Navigating a Course

Now that you are familiar with the general functions of Canvas, we will have a quick overview of how a Canvas Course looks like and what functions are provided by the different pages. 

We will cover the most common pages found within a Canvas course. It's important to note that not all courses look the same; some look different and may include functions that are not covered here.

 

Index

1.1 Modules

1.2 Assignments

1.3 Quizzes

1.4 Groups

1.5 Announcements and Discussions

 

1.1  Modules

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Modules are packages of organized content that teachers create to help control the flow of the course. Depending on your teacher(s), the Modules can organize the course content according to weeks, units, or another different organizational structure. Modules essentially create a one-directional linear flow of what you as a student should do in a course.

Each module can contain files, discussions, assignments, quizzes, and other learning materials. 

 

1.2 Assignments

 

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Assignments include Quizzes, graded Discussions, and online Submissions (i.e. files, images, text, URLs, etc.). Assignments in Canvas can be used by the teacher(s) to challenge your course understanding, as well as a way for them to do a graded assessment of your knowledge in the course.

Any assignment created by a teacher in the Assignments page will automatically show up in the Grades and Calendar.

To access an assignment, click the name of the assignment.

 

1.3 Quizzes

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Quizzes in Canvas are assignments that can be used to challenge understanding and assess comprehension of course material. A quiz is used by teachers to do online questionnaires and surveys for students, but they can also use them to conduct exams and assessments, both graded and ungraded.

 

1.4 Groups

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Groups are used as a collaborative tool where students can work together on group projects and assignments. The group page can be found in the side menu under People (or under Groups in the global navigation menu). Instructors can create groups for students to collaborate on group assignments, pages, collaborations, and more. Instructors can also allow students to create their own groups.

You can also access your groups own canvas page where you can access and share files (similarly to google drive).

 

1.5 Announcements and Discussions

Announcements is a tool in Canvas that allows Teachers to post information and updates to all members of a course or a certain section of a course directly in Canvas. Students also receive an email notification when a new Announcement is posted.

 

Discussions allow both instructors and students to start and contribute to as many discussion topics as desired. Discussions allows for interactive communication between two or more people; users can participate in a conversation with an entire class or group.