Faculty Toolkit

Leveraging Canvas

USF's LMS, Canvas, provides a variety of solutions for establishing communication with your students, organizing your course materials, delivering media-rich content, promoting interaction between you and your students, and assessing your students' learning.

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Below you will find six actionable steps that you can take immediately to leverage Canvas.

Step 1: Canvas Access, Syllabus & Minimum Technology Requirements

All courses at USF have an associated Canvas course site. If you are listed as the instructor of record in Banner, you automatically have access to the course shell and your students are automatically populated within this course site. 

  1. Verify that your syllabus is uploaded to the Syllabus section of your course. .
  2. Download the Canvas App for Instructors, which can be used with mobile devices. .
  3. Ensure you have the minimum technology requirements for using Canvas and reliable Internet access. Identify your available tools, such as a and/or , which will expand your options in leveraging Canvas.
  4. Bookmark the Canvas Basics Guide and use it as a reference as you add content to your Canvas course. . 
  5. For an overview of tools and strategies for optimizing academic integrity within your course please click here.

Step 2: Establishing Communication

Establish a communication plan with your students now. Canvas offers a number of communication tools to ensure that you maintain a connection with your students. Here are some items for consideration:

  • Post an announcement to your students. .
  • Familiarize yourself with the Canvas inbox. .
  • Set up your Canvas notification preferences (and alert students to do the same).
    • . 
    • . 
  • Verify that your syllabus is posted in Canvas. You can upload to the 鈥淪yllabus description鈥� area. .
  • Create a virtual session for office hours or individual meetings with students using Microsoft Teams. 
  • Encourage your students to sign up for the USF Safe App to receive emergency notifications to their cell phones via text message. How to download USF Safe.

Step 3: Organizing Your Materials

Using Canvas you can structure your course content in a clear, organized manner. Learning objectives from your in-class sessions should guide your online content. A simple read/view/do format is a good place to start. 

  • Create, edit, and publish pages and modules. .
  • Familiarize yourself with how contact hours are met in the online environment. .

Step 4: Delivering Your Content

To modify or create content for the Canvas environment please review the following table, which provides recommendations for content delivery and technologies to facilitate your efforts.

 
Content Delivery Strategies Short-Term Solutions
Adding text-based information (files, articles, links)
Record video content (asynchronously)
  • is a convenient course media creation tool that鈥檚 accessed right in Canvas. It allows you to quickly record audio or video messages for your students. 
  • Content Development Tools
  •  (PC only) create and upload to Kaltura
Record a live session in the classroom
Host a live lecture or office hours (synchronously)
Add or embed existing content
  • Kaltura
  •  
  • USF Libraries collection of

Step 5: Interacting with Your Students

It is important for students to have a sense of connection with the instructor and the learning community. Some courses rely on classroom discussions to enhance student engagement. Using Canvas discussion boards, you can move the conversations online to simulate a discussion in a digital environment. Create questions and prompts that require complex thinking and application of ideas to avoid repetitive student responses.

  • Discussions 鈥� .
  • Student Groups 鈥� .
  • Microsoft Teams 鈥� This synchronous platform can be used to facilitate live online interaction with your students, such as office hours or hosting virtual sessions. 

Step 6: Assessing Student Learning

Canvas supports online quizzes and the submission of online assignments. Here are several resources for moving your assessments to Canvas:

  • Assignments - Use the Canvas assignment tool if you need your students to submit a paper, PowerPoint, or any type of file that you will review and grade.
    • .
  • Quizzes 鈥� Use the Canvas quiz tool to create online tests and quizzes. It allows various questions types including multiple choice, short answer, essay, matching, and others. .
  • Grades 鈥� The Canvas gradebook is where you will post grades and provide assignment feedback to your students. .
  • Honorlock - Honorlock is now the official USF online proctoring solution. Honorlock online proctoring enhances the security of Canvas based quizzes and exams through student identity verification, browser lockdown, and exam monitoring.

    Explore Honorlock, its capabilities, where to begin, and a step-by-step guide to implementing Honorlock in your classroom.

    *Please note that the use of Honorlock requires the Honorlock Syllabus Statement available within the Honorlock Faculty FAQ.  
  • For assistance with quickly adding quiz questions into Canvas review, please review GetMarked.