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How to Use Canvas for Teachers: 8 Tips to get you started and avoid common mistakes

Want (or need?) to know how to use Canvas LMS? I’ve been using Canvas since 2016 and I’ve got you covered. Here are 8 tips on how to use Canvas for teachers (and how to avoid my early mistakes!).

1. Organize Units as Modules

There are different ways to organize materials in Canvas but I prefer to create a module for each unit and use text headers within those modules to organize student materials and links. I’ve gotten positive feedback year after year from students about this approach. 

2. Organize Assignments into Groups

In my assignments page, I create separate groups, broken up by units again. This helps me stay organized and breaks up what could be a very long list of assignments into less overwhelming sections for myself and students. 

Note: I ran into issues with this and grade syncing when we switched to a new version of PowerSchool gradebook in 2019 which was annoying. I’m still working on a fix for this.

3. Create Folders in your Files

I upload lots of files and keep them organized in folders within Canvas. I create a folder for, you guessed it, each unit. That, along with a good file naming system, is key to finding what you want fast when uploading files to assignments or pages.

Pro-Tip: Students will see file names so choose wisely!

4. Copy Your Courses Or Import Individual Content
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To get here, click “Settings” on the left side of the screen

One thing I love is that I can import an entire Canvas course to a new course. Teachers can also pick individual content to export from one Canvas course to another. This means that I can create ONE page in a course with my school handbooks, schedules, etc and copy that same page to all my other courses. 

Each year I take last year’s course, import it to the new course for the current year, and update the start/end dates which automatically adjusts the assignment dates for me. I do occasionally need to alter dates but for the most part, it saves me a ton of time as a teacher using Canvas. 

Click “Settings” and then use the menu on the right side of the screen.

5. Limit What Students See in Their Navigation Menu on the Left
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So much clearer for students

Not only do I want to tell you how to use Canvas for teachers, but let’s also keep things simple for your students! Remove anything they don’t need and move the most used items to the top of the list. You control all of this by clicking “Settings” in the left navigation bar, then “Navigation” on the top bar. Anything in the bottom portion will be hidden from students.

Example: I don’t use Canvas Discussions, Announcements, or Quizzes much so I hide those from student navigation. 

6. Don’t Let Students See Your Files!

You do NOT want students to be able to see “Files” in their Canvas menu. Why? Let’s say you store quizzes in there or homework. If you don’t remove “Files” from student navigation, your students will be able to see and download ALL of your files without you knowing it. Yeah, I made this mistake starting out *facepalm*.

How to prevent this? Click “Settings” in the left navigation bar > “Navigation” on the top bar > Drag “Files” to the bottom section.

Note: Dragging “Files” to the bottom does NOT mean students can’t see files you share on a page or assignment, it means they don’t have access to your file browser on Canvas with all the files.

7. Rubrics Rock!

I admit that creating rubrics in Canvas is a bit cumbersome but it is worth it! It makes grading a snap! Once you’ve created a rubric you can use it in any course or start with it and make changes. When grading you simply click the rubric squares to grade.

8. How to use Canvas for Remote Teaching

I created a module called “Online Learning” and a new page for each day of class. On that page I linked to the Zoom meeting, wrote the agenda, and inserted any links (internal, like Canvas pages or assignments & external like Quizlet or GoFormative) students would need so they had one place to access everything for the day. If a student was absent, I uploaded the video of our Zoom class to the same page.  

Bonus Tips on How to Use Canvas for Teachers

-Drag and drop assignments on the Calendar to automatically update/change their due dates.

-Don’t publish assignments until you’re ready for students to start working on them. If you publish ahead of time, students will spend class time trying to work on the assignment instead of being engaged in class.

-Color code your Calendar and view classes one at a time by clicking checkboxes on the right side of the screen. Teach your students this trick too.

-Parents can join classes as “Observers” which means they can see everything but cannot submit assignments or participate in things like Quizzes or Discussions. Handy for parents who like to keep a close eye on their students.

-Keep the most recent content at the top if you’re organizing by modules. This makes it much easier for students.

-Set your Home page as the most used page for students. Based on student feedback, “Modules” is my home page because it is what I use most often.

-Star the courses you want to appear on your dashboard then drag and drop to reorder in “Card View”

There you go! Eight ways (and then some) to use Canvas well based on my 4 years with it. What other questions do you have? Drop a comment below and let me know.

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