Digital First
Canvas Presence for Every Classroom
To provide the best experience for our students, all CBU courses are required to place a syllabus on a published Canvas shell. Students will be able to see all of their courses, regardless of format, on their Canvas dashboard. CDI also encourages creating a simple home page to help guide students.
Canvas as digital hub.
The Canvas Dashboard can be our digital campus. Every CBU course already has a Canvas shell, and all you have to do is activate it. Regardless of the mode you plan to teach this semester, an enhanced published Canvas presence at the beginning of the semester means your students will know how to get to class, no matter what happens.
Follow these paths to add a few more elements, and you've got a Canvas presence ready for change.
Canvas as your digital organizer.
If you're teaching in person this semester, use Canvas as a way to organize your class.
Before the semester begins:
Fill out your course homepage with a welcoming, brief course description, class meeting information, and add your readings into each week. It's also a great place to upload videos or any other images, files or website links you'd like students to have for reference.
Keeping your syllabus in a published Canvas shell is a CBU requirement for all classes.
If we must quickly move to remote learning:
You and your students are already comfortable with your Canvas space. They know exactly where to find you.
It won't take much effort to add the rest of your course content, because your basic structure is already in place.
Use your CBU email address and password, if you are prompted to log into Canvas to see examples.
Canvas as a student guidepost.
If, in the event of a quick switch to remote, you plan to use WebEx or some other platform instead of Canvas, maintain your Canvas presence to guide your students.
Before the semester begins:
Fill out your course homepage with a welcoming, brief course description, class meeting information, and add your readings into each week. It's also a great place to upload videos or any other images, files or website links you'd like students to have for reference.
Keeping your syllabus in a published Canvas shell is a CBU requirement for all classes.
Make sure your WebEx account is authorized. If you haven't used it in a while, it will need this quick fix.
If we must move quickly to remote learning:
Place instructions and a link, if necessary, for where students will be meeting you in remote classes other than Canvas.
Keep your Canvas shell updated with remote meeting dates, times and instructions throughout the semester. If students get lost or confused, they'll know your Canvas presence will guide them to the where are virtually meeting.
Canvas as classroom complement.
Sprinkle some Canvas into a traditional classroom to amplify learning and simplify teaching.
Before the semester begins:
Fill out your course homepage with a welcoming, brief course description, class meeting information, and add your readings into each week. It's also a great place to upload videos or any other images, files or website links you'd like students to have for reference.
Keeping your syllabus in a published Canvas shell is a CBU requirement for all classes.
Amplify with Canvas:
Add a Canvas Discussion to accompany a reading or jumpstart an in-class discussion. Students who might not participate in a class discussion may find their voice online!
Instruct students to watch a video in Canvas and join an online discussion. Then, continue or advance that Canvas discussion in your classroom.
Add video instructions for assignments into Canvas. You'll provide instructions in class, but a recorded video in your Canvas shell will allow students to return for clarification.
Share PPTs or charts from your classroom lectures on Canvas. Now students can reference them for review.
Simplify with Canvas:
Add assignments to Canvas that require students to hand in papers or digital projects. Now, students can just upload to Canvas and all of your graded assignment will be in one place.
Speedgrader in Canvas makes grading assignments and adding comments, easy.
Keep all of your course materials organized and in one place.
Canvas Training
We have five ways to learn more about Canvas:
The Canvas Quickstart - our shortest tutorial for providing a basic understanding.
The Canvas Basics Course - a short online training course designed in Canvas.
Use your CBU email and password to sign-in to Canvas.
Mastering Canvas Playlist- watch this series of brief, instructional videos created by the CDI team.
Canvas Job Aids - these concise instructions help you do specific tasks in Canvas.
Online Faculty Training - a five-week course led by one of our CDI Instructional Designers.