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 UAF 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.
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.
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.
#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.
#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.
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 UAF 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.
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 UDL goes far beyond accessibility, 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 UAF courses that you can check out? Get inspiration from how other UAF faculty have structured their courses. Visit the Showcase Course page for more information.
