Start of the Semester Canvas Checklist

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Use this guide as a reference when setting up your Canvas course for a new semester. Relevant help guides are linked throughout the text in bold red.


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TO DO ITEM



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CHOOSE A

HOME PAGE

The Home Page is the first impression of a course. Select the Home Page Links to an external site. option that best fits the needs of your course.

RECOMMENDATION: Use a Canvas page as your home page to create a welcome to the course. Include information about the course and visuals to engage your students. DFCAS Online & Academic Technology Services has home page templates available (example home page).

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SIMPLIFY

COURSE NAVIGATION

For optimum course experience, hide unnecessary course navigation Links to an external site. links.

RECOMMENDATION: Display these items in Navigation: Home, Announcements, Syllabus (if using), Modules, Assignments, Grades, and People.

Canvas navigation with OU COURSE at top and Home Announcements Syllabus and Modules listed

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ADD A SYLLABUS &

SYLLABUS QUIZ

Add the current syllabus to your course and create a Syllabus Quiz to help motivate students to read it!

TIP: Use the Syllabus tool Links to an external site. or add your syllabus as a Page Links to an external site. and then link to it from the Modules page. Links to an external site.
TIP: After setting up the Syllabus Quiz, you can add prerequisites and requirements to modules so that students have to complete the Syllabus Quiz to continue in the course.

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EDIT AND POST

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Post a welcome announcement at the beginning of the semester. Continue to use Announcements throughout the semester to communicate with students and help them stay engaged.

All announcements are saved! When copying in a course from a previous semester edit the display dates of the announcements Links to an external site. so student receive them at the right time.

TIP:  Announcements can be set Links to an external site.to allow students to reply. Links to an external site.
➜ TIP:  
Make sure students know that you will be communicating with them through announcements so they can set their notifications appropriately. Click here for a Student Guide for Notifications Links to an external site.
➜ TIP:
 Need ideas for announcements? Find them here.

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ADD

DUE DATES

Many students rely on the Canvas TO DO LIST to know what to complete and when. An assignment must have a due date for it to appear on a student’s To Do list. Set Canvas due dates for each assignment to help your students manage their workload.

TIP: Update assignments dates in the assignment settings Links to an external site. 

PRO TIP: You can also set due dates for Pages Links to an external site. in Canvas

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SET UP

GRADES

Verify the Gradebook is arranged Links to an external site. according to your grading policy and your syllabus.

TIP: You can move the "Total" column Links to an external site. on the grades page from the far right position to the far left position next to the student list.

TIP: You can set Late Submission Links to an external site. or Missing Submission Links to an external site. policies.

TIP: You can set a Grade Posting policy Links to an external site..


SET UP WEIGHTED ASSIGNMENT GROUPS (If Applicable)

If you use weighted grading categories for your final grade calculations, you will want to add Assignment Groups Links to an external site. to the Assignments Index Page and assign weights Links to an external site. to each Group.

TIP: You have the ability to create drop rules in each Assignment Group.

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CUSTOMIZE

COURSE SETTINGS

Visit the course Settings Links to an external site. to check your Course Details and Sections.

TIP: If you have multiple sections of the same course, cross-list your courses under the "Sections" tab.

TIP: Adding a course card image Links to an external site. is a great visual cue for quickly identifying courses.

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CHECK FOR

BROKEN LINKS

Before publishing your course review content and pages to ensure all links are working. 

TIP: Use the Canvas Course Link Validator Links to an external site. to check for broken links .

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REVIEW COURSE IN 

STUDENT VIEW

Review your course content from Student View Links to an external site. to experience your course from a student perspective.

TIP: Student View adds a test student to Grades. After participating in Student View, enter your Gradebook as a teacher to view any Test Student entries.

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PUBLISH

COURSE AND CONTENT

When the course is ready, publish your course Links to an external site. and check visibility of individual items and Modules.

TIP: You can unpublish any items you don't want students to see.
TIP: Use the Student View (above) to ensure the correct content is published.

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CANVAS SETTINGS


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TIDY UP YOUR

DASHBOARD

Clean up your Canvas Dashboard Links to an external site. so it only has courses you need quick access to, such as current semester courses or courses you are developing. 

TIP: Course cards on the Dashboard can be arranged by simply clicking and dragging them. 

TIP: The Dashboard has other features and helpful tools Links to an external site., such as a To Do list!

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ADD YOUR 

OU ALIAS EMAIL

In order to directly reply to Canvas messages from your OU Email account add your OU alias email to Canvas Links to an external site. if you have one.

EXAMPLE: Your default OU email looks something like this: Sooner.the.Horse-1@ou.edu (this is the email that is already in Canvas). Your alias email is shorter and is usually something you have chosen. Example: soonerTH@ou.edu (this is the email you want to add to Canvas).

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SET A 

PROFILE PIC

Set a profile picture Links to an external site. that represents yourself in your Canvas Account. Students will be able to see the image displayed in the lnbox, Announcements, Discussions, and People tab.

TIP: You may want to choose a professional headshot to model appropriate photos for students and to encourage your students to add a picture as well.

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SET UP 

ACCOUNT NOTIFICATIONS

To ensure you receive communication from Canvas, set up your Notification Preferences Links to an external site. and contact method in your Canvas Account.

TIP: Show students how to set their notification preferences.

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