Welcome your students

Canvas offers many ways you can welcome your students. Here are just a few ideas:

  • Send an announcement with your syllabus
  • Create a welcome video
  • Start a Canvas Discussion post and allow everyone to introduce themselves
  • Use Flipgrid in Canvas for everyone to create their own icebreaker video

Get to know your students with a survey

Use an ungraded quiz in Canvas to create a “get to know you” survey for your students. Alternatively, embed a Google Form or Microsoft form to collect start-of-semester information from your students.

Chunk information into Modules to provide organized resources

Use Groups to give students a collaboration space

Use due dates on all assignments

When you put in a due date, Canvas adds the assignment to the student calendar as well as to the student to-do list. Help your students keep track of their assignments by using the due date feature and let Canvas take care of the reminding.

Use audio/video feedback to humanize your grading practice

Allow students to see your face and hear the tone of your voice when they receive feedback on an assignment by using audio/video feedback.  View the instructions and scroll down to where it explains how to add a media comment.

Create feedback loops when grading

  • Canvas allows students to reply back to you when giving feedback on assignments.
  • Canvas has a resubmission feature if you want to give a student the opportunity to revise and resubmit an assignment

Use “message students who” in the grade book

Did you have a few students forget to submit an assignment? Let Canvas send them a reminder message by using “message students who.”

Activate the “notes” column in the Canvas grade book

The Notes column is extremely useful! Only you can see it, not the students. However, you have to turn it on. Activate the notes column in Canvas. 

Use Course Analytics to see who is participating in your course . . . and who isn’t

Use Student View and the Student Mobile App to see the student experience

See your course like your students see it!

Want to know more about any of the above features? Stop by the Virtual Tech Hub today!