Top Ten Easy Course Adjustments That Have a Large Impact
Moss||Best practices, Teaching Tips
Ever wondered if your course material organization needs improvement? You're not alone!
We are pleased to present this selection of best practices for maximizing your students'
success in navigating course materials on Canvas and staying on track throughout the
semester. These tips were selected based on some of the top concerns that students
seek assistance for at ϺƵ related to general course design practices. The best practices
in this article are inspired by research-based recommendations from nationwide course
improvement programs like Quality Matters.
Teach face-to-face/synchronously? Students look for materials and information inside Canvas in addition to hearing about
it during your synchronous lecture, so much of this Tip is pertinent for you as well.
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Takeaways
This tip's ten suggested adjustments mirror the most common complaints and concerns
that students have communicated to their advisors.
In-depth tutorials are included that will guide you in improving that aspect of your
course.
See the links at the end of this tip to view highlights and showcase courses.
#1 Assessment due dates are updated every semester
Students rely heavily on due dates that are clearly communicated via the assessment
dates and calendar. Missing a due date because it is either not posted or incorrect
can mean that a student falls behind in class, potentially leading to poor academic
performance and retention issues. There can be big consequences if grades are affected
when participating in athletics or with some scholarships.
The Canvas "To-Do" list appears on the Homepage of every Canvas course and is generated
based on assignment due dates. Additionally, the “Calendar” feature in the left sidebar
of Canvas collates due dates from all of a student’s courses together and many rely
on these features to stay on track. Double-check to make sure all your assessment
due dates are correct for each semester.
How to double-check that your due dates are correct: Navigate to the All Assignments
page, and in the upper right-hand corner, click on the vertical ellipses menu and
choose "Edit Assignment Dates". You'll then see all of your assessments, and you
can update them on this page. You can also select and update more than one at a time
if they have the same date.
#2 Syllabus is located on the special syllabus page
Your syllabus is a critical guide for students, so they need to be able to quickly
locate it and refer back to it throughout the semester.
Canvas provides a dedicated page within the course menu for this document that most
instructors use. Place your syllabus on this special Canvas page, as students expect
to find it in this location.
You can embed your syllabus if it is shared through Google Docs or upload and link
to a PDF.
What makes this page different from others? In addition to your syllabus, students
will automatically see a summary of all published assessments with links to each along
with their due dates in your class, which will help students stay on track.
You can also publish your syllabus page publicly before the full course goes live
and send it to prospective students. Learn more:
00:06: How do I use the syllabus as an instructor? 00:09: Navigate to the Syllabus
page by selecting Syllabus in the course navigation. 00:14: There are three sections
of the Syllabus page: the Syllabus Description, the Course Summary, and the sidebar.
00:21: The syllabus description is where you can post your course description, class
guidelines, and other important information. Click the Edit button to edit its content.
00:31: The Course Summary is automatically generated for the course and contains a
list of course assignments and calendar events. Changes to dated items will be automatically
updated in the Course Summary. 00:42: The sidebar section displays information about
course events and grading. 00:47: A gray background on the mini-calendar indicates
a date with events or assignment due dates . To view associated items in Course Summary,
click the date. 00:57: If your course includes weighted assignment groups, the sidebar
also shows the percentages of each group. 01:04: This guide covered how to use the
syllabus as an instructor.
You can use the ϺƵ Syllabus Template, updated regularly with the latest curriculum requirements from ϺƵ Governance to make sure you are up to date.
#3Assessment due date changes are communicated promptly
When adjusting assignment due dates, update the due dates in Canvas and send an Announcement
right away to notify students of the change. This practice minimizes confusion and
ensures students have the most current information.
Note: If you mention any specific due dates in your syllabus document, consider using the
due date functionality in Canvas instead. That way, you only have to update them in
one place.
Fun fact: Did you know that in the Canvas Calendar, you can quickly change the due date of
an assessment by click-holding it and dragging it to a new date? This will update
the date in several locations automatically —on the assessment itself, in the module,
on the assignments page, in the To-Do list, in the Canvas Calendar and on the Syllabus
Summary list. If you have the date listed in any other locations, like a schedule
inside your syllabus, it is up to you to update that as needed.
00:07: How do I add an announcement in a course? 00:10: In course navigation click
the announcements link 00:14: Click the add announcement button. 00:17: Type a title
for the announcement in the topic title field 00:21: Add content in the rich content
editor. 00:24: To add an attachment to your announcement click the attach link then
00:28: select a file. 00:30: View the attached file name. You can download or delete
00:34: the attachment to download the attached file. 00:36: Click the file name linked
to delete the attachment hover 00:41: the cursor over the link and click the delete
icon. 00:48: In the usage right drop-down menu select one of five usage rights. 00:53:
If you are an instructor and are not sure which usage write applies to your file,
please 00:57: consult your institutional admin for guidance. 01:01: I hold the copyright
original content created by you. 01:05: I have obtained permission to use the file
authorized permission by the author. 01:11: The material is in the public domain explicitly
assigned to public domain 01:15: cannot be copyrighted or is no longer protected by
copyright. 01:21: The material is subject to an exception EG fair use the 01:25: right
to quote or others under applicable copyright laws excerpt 01:29: or summary used
for commentary news reporting research or 01:33: analysis in education. 01:36: The
material is licensed under Creative Commons. 01:39: This option also requires setting
a specific Creative Commons license. 01:44: If known enter the copyright holder information
in the copyright holder field. 01:50: To save your usage right settings click the
save button you can edit usage 01:54: right settings by clicking the set usage rights
icon. 01:58: By default canvas will send your announcement to all sections within
your course. 02:02: To select specific sections for your announcement click the post
to drop down 02:06: menu and select sections from the list provided. 02:11: In the
options section, you can select various options for your announcement. 02:16: To allow
other users to reply to the announcement click the allow participants 02:20: to comment
checkbox. 02:23: To disallow threaded replies to an announcement click the disallow
threaded 02:27: replies checkbox. 02:30: To require students to reply to a post before
seeing other replies click 02:34: the participants must respond to the topic before
viewing other replies checkbox. 02:40: To enable an announcement podcast feed click
the enable podcast feed 02:44: checkbox. 02:46: To allow users to like announcement
replies. 02:48: Click the allow liking checkbox. 02:52: By default the announcement
will display immediately after you publish it and 02:56: it displays for the duration
of the course unless you delete it. 03:00: However, you can set display dates for
the announcement to specify 03:04: when the announcement should display set a date
and time in the available from area. 03:09: To specify when the announcement should
stop displaying set a date and time 03:13: in the until area. To delay the posting
of your announcement 03:17: schedule the announcement for a future date. 03:21: Click
the publish button. 03:24: View the announcement in the announcements index page 03:27:
This guide covered how to add an announcement in a course.
00:07: How do I use the calendar as a student? 00:10: In global navigation click the
calendar link 00:14: The calendar spans all courses and displays information for each
of your enrolled 00:18: courses and groups in the navigation bar. 00:21: You can choose
to view the calendar in week month or agenda view 00:25: the view ichoose dictates
the style of the calendar window by 00:29: default the calendar appears in month view.
00:33: The sidebar shows a quick view calendar your list of courses in 00:37: groups
and undated items for your courses and groups. 00:42: Each calendar view shows any
assignments or events that have been added to the calendar 00:46: you can add events
including recurring events and 00:50: to-do items to your personal calendar at any
time in the navigation bar by 00:54: clicking the add button. 00:56: Each personal
course and Throop calendar is identified by a separate 01:00: color that populates
the calendar view Associated calendar 01:04: items for each course or group display
when selected in the calendar view. 01:09: By default the first 10 course in group
calendars will be selected and appear 01:13: in the calendar view to hide a calendar.
01:16: Click the box next to the name of the calendar calendars that are not 01:20:
active within the calendar view display is faded text. 01:24: Expanding undated items
link will show you a list of events and assignments 01:28: that are not dated the
assignments and events will be differentiated by 01:32: icons and by the personal
course or group calendar color. 01:37: In the month you click the arrow buttons to
move from month to month to 01:41: view events for the current date clicks it today
button. 01:46: To view a specific date click the month link 01:50: Then enter a date
in the date field or select a date from the calendar. 01:55: Assignments are shown
with an icon next to the assignment title the icon 01:59: reflects the assignment
type. 02:02: Discussion 02:05: Assignment 02:08: Quiz 02:11: Or events 02:14: 9 graded
items with a to-do date May display in the calendar for a course. 02:19: Each item
on the calendar is color-coded to match. 02:21: The courses are calendars in the sidebar.
02:25: Give you full details for an assignment or event hover over the item. 02:30:
Calendar assignments can also be crossed out which is a simple way to keep track 02:34:
of assignments assignments are crossed out. 02:37: Once the assignment has been submitted
however assignments that have been 02:41: awarded a grade but do not contain an actual
submission will not be crossed out. 02:46: All the events display the events icon
and do not include a specific event time. 02:51: If you want to extend an all-day
event across multiple days have her 02:55: over the edge of the event until you see
a black Arrow drag your event 02:59: across all required dates in the current month.
03:03: Assignments are shown with an icon next to the assignment title the icon 03:07:
reflects the assignment type. 03:10: To view the calendar by week. Click the week
button the week view shows 03:14: all calendar items by date and time note that some
assignments. 03:18: Maybe do it 11:59 p.m. Which appear at the bottom of the calendar
03:22: view? 03:24: All day events appear at the top of the calendar week these events.
03:27: Do not include a specific event time. Like in the month view 03:31: if you
want to extend an all-day event across multiple days hover 03:36: over the edge of
the event until you see a black Arrow drag your event 03:40: across all required dates
in week view. 03:43: You can only drag your event to the end of the week that you
are viewing. 03:48: Have you all your calendar items in an agenda format? Click the
agenda button? 03:54: If your institution has enabled schedule her appointment groups,
you can sign up for 03:58: an appointment in the calendar sidebar. 04:01: This guy
covered how to use the calendar as a student.
From:
#4 Structure Modules by Date or Topic with Descriptive Titles
To help keep students on track, structure course modules by date or topic (rather
than type of content) and use short titles that correspond to the topic(s) at hand.
This organization method consolidates all materials needed for a specific period of
time or topic, making it easier for students to locate resources and stay on schedule.
The module becomes the student's map for all the things they need to view or accomplish
during that week or during the topic timeline.
Most online, hybrid and hyflex courses are organized by week. One thing to note is
that the Canvas To-Do list also defaults to displaying due dates each week from 12:00
a.m. Monday through 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
#5 Provide clearly written instructions
Use the text edit area in Canvas assessments to outline clear and concise, step-by-step
instructions for completing assignments, discussions, and quizzes. Your course materials
should lead up to the instructions posted on the assignment page. It is often best
to keep instructions to the point while providing any necessary resources that students
will need to complete the assignment.
Enhancing readability with accessible headers and simple formatting on the page can
further improve student understanding of the task. Not sure if your instructions
are clear? Ask a peer, instructional designer, or student to read it through and give you feedback.
#6 Allow students to access to module learning materials past due dates
While it’s common to restrict assessment submissions within specific timeframes, consider
keeping other learning materials open and accessible in your module for students to
review as needed. Instead of unpublishing the module or page content, leave it published
and accessible so students can revisit it. If you do not want students to submit late
work, simply set the availability date on the assessment page itself.
See also:
#7 Centralize Course Content in Canvas
Canvas is the primary and recommended location where students will look for and expect
your course materials to be located. Think of it like the home base for all ϺƵ courses,
regardless of modality. If you are an instructor who chooses to teach in Google Classroom
or other location, it is best practice to put wayfinding links in your Canvas course
so students can find their way to the right place. Publish the Canvas course and put
this information on the home page. Set your home page to be announcements or a page
with wayfinding information. Do this even if you send out an email with instructions
to students. If a student adds your course late or doesn't receive the email, they
will have a map to start with.
#8 Integrate Lab Activities Within Weekly Modules
If your course includes lab work, embed lab activities within the relevant weekly
or topic module rather than isolating them in a separate “Labs” module that the students
have to hunt for. Organizing content in this way aligns the due dates and topics so
that everything the student needs for the week or topic is consolidated in one place.
In the module, consider using text headers to help delineate different types of content.
You can also use a lab-related emoji in the title to help differentiate the assignment.
🔬 📏 ⚖️ 👩🏻🔬 🧫
#9 Regularly update grades
Most instructors design their courses with formative assessments which offer opportunities
for students to absorb, reflect, and revise throughout the semester. This form of
student-centered assessment is more like an ongoing conversation, where an instructor
offers formative feedback, and students have the chance to demonstrate their improved
understanding. Formative assessments, especially with a revision cycle, have been shown to increase enduring understandings.
The potential teaching burden for you is, of course, grading more assignments and
providing feedback with a quick turnaround after the due date. Students will be checking
inside Canvas Grades for updates and feedback regularly, not just at your summative
midterm and finals.
Feel overwhelmed by the Canvas Grade interface? Here are some tricks for helping you
manage your grading workflow to stay on track with grading in a timely manner.
00:06: How do I use the Gradebook? 00:09: In Course Navigation, click the Grades link.
00:12: The Gradebook includes global sorting options and settings you can use to organize
your grade book, student data, and assignment data. The Gradebook supports keyboard
shortcuts. To view the Keyboard Shortcuts menu, click the Keyboard icon or press the
Shift+Question Mark keys simultaneously. 00:30: The Traditional Gradebook allows you
to see all students, assignments, and grades. In the Gradebook menu, you also switch
between several options as available. 00:40: Learning Mastery Gradebook displays the
Learning Mastery Gradebook, which assesses outcome standards being used in Canvas
courses. This gradebook is a course-level feature option. 00:51: Individual Gradebook
allows you to assess one student and one assignment at a time and is fully accessible
for screen readers. Individual View currently does not support settings and options
from the Gradebook. 01:03: Gradebook History displays the Gradebook History page,
which logs recent grade changes in the course according to student, grader, assignment,
and date. 01:13: The Search Students field allows multiple student names to be filtered
at the same time. 01:18: The Search Assignments field allows multiple assignment names
to be filtered at the same time. 01:23: The Gradebook Settings allow you to apply
Late Policies, a Grade Posting Policy, a Final Grade Override, and View Options in
your course gradebook. 01:32: The Late Policies tab allows you to apply late policies
in your course. 01:36: The Grade Posting Policy tab allows you to change grade posting
policies for your course. 01:41: The View Options tab allows you to filter and sort
the Gradebook according to several viewing options: arrange by, show, view ungraded
as zero, and status color. 01:52: In the Apply Filters menu, you can create and manage
filter presets or filter columns by type. 01:58: To bulk manage student grades in
the Gradebook, you can also import grades and export grades. 02:04: The Student Name
column displays each student's name and may also include a student's secondary ID,
if enabled. 02:11: Each column in the Gradebook represents a published assignment
in the Assignments page. Each column displays the assignment title, total points,
and each student's grade. 02:22: To enter grades, type the grade as supported by assignment
type directly in the Gradebook cell. You can also enter grades and change the submission
status by clicking the Grade Detail Tray icon. 02:33: The Grade Detail Tray allows
you to enter or edit grades, change the status of a submission, and leave comments
for the student. 02:41: The assignment groups shown in the Gradebook match the assignment
groups created in the Assignments page. If your assignment groups are weighted, the
weighted grade displays below the group title. Grade totals from assignment groups
are calculated in the Total column of the Gradebook. 02:56: This guide covered how
to use the Gradebook.
00:00:How do i create and manage filters in the Gradebook? 00:04:In Course Navigation,
click the Grades link. 00:08:To view or manage gradebook filters, click the Apply
Filters button. 00:13:Click the Create & Manager Filter Presets link. 00:17:To create
a new filter, click the Create Filter Preset expand arrow icon. 00:23:Depending on
how your course is setup, you can filter gradebook content by assignment groups, grading
periods, modules, sections, student groups, submissions, start dates, and end dates.
00:38:To save the filter for future use, enter a filter name in the Filter preset
name field. 00:44:To add a filter type, click a filter type drop-down menu 00:49:You
can select a specific filter type in which to filter gradebook content. The filter
type field format and listed options vary depending on the selected filter type. If
you selected the Sections filter type, course sections display in the Sections drop-down
menu. To view content for a specific section, click the section name. 01:10:If you
selected the Assignment Group filter type, course assignment groups display in the
Assignment Groups drop-down menu. To view content for a specific assignment group,
click the assignment group name. 01:23:If you selected the Module filter type, course
modules display in the Modules drop-down menu. To view content for a specific module,
click the module name. 01:34:If you selected the Student Group filter type, course
student groups display in the Student Groups drop-down menu. To view content for a
specific student group, click the student group name. 01:46:If you selected the Grading
Periods filter type, you can view all grading periods or a specific grading period.
01:53:If you selected the Submissions filter type, you can select a specific submission
type. 01:59:If you selected the Start Date or End Date filter type, you can view assignments
with a start date or end date on or after a specific date. To view assignments with
a start or end date on or after a specific date, add the date in the Date field. 02:15:To
save the filter preset, click the Save Filter Preset button. To clear the filter presets,
click the Clear button. 02:24:In the Apply Filters menu, view the saved filter preset.
02:29:In the Saved Filters Preset sidebar, existing filters display. To rename a filter,
enter a new name in the Filter preset name field. To manage a filter preset's filter
type, click a Filter Type drop-down menu. 02:45:To delete the filter, click the Delete
Preset button. 02:49:To create a new filter, click the Create Filter Preset expand
arrow icon. 02:55:View the filtered gradebook content. Applied filter names display
in the Applied Filters section. 03:02:To remove a filter, click the filter option
drop-down menu and click the Remove Filter option. 03:09:To remove all filters, click
the Clear All Filters link 03:13:To view gradebook settings, click the Settings icon.
03:17:This guide covered how to create and manage filters in the Gradebook.
From:
#10 Make your course fully accessible
Making your course fully accessible is required by law under the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990, with Title II updates for 2025 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1974.
Accessible course materials are part of the universal design for learning (UDL) principles
that will help all students access materials smoothly from the outset, regardless
of ability, rather than as an afterthought for individual accommodations. Being consistent
with the implementation of accessible materials requires a shift in paying attention
to design from the outset with this perspective.
While , there are a couple tools you can use in Canvas that will help you make sure your
content meets the requirements of the law.
00:07: How do I use the accessibility Checker in the rich content editor? 00:12: If
any accessibility issues are detected within the rich content editor the 00:16: accessibility
Checker display an indicator. 00:19: To view accessibility issues. Click the accessibility
Checker icon 00:25: When an issue is detected the rich content editor highlights the
affected area. 00:30: The sidebar displays the accessibility attribute and an explanation
of the error. 00:35: To learn more about the accessibility attribute click the information
icon. 00:40: If the rich content editor contains more than one issue you can view
all issues 00:44: by clicking the previous or next buttons. 00:48: To correct an issue
complete the task as noted in the sidebar. 00:51: For instance. If the issue requires
that alt text 00:55: be added to an image the sidebar displays a text field for you
to enter 00:59: alt text. When you are finished with your changes click 01:03: the
apply button. 01:06: The accessibility Checker will apply the fix and display information
for the next issue. 01:11: Continue to review and fix any detected issues within the
editor. 01:16: When all issues have been fixed or if no issues are detected in the
rich content 01:20: editor. The sidebar indicates that no issues exist and will close
01:24: automatically. 01:26: This guide covers how to use the accessibility Checker
in the rich content editor.
Did you know that there are a few ϺƵ courses that you can check out? Get inspiration
from how other ϺƵ faculty have structured their courses. Visit the Showcase Course page for more information.
References
Glazier, R. A., & Harris, H. S. (2021). International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 22(3), 77-98.
Banta, T. and Palomba, C. (2014). . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Map your way to a quality course: Course Mapping. Online Course Improvement Improvement
Program. NM State University. Retrieved from Quality Matters
Matia has been a ϺƵ student since 2020 and is studying Linguistics and Anthropology
with an Iñupiaq language minor. Born and raised in the Interior, she is heavily involved
in the community on and off campus. She hopes to one day work in higher education,
focusing on language revitalization and education. She is very involved in student
clubs on campus and loves talking to new students about adjusting to university life.
She works under the Office of Student Success as an Academic Coach, helping students thrive during their time at ϺƵ.
