Canvas guides for teachers and students for the start of semester
We have some suggestions for teachers and students. They can be useful for getting started with Canvas in the new semester.
A walkthrough video of Canvas for teachers
This Canvas introductory video includes the topics:
- Communicating with students
- Features of the rich text editor
- Using student groups
- Publishing Pages and Modules
Publish your course
A friendly reminder that course coordinators are asked to publish their Canvas course two weeks before the start of teaching.
Student guide
Our Canvas Student Guide lists the essential knowledge and skills students need to study on Canvas. The basics of Canvas, e.g., what is Canvas and how to access it, are included in the guide with links to step-by-step instructions. Please promote the student guide during the first week of classes.
Cross-listing courses
Year-long courses and courses with different codes but with the same content are potential candidates for cross-listing. Cross-listing means you that you will be able to edit the content of multiple courses in only one course. We strongly recommend that you get your courses cross-listed before you start the course setup. Once students submit an assignment, we will no longer be able to perform the cross-listing.
Once you have made your decision, please request the cross-listing of your courses via our Staff Service Centre (SSC) Portal.
Read more on our Canvas resources page:
More tips
- Course Access Coordinators (CACs) can add instructors (teachers, TAs, teaching support, etc.) to Canvas courses. But CACs cannot edit or add content. CACs can also add themselves to a course as a teacher or a teaching support.
- Our UoA Tutoring Central is a home for tutor training and professional development resources. It includes modules on aspects of the tutoring role, resources collated from within and outside the University, including links to faculty tutor training pages, and spaces for tutors to connect and discuss.
- If you will teach or support a course in the new semester / quarter, but don’t see the course on your Canvas dashboard, please request access to a Canvas course via our SSC Portal.
- Instructors can validate links in a course using the Canvas link validator.
See also
Pre-semester checklist for teachers
Our checklist includes tips to prepare for teaching, including suggestions for Canvas.
Canvas baseline practices
The baseline practices promotes a more consistent and accessible student learning experience.