Getting Started

The University Senate passed a resolution reinforcing Miami University's commitment to being prepared to serve our students in the event that access to campus is limited or disrupted. This resolution states that "... all instructional staff must ensure they are prepared to deliver their classes remotely through Canvas, by accomplishing the following steps: 

  1. Ensuring each class section they are responsible for has a Canvas section that includes;
    1. the course syllabus;
    2. grades earned for each student on each assignment for the current semester;
    3. announcements to students enrolled in each section, including the attendance policy as amended by the Sense of the Senate Resolution;
    4. assignments, quizzes, and other types of activities for the balance of the semester.
  2. Providing students with the information to access the Canvas site for the course."

Please review the instructions for accessing your Canvas course and setting up your Syllabus, Gradebook, Announcements, and Assignments/Quizzes below.

Access Your Canvas Course

Log in to MyMiami, and click the "Canvas" button in the "Quick Tools" section.

A list of your courses will appear on the Dashboard. Select the course. Your course will be a blank shell.

In the top right section of your course, you may notice that it has a red "Unpublished" button.

Click "Publish" for students to be able to access your course. The course status will change to a green "Published" button.

Send Announcements to Students in Canvas

Locate "Announcements" in your course navigation menu. This is where you can send messages directly to students enrolled in your course.

Click the blue "+ Announcement" button in the top right corner of your screen.

Enter the content of your announcement in the Rich Content Editor (text box). There is a subject and a body, just like an email.

Underneath "Post to", you can leave "All Sections" to send a message to students in all sections of your course, or you can select a specific section of your course. You also have the option to delay (schedule) a posting and allow students to comment.

After you hit the blue "Save" button, your announcement will be posted (or scheduled to post). 

Upload or Create a Syllabus

Access your course's "Syllabus" page from the course navigation menu.

Click the "Edit" button in the top right corner.

If you wish to upload a pre-existing syllabus, select the "Files" tab to the right of the Rich Content Editor (text box), and select "+Upload a new file".

If you would like to create a new syllabus, or simply add supplemental information regarding the remote delivery of your course, use the Rich Content Editor (text box).

Click the blue "Update Syllabus" underneath the Rich Content Editor.

Note: As you add assignments and quizzes to your Canvas course, a course schedule will automatically generate beneath the content of your syllabus.

 

Create an Assignment

Access the Assignments page from your course navigation menu.

Click the blue "+Assignment" button in the top right corner of the page.

Type (or copy and paste, but beware of formatting) the content of your assignment in the Rich Content Editor (text box).

Set the appropriate details for your assignment, such as points and the types of submissions you will allow from students.

Assign a Due Date for the assignment. You can also select a date range for students to be able to access the assignment, using the Available From and Until dates.

Finally, click the blue "Save" button (or "Save & Publish"). Be sure to publish the assignment once you have reviewed for accuracy.

Create a Quiz or Exam

Select "Quizzes" in the course navigation menu. Once on the Quizzes page, click the blue "+Quiz" button.

A blank quiz will open up to the "Details" tab. Enter a title for the quiz or exam. Type or paste the instructions in the Rich Content Editor.

Next to the "Details" tab, there is a "Questions" tab. Once on this tab, you can add a new question with the "+New Question" button.

Select a question type from the drop-down menu, such as multiple choice, fill in the bank, true or false, or essay.

Enter the possible choices, correct answer(s), and be sure to select the blue "Update Question" button.

Once you are done entering questions, return to the "Details" tab. Below the instructions, you can select the quiz type – graded quiz, ungraded quiz, or graded survey. Select other options, like time limit, number of attempts, and whether to shuffle answers.

Select the quiz or exam's due date and assignment settings. Be sure to click the blue "Save" button.

For information on remote proctoring, visit the Proctorio page.

Create a Discussion

Go to the "Discussions" page from the course navigation menu. Once there, click the blue "+ Discussion" button.

Enter a topic title in the subject, followed by any prompts or instructions in the Rich Content Editor.

Select options, like whether to allow threaded replies, and assignment settings, such as due dates. Be sure to hit hit the blue "Save" button when you're done.

On the "Discussions" page, you can also edit discussion settings by selecting the gear button.

Here, you can allow students to create their own discussion topics, edit and delete their own posts, and attach files to discussions. Hit the blue "Save Settings" button to save these options.

Use the Canvas Gradebook

Once you have created a graded assignment, discussion, or quiz, select the "Grades" link in the course navigation menu.

There will be a column for every assignment, discussion, or quiz created in Canvas. Placeholder assignments can also be created.

Locate the student name and assignment where you want to enter a grade. Click on the corresponding cell, and enter the grade.

Grades are entered according to the assignment's "Display Grade" setting. Grades can be entered as one of five options: Points, Complete/incomplete, Letter grade, Percentage, and GPA.

Considerations for Laboratory and Studio Courses

For laboratory experiments instructors can record videos that capture phenomena, and measurements. Students then can extract observations and other data to analyze and complete reports.

In studio courses instructors can video record demonstrations of techniques, including those with specialized equipment or materials. Creative arts instructors may wish to emphasize knowledge and thinking activities over skill building activates until students are able to return to studios.