Canvas Transition: Top 3 Tips to Prep for the Semester

Reading Time: 2 minutes

As this semester ends, we’re going to start looking toward setting up courses for future terms. You’re probably familiar with past Moodle tasks and idiosyncrasies. Canvas takes these tasks and makes them easier for you to accomplish. Instead of submitting requests to combine sections of your courses, you now have the ability to create a combined section without assistance from IT or the CTL. In addition, we’re also going to review how to add your syllabus and assignments to a Canvas course.

1. Combine multiple Canvas sections into one

In previous semesters, the process to combine sections of your course was more complicated. You would submit a request for the course to be combined, then you would wait for the process to be completed. In Canvas, you no longer have to wait for someone to combine your course sections – you can do it yourself!

Check out this Knowledge Base article to learn how to combine your sections in Canvas.

2. Add your syllabus to your Canvas course

We now have a syllabus template that’s loaded into courses each semester. This template contains all the basic information for your course (such as meeting dates/times, course objectives, description). The first time you teach a course with this template, you will need to edit it to fill in some information. For future semesters, it’s easy to transfer the content to a new semester! Check out “How do I Transfer my Course with the Canvas Syllabus Template?” for more information.

3. Create assignments in Canvas

Now you’re ready to create activities in your course. The most basic type of activity to add is an assignment where students can submit files. Canvas has excellent explanations for how to do this: learn how to create an assignment and edit the assignment details.

What now?

If you have questions about anything you read or suggestions for topics to be covered, leave a comment below. If you need help using one of these features in your course, contact Canvas Support (937-766-7905, option 1).

Note: edited March 1, 2022, to reflect current information about adding a syllabus to Canvas and using the provided template.
edited September 11, 2023, to remove the reference to Canvas Fellows.