "Mark Done" button at the bottom right or top right of the page.
  • Submit - Submit the assignment.
  • Contribute to the page - Edit the page you are on.
  • Score at least - Achieve the specified score on the assignment.

Once you have met the requirement for an item, you will see a green check mark on the right of the item (5). 

An image showing the green check mark to the right of an item indicating its completion.

Once you complete all the requirements for a module, the module will auto-collapse and you will see a green check mark in the gray area at the right of the module (6).  You can toggle the module back open with the arrow on the left (7).  The modules will remain open or closed as you left them on subsequent visits to the Modules page.

An image showing the green check mark to the right of a module indicating its completion as well as the toggle open/closed arrow on the left of the module.

Files

You can upload 50 MB of your own files into Canvas. These files will only be visible to you; not to the instructors and other students.You can use this to upload rough drafts of assignments or save course work to access at a later time.

How do I use files as a student? (Links to an external site.)
Where are my user files as a student?

The Canvas Student Mobile App

With the Canvas student app you can submit assignments, participate in discussion boards, view your grades, and other course materials. From the app you can also access the calendar, to do items, notifications, and the inbox. It is available in the Apple App store and Google play store. 

Student Canvas App Guides

Important Notes for Student Canvas App

 In the Student Canvas App students and instructors should note the following. 

  • Quizzes – The app does support submitting quizzes; however, not all question types can be viewed in the App. If a quiz has unsupported question types, students will be redirected to login to the mobile web browser on the device. Students are encouraged to use desktop computers when submitting quizzes.
  • Assignments – The app does support submitting assignments; however, please note for students the assignment submission process will be different when compared to using a desktop web browser. On mobile devices assignments files will need to be saved in a third party application (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox etc.). Then in the submission process students will need to choose the third party application where the file exists when submitting the assignment.