There are a lot of excellent tools in Canvas to help you engage your students both inside and outside your classroom. Creating and organizing your content is much easier when you understand how to use Modules, Pages, the Rich Content Editor, and Discussions.
Build in Modules
The Modules Tool is the easy way to organize your content by week, unit, topic, or whatever grouping you like. The recommended way to use Modules is to put your Content Pages, Assignments, Files, Discussions, and Quizzes into their respective Module (in the order you would like your students to review them) so that your students have one place to look for everything they need. This reduces the “where is . . .. ” questions throughout the semester. Deactivating the left side navigation options for Pages, Assignments, Files, Discussions, etc. reduces confusion created by having multiple views. You can deactivate navigation items in Settings by choosing the “Navigation” tab and clicking the gear to the right of each tool.
TIP: Instead of adding a file by uploading it directly to a Module, adding them in the Files Tool and then inserting a link to the file in context on the Page or in the Assignment instructions makes it easier for students to find.
Create Content Pages
Pages are where you put your content and other materials using the Rich Content Editor.
When creating content pages, the built-in formatting including headings, bulleted lists, and numbered lists must be used for the page to be accessible to screen readers.
TIP: There are apps that you can use to add additional types of content to your pages such as charts, graphs, and maps. They are in Settings on the Apps tab.
Use the Rich Content Editor
The rich text editor is available almost everywhere in Canvas where you would enter text. You can use the rich text editor to format text, insert images or video, and link to other sites.
Canvas Guide on using the Rich Content Editor
Create Discussions
Discussion forums in Canvas can be open to the entire class or restricted to student groups. To set up groups for small group discussion you use the “+Groups” button in the People Tool. (There is also a video about setting up and managing groups)
TIP: Make sure to always click the “Allow Threaded Replies” checkbox when creating a discussion.
Access Student View
Once you have created content with these tools you will need to see what it looks like from a student perspective through a feature called Student View. (You will need to publish your course and individual content to enable you to access that content through Student View.)
Explore More Resources
More resources on developing your course, creating/curating content, assessing student learning, and teaching your course, can be found in the Design a Class page of this site.
The content found here was designed by Indiana University and adapted for use by the Institute for Faculty Development at Vanguard University. This content is offered under a CC Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license and should be considered under this license unless otherwise noted. The original content was imported from “Designing and Teaching for Impact in Online Courses” from within Canvas Commons.