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  6.  — Canvas baseline practices FAQs

Canvas baseline practices FAQs

Answering frequently asked questions to help streamline the course-building process by providing clear, consistent course designs based on established best practices.

Frequently asked questions

What are the benefits of using the CBP design templates?

The design templates help us to achieve structural consistency across courses.
They are also:

  • checked to respond to light and dark mode (Accessibility)
  • designed and tested for Canvas mobile app (Accessibility)
  • html-free, to ensure the pages are easily maintained by anyone (Sustainability)

Will importing a CBP template overwrite my existing course content?

Importing CBP design templates will result in the following:

  1. CBP design Syllabus content will replace existing content in the Syllabus page.
  2. Course navigation menu will be reconfigured (replaced, reordered or hidden) based on the CBP design templates.
  3. Pages from the CBP design templates (along with associated modules and files) will be imported into your course as additional content; they will not replace any existing content.
    Please note: If you are importing a CBP design template that has previously been imported, create copies of the course items before importing. The copies will not be overwritten.

Why do the key course information pages have to be in a module?

  • Placing pages in a module allows students to toggle between the pages. Otherwise, they would have to navigate back to the Home page every time they want to access one of the core pages.
  • Listing pages in modules also allows students to see how course content is structured.
  • Providing clear access points to the core pages ensures good user experience.

Aren’t links to key course information pages on the Home page of the design templates a duplication? Can’t students access the pages via Modules or the course navigation menu?

Yes, but on the Canvas student app, the Home page and the course navigation menu do not appear on the same page. Also, students must do additional ‘digging’ to find core pages if they are not linked on the Home page.

Did you know?

Approximately 30% of all traffic to Canvas is accessed through the Canvas Student app on mobile devices, while 31% is accessed via mobile web browsers.*

*Instructure report, August 2024.

Why is there a separate Assessment overview page?

The University’s Student Disability Services Office requires information about assessments in order to prepare appropriate support on time, should students request it. Information such as weighting, format and duration are helpful information for all students.

You can find an assignment information template on TeachWell’s CBP site, on the Assessment page, under Key Resources.

Can’t students access pages via Pages from the course navigation menu instead /can’t I enable ‘Pages’ in the course navigation menu and let students access content from there?

Navigating to Pages in the Canvas navigation displays an index listing all the pages in the course; the pages are removed from any educational context, hence not ideal for students’ learning.

Where did the te reo Māori terms in the CBP design templates come from?

They were gifted to the CBP Project by the PVC Māori Office.

Why is it recommended to use Canvas pages for course content?

  • Pages allow lecturers to directly and immediately update content (students may download files to their device and be referring to outdated versions unknowingly).
  • Immersive Reader can be used on Canvas pages.
  • Accessibility errors in Canvas pages can be fixed through UDOIT or the accessibility checker, directly in Canvas.

I don’t like the large font size of the heading styles! Can I change it?

In the Canvas RCE, you can change the font size without altering or removing the heading style. Heading styles aren’t just about appearance; they designate a ‘type’ to the text (e.g., Headings) that assistive technologies can recognize.
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