April 18, 2013(handout based on features available at this date) **

North Seattle Community College
Canvas Workshop Session #1 - Add Course Placeholders and Build Course Navigation

Subject / Hands-On! / Technology & Logistics / Pedagogy& Practical Tips
  1. Getting started
This workshop presents one of many possible course designs / Receive NSCC’s e-learning Standards & Guidelinesand the one-page “Quality Matters Rubric”

Watch the video tour of an actual NSCC course created in Canvas / Canvasis not your “parents’ LMS”!
(no “versions” – ongoing updates: )
Handouts/tutorials are “snapshots” – details may varyas we catch up with changes! / Find & verify the description and orientation information about your class on the pertinent college web pages (e.g. Virtual College)
  1. Getting into Canvas:
Your Personal Homepage
Dashboard / Log InFirst Steps!

Personal Settings:
  • Password change
  • Add Profile Pic
/ The view from yourDashboard*:
  • Global Navigation (tabs on top)
  • Recent Activity
  • Sidebar (To Do, Coming Up, Recent Feedback)
  • Help Corner
*information fromall your courses / Finding HELP!
  • Helpwith Canvas Guides
  • Help atNorth’s e-Learning Support Center (NeLSC)
  • ResourcesonNeLSC Canvas Support webpage(URL in footer)

  1. Getting into Class:
Your Course Home Page / Hover over(don’t click) the “Courses” pull-down menu, locate and click on your course to open your course home page / Right-hand Sidebar*:
  • “To Do”tasks
  • “Coming Up”calendar dates
  • “Recent Feedback”
Left-side screen*:
  • Course Navigationtabs
*information for this course only / Course Settingsare found in the left-side course navigation bar, and are different than Personal Settings in the Help Corner
  1. Publish your Development Courses
Course Setup Checklist / “Publish”your“Practice Course”
(and“Master Courses*”) now / What is “publishing”?
  • It allows your Guest student account access to your Practice & Master Courses for testing
  • In Session #4 we’ll talk about publishing your Quarter Shell
/ Working in a“Master Course*”
  • A “safe” environment without student enrollments
  • A “blueprint” to copy into actual quarter-specific classes
  • A “backup” in case of missteps in actual classes
*optional
  1. Your student view(s)
/ Check your student views
  • Teststudent
  • Guest student
  • login: guestnsccjdoe*
*use your first initial and last name
  • password: perfect
/ Why both student views?
  • Testview is quick
  • Guestview enables you to see what students will see on their User Dashboard and email account
/ Start to consider how you want students to progress through your course:
  • Weekly or topic modules?
  • Organization by type of activities?

  1. Build Course AssignmentPlaceholders
Assignments /
  • Add Assignment Groups (Quizzes, Homework, Discussions, etc.)
  • Select the Group (e.g. Quizzes) and click “Add Assignment to”
  • Select the typeof Assignment (Quiz)
  • Add title (e.g. “Week 1 Quiz”)
  • Adddue date & points
  • Replicatefor weeks 2 through 4
  • Switchto next type: (Assignment/”homework”;Graded Discussion) and repeatthe above steps
/ For paper-based or any outside-of-Canvas assignments, choose “Assignment” as the type
  • We will learn how to set an “on-paper submission”in Session #2
AssignmentGroup options:
  • Drop the lowest score in the group
  • Weight final grades based on groups you’ve created
  • Create special categories like “Blog”, “Field Trip”, “Research Paper”
/ Creating Assignment and all other “placeholders” at the same time is easier in Canvas
Highly recommended: Create a placeholder for a “syllabus quiz” that must be completed by students
  1. Build Course Content Placeholders:
Pages / Select “Create a new page”
  • Title it “Start Here”QM 1.1*
  • Create another page entitled
    “Week 1 Module Instructions”
  • Repeatfor Weeks 2 through 4
  • “Edit”Week 1 page and type in headingsfor weekly activities
  • Save, copy text and use as a template,pasting intoother instruction pages so all pages have the same lay-outs
/ The first time you click on Pages tab you are directed to edit your “Front Page” (i.e. Course Home Page)
  • Click “Cancel” for now
Another option: Use external links to instruction pages created in your facweb space(more on this below)
/ Headingsto consider in your weeklymodule instructions pagemight include:
  • This Week’s Readings
  • Lecture Recordings
  • Quiz Instructions
  • Homework Questions
  • Lab Assignments
  • Field Trip Information

  1. Build Module Placeholders
Modules / Click “Create a Module”
  • Add an OrientationModule
  • Add a “Week 1 Module”
  • Replicate,creating modules
    for weeks 2 ,3 & 4
/ Just as forAssignments and Content, creating “placeholders” for Modules all at the same time is the easiest way to organize your work in Canvas
  1. Preparethe Student“Learning Path”
Modules
Move the placeholders into place! / Click on the gear icon to the right of the Module name and choose “Add Content”
  • Select “Content Page”
  • Add“Week 1 Module Instructions” page to Week 1 Module, repeat for weeks
2, 3 & 4
  • Similarly “Add Content”, select “Quiz” for weeks 1, 2, 3 & 4
  • Repeat for DiscussionsAssignments
/ Module items can be moved, indented:
  • Use arrows in front of items, click and drag to move them up or down the list
  • Hover your pointer over items & use arrows to shift left or right
/ Option: Add External URL to link to a recording or resource web page outside the course
  • Click Add Content from the gear icon and choose External URL from the “Add” dropdown menu (

  1. Set Student Learning Path
Modules / Add “module requirements”to create astudentlearning path:
  • Clickthe gear icon for the first Module, then“Edit”
  • Pick“This module is complete when”
  • Click “Add requirement”
  • Select “Week 1 Quiz”
  • Click “Update Module”
  • Repeatfor other modules, selecting at least one item for each
/ Option : Set Lock Module Until dates is an alternative to Requirements/Prerequisites if you want modules to be made available to all students at the same time.
Option: You can require students to step through “ModuleRequirements” in sequential order by selecting the appropriate checkbox / Setting individual “student learning paths” via “requirements” and “prerequisites” allows each student to progress at his/her own rate
You can copy the date from your PDF “design blueprint” (described in step 14 below)
  1. Set StudentLearning Path
Modules / Addprerequisites to modules to complete a studentlearning path:
  • Clickthe gear icon for the Week 1 Module, then “Edit”
  • Pick“Before students can view this module”and choose your Orientation Module’s completion as required
  • Click “Update Module”
  • Clickgear icon for Week 2 module & require Week 1’s completion
  • Repeat for each week’s module
/ Unless every module’s access depends on the previous one, make sure all module prerequisitesare correctly added to each, with none skipped
  • For example, if Module 4 depends on Modules 1 & 3 but not 2
/ Consider whether students need to complete a quizwith a particular score in order to move to the next module
  • For example, student must score 80% on “Syllabus Quiz” for allcourse Modules to open
  • This option can be set as a prerequisite as well

  1. SimplifyCourse Navigation
Settings / Design course navigation options
  • Click on the course“Settings”(not your Personal “Settings”)
  • Click & Dragbuttons to below the line to remove them from student view (although instructorscan still access them)
  • Click “Save”
/ In your view, tabs will appear to be “faded grey”if:
  • They are invisible to students
    Or…
  • They do not yet have informationtied to them
  • For example, no ‘”Announcements” have been created as yet
/ Choose theminimum numberof navigation buttons (e.g. Home, Syllabus, Announcements, Modules, Grades, People) to guide students clearly QM 6.3*
  • Too many navigation options can cause confusion
  • Canvas already has many alternative avenuesavailable to help students find course components

  1. Migrate or Equate?
/ Migrating from ANGEL?
  • Is it best to only migrate quizzes or to export your entire course?
/ Check the “Preparing to Migrate”handout on NSCC’s e-learning website below
Also, the Moving an ANGEL Course into Canvashandout gives step by step directions for migration / Contact and/or come see us for advice, assistance & additional tools
  1. Course Design Blueprint
/ A Nifty Design Tool for Modular Course Design in Canvas
  • Download the “PDF Course Schedule Builder”
/ The PDF Course Schedule Builderallows you to add dates, modules, activities in sequencesthat easily transpose to your Canvas course modules / Check out the fine youtube video on how to use the PDF Course Schedule Builder
  1. Your Questions!
/ How did this session go? / What was too much… confusing? / Thank youfor attending!

*QM 1.1, QM 6.3, etc. = refers to the 2013 Quality Matters Rubric, Standard 1.1, Standard 6.3, etc.

** This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

NSCC Canvas Workshop Session 1 ( Page 1