Canvas Cheats

This page includes the communications that were sent to the original Canvas Crew as we all learned how to work with Canvas.

It is not pretty, but you may find some useful nuggets of information here…

  • Students appear to be using assignment comments to basically send questions rather than using email or the Inbox. This can cause problems if you are not checking those assignments.
    • There is no way in Canvas to turn that “feature” off.
    • You can however also see these comments in your Inbox.
      • Filter at the top by Submission Comments rather than the default Inbox.
    • Communicate to students about using the Inbox for asking questions if they don’t want to use email – https://app.guidde.com/share/playbooks/3qEsooBCUUoXSYzF8TBVtb
    • Students also can Ask Your Instructor a Question from the handy dandy Help link on the bottom left of the Canvas Navigation in every course!
  • Remember as well that our tax dollars have paid for Canvas support – so feel free to use the Chat with Canvas Support (Faculty) and Canvas Support Hotline from Help!
  • To add accommodations for students:
    • Go to a quiz and select Build.
    • Moderate tab at the top.
    • To set the accommodation for all the quizzes in that course (handy), click the student’s name and add the time multiplier.
    • To set an accommodation for just that quiz, use the pencil to add it.
    • Use that same place to add an attempt for just that student.
  • In that Moderate tab you can also view the student Attempts and View Log to see what steps they did.
  • Canvas has activated a feature called Notebook that has shown up in your course navigation. Since students may have started using it, we don’t want to disable it now (if possible). More information about it here – https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/664736-how-do-i-use-the-notebook-in-canvas

 

  • It seems the CopyLeaks Canvas interface makes it too easy for students to opt out of the EULA (End-User License Agreement) which prevents their assignment from being scanned. It is a popup with an X to just close the box before they read it and agree.
    • If this happens, you can use the CopyLeaks Teacher Upload tool to upload it yourself (reach out if you want help installing this).
    • Or you can tell students that if they don’t accept the EULA, you cannot accept their submission.
    • Or you can use a lower stakes item first – once they accept the EULA in the course it doesn’t ask them again.
  • With Canvas we are using MS Teams Meetings for online video meetings.
    • The link labeled Microsoft Education is what you will use (MS named it and we are stuck with it).
    • See the MS-Teams-Meetings document for steps to use Meetings.
  • When grading Discussions in the SpeedGrader, there are two views
    • The default view is to show only an individual student’s posts without any context of the whole conversation.
    • If you switch to viewing the full discussion context, you see the entire discussion.
    • Use the Gear > Options to set your Default Discussion View Options.
  • If you are using Cengage products, best practice is to use the settings at Cengage to set due dates etc. as those are passed back to Canvas – rather than setting dates in Canvas as well. Those duplicate dates in Canvas seem to be causing conflicts in our testing.

 

  • Whenever you use the View as Student feature in Canvas, you will get the Test Student at the bottom of your Gradebook – even if you have removed it, it will come back. Any scores or submissions from that Test Student do not affect course analytic or statistics. NOTE: Quizzes should be previewed and not taken as the test student. Test Student attempts cannot be reset and will affect analysis reports for quizzes!
  • A reminder that when you drop a student, we need to wait for the process to mark them inactive. If we change it (as we originally thought) it will change them back to active until the enrollment script marks them inactive.
  • Classes using Cengage Unlimited will not have the Course Materials link in their course as Cengage Unlimited does not use it – you need to add direct links in collaboration with the publisher of your text. This is for both Canvas and Moodle.
  • Some of the course statistics in Canvas only update every eight hours – they are reportedly changing the important ones to more of a streaming access. No more details on that, but now you know…
  • “Canvas Connection – Week One” had ways to get LDAs – for most students it will be the People > Course Analytics > Chart Options, Data Table > Submitted.
  • There is a much-improved report in the works for the second eight-week 10% process (and going forward). Thank you for your input and patience while we worked with the vendor.
  • To extend the date for just one or a few students make sure you use the + Assign To underneath the original Assign Access settings so you do not change the settings for the rest of the students.
  • Spring courses are on the radar but involve a lot of moving pieces like the real enrollment and course creation software that needs to be in place before they happen.
  • Adding random questions from Item Banks
    • In Canvas, if you want just random questions of one type of question (like multiple choice), you need to delete all the other types from that Item Bank or move them to another bank. You cannot just pull one type.
  • Quiz Settings
    • If you want students to see results from a quiz submission, you leave the Hide results from students turned off – in other words, you do not want to hide results! However, If you want to fine tune what they see (like the columns in Moodle), turning it on will give you many more options for what a student sees after they take a quiz that you can set.
  • Remember that Discussions, Assignments and Quizzes, if created in those locations, need to be added to Modules for students to actually see them and do them!

 

  • LDA data – at this point we have three methods available:
    • People > select the three dots to the right of a student and click Course Analytics
      • Select the download icon to Download CSV
      • Open the file and view the information
    • For Active Students:
      • People and click on the student
      • A tab will open on the right, click the button for Course Analytics
      • On the right-hand side there is a Chart Options, click the drop-down for Data Table
      • Click the Submitted arrow to populate the submitted for most current
    • For Inactive Students:
      • People and click on the student
      • A tab will open on the right, click the student’s name again
      • On the right-hand side, click Access Report
      • You will know the student submitted an assignment if there is a 1.0 underneath the Participated column.

 

  • To add quiz timing accommodations for students with paperwork
    • Go to Quizzes
    • Pick any one quiz and go into the Build for it
    • Select Moderate at the top
    • Click the student and adjust the time multiplier in the Course Accommodation popup
    • Save
    • This does it for that student for all the quizzes in the course
  • Default Grade – enter a grade for every student for a grade item
    • In Grades find the column for that item
    • Hover over the heading to get the three vertical dots
    • Set Default Grade
  • Forum grading
    • In the forum find the three dots to the upper right and click SpeedGrader
    • To do something similar to Moodle “sum of ratings”
      • Use Checkpoints (separate due dates for post and replies) and when you grade each section, Canvas adds the points for one total forum grade

 

  • If you want to start checking a specific student’s activity now:
    • Click on People and select a student
    • On the side card that opens, click their name again for details
    • On the right, click Assess Report
  • You can also click on Course Analytics from the Home page for more course-wide information similar to what was available in Moodle.
  • In case a student gets all excited – Student “What-If” Grades
    • In Grades a student can type a fake grade for an assignment to see how that would change their overall grades
    • This only changes the local view and not the real grade
    • Refreshing the page or clicking Revert changes it back (or coming back to Grades later)
  • REMEMBER to publish your course when you have it ready. DO NOT wait until Monday.
    • In Canvas, courses will be available automatically to students at 12:01am on Monday so you want to have content there for them!
    • On the course Home page, under Course Status at the upper-right, it should say Published with a green check.

 

  • If you have videos in courses, from YouTube for example, make sure you have clicked the Load in a new tab checkbox, so they work in multiple browsers!
  • The Orientation Quiz was set to not count towards the final grade – you can change that by clicking the quiz itself and unchecking the checkbox the mentions it.
  • If you see that you have two Fall 2026 Orientation Quizzes in your Quizzes area, you can safely delete one of them.
  • If you have two Announcements – All Sections – General news and announcements (with a U in front) when you click the Announcements link, you can safely delete either one that doesn’t list any announcements.
  • Remember that if you delete something in a Module, you need to delete it in the Assignments, Files, etc. to remove it entirely from your course.

 

  • The Canvas Check List is attached as a reminder of the important things to check before the first day!
  • You can use the View as Student at the upper right to view your course as a student would see it.
    • You know you are in that view when you have a magenta bar at the bottom of the screen.
    • Leave Student View does the obvious…
    • It is a good idea to Reset Student if you are going in and out of that view and making changes as Canvas can get stuck in an older Student View
  • As some of you have figured out, you can create a new page and have it be your Home link (rather than the default Modules area). If you do that, it is a good idea to make clear to students that they either need to click something on that page or use the Modules link to get into the course content. Otherwise, they might not know how to get beyond the first pretty page!
  • You may have noticed the Immersive Reader button at the top of several Canvas items. This is a built-in accessibility tool from MS that allows the viewer to adjust the text, identify parts of speech, line focus and even read the page aloud. Do explore it!

 

  • In your quizzes especially, make sure you set both a Due Date and an Until date. Otherwise, they will be able to still submit the quiz after the due date!
  • If you are trying to emulate the Moodle Q and A forum, check the Option for “Participants must respond to the topic before viewing other replies” in a Canvas Discussion.
  • The Syllabus link (in the Course Navigation) replaces the Syllabus template and includes a Course Summary at the bottom:
    • This lists all the course activities automatically
    • Items with due dates are listed in date order
    • Items without due dates are at the bottom
    • Items include links to them – so it may be important to use Available from dates!
  • Course evaluation links in Canvas (for this semester) work the same, but students will go to a landing page from Canvas to pick the course.
  • The Announcement link in Course Navigation will be hidden automatically if you don’t have any Announcements.

 

  • As we have been installing external tools from various publishers, you may have seen some additions to your Course Navigation. Most of these are only visible when you go to Settings and then the Navigation tab at the top. Here is where you see most of the publisher tools – Access Pearson, McGraw-Hill, etc. You can arrange items or disable them by dragging them or using the three dots at the right and clicking Save at the bottom.
  • One of the newest items  is Microsoft Education. This is the replacement for Collaborate in Moodle and uses Microsoft Team Meetings (since students get MS Office for free, they have Teams as well). Currently we are only using Meetings but there is the option to add other education pieces from MS down the road.
  • Basically, to set this up, you must click through a couple of screens the first time (click Continue setup on the first one and Done on the second). Then you get a Teams screen and at the upper-right you can click to add a New Meeting. After that you are in the Meeting interface.

 

  • The first time your students log into Canvas there is a default Canvas Welcome Tour to help your students understand the interface – https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/662777-how-do-i-use-the-canvas-welcome-tour
  • The state paid for Tier 1 support, so you and your students have 24/7 support from the Help link on the lower left of the Global Navigation. Chat and phone support are available with real people – not AI!
  • In your course template many of the Course Navigation items are hidden (crossed eyeball). This is to prevent students from going directly to and seeing, for example, all the Assignments that are available rather than working through the pages of helpful information you have provided in the Modules.
  • The different terms Canvas uses versus Moodle are explained in the attached Migration Guide.
  • Everything in Canvas is a file
    • If you create an assignment, page or quiz in the Assignments, Pages or Quizzes area you still need to add it to a module if you want students to see it.
    • If you create them in the Module, they will also show in the appropriate other section as well.
    • If you delete one in the Module, it will stay in the appropriate section until you delete it there too.

 

  • When your course is ready to go you must still publish it even though it will automatically be available to students on the 17th (full semester and first 8-week). On your Canvas course Home page make sure the Course Status on the upper-right corner says Published with the green check. Also, check that you have content, like the Fall 2026 Orientation Quiz, published as well.
  • Speaking of that quiz, if you are teaching a first 8-week course make sure you have changed the due date for that quiz as we cannot do it in Canvas like we did in Moodle – and it is published!
  • If you haven’t noticed in the Gradebook:
    • By default, if you are using Groups (categories in Moodle), you will have individual graded items first then followed by columns for each Group (these will display a running subtotal percentage for graded items in that group).
    • Using the Gear icon at the top right you can change View Options – Arrange by (to change the order) or Show (checkboxes to change what is visible) to hide those Group totals.
    • Remember that you set up your gradebook using the Assignments area!
  • Check your quizzes to be sure they have point values.
  • Check your publisher links to make sure they work and came over as what you wanted (some are showing up as Assignments rather than just links).

 

  • Here are the answers from the questions we had to research from the second in person training.
    • Here are the answers from the questions from the first in person training.
    • Here are answers from questions at one of the virtual training sessions.
  • You should “Publish” your course whenever you think it is ready (top right under Course Status)
    • It will not be available to students until the first day of the semester automatically – GREAT! 😊
    • If you do not “Publish” the course before that, it will still be available the first day of the semester, there will just be nothing there – VERY BAD! ☹
  • PLEASE check carefully ALL your quizzes and quiz questions. These seem to be one of the peskier items to convert from Moodle and we have no way of knowing if they came over correctly…

 

  • Orientation Quiz items
    • Make sure it is published.
    • Check the dates so they match your course session dates.
    • Make sure the Due Date and the Until dates match so the quiz actually closes!
    • Note that currently the quiz is set to not count towards the final grade (checkbox).
  • The syllabus link on the left replaces the Syllabus Template.
    • Note at the bottom is the automatic Course Summary of Assignments.
  • Make sure to insert your course name after the Welcome to at the top.
  • Students cannot see the course until the first day of the semester so you can Publish the course whenever you are sure you are ready!
  • Please remember to keep informational content in the shell unpublished (hidden).
  • Best practice is to only show the Course Navigation links Home, Announcements, Syllabus, Modules and Grades. That way, students cannot randomly jump around.