•  Complete E1: Online Faculty Orientation to explore best practices in online pedagogy.
•  Complete Canvas Instructor Training. 
• NOTE: Designed to help 'Teacher' users better understand how to navigate and use the functions and features of the learning management system (LMS), it's a great resource that will help you get started in Canvas, as well as help you further develop your level of skill and usage of Canvas over time. You may self-enroll or access our Canvas Instructor Orientation at any time. 
•  Access the Canvas portal. Bookmark this address for one-click access to Canvas.

• Visit the “Course Author Notes and Important Course Information” page found in the Instructor Resources module in your course for important information from the Course Author about how the course was designed and to access additional instructional resources.
•  Look for notes from the Course Author and instructional designers about items that need to be edited or set up for the term. 
•  Review important information about teaching the course, including content and assignments (e.g., complex content, challenging assignments, group assignments, etc.).
•  Identify links to original documents that you can use to teach the course (e.g., Announcement templates, assignment rubrics, etc.).
• Add any necessary files or content into Canvas as dictated by course design and/or Course Author notes where applicable. 
• NOTE: Course Authors/Stewards are the best resource for questions and discussion about course content, curriculum, or preparing/teaching the course content. Be sure to connect with the Course Author/Steward for guidance about where and how to get started with your newly assigned course and for teaching tips and guidance throughout the term. 
• E-Campus Solutions Team is the best resource for questions and support regarding Canvas and technical elements of the course, or if you are experiencing difficulty connecting with the Course Author/Steward. Please contact our E-Campus Solutions Team or 513-217-4003 (x7-4003).

Helpful Resources

• Review your course’s Syllabus page and replace any [YELLOW HIGHLIGHTED] text to personalize it for your course, including:
  • Edit the “About Your Instructor” description to include your information.
  • Check the “Grading” section and update any relevant policy and grade determination details.
  • Review/edit “Expectations” lists to reflect your own instructor/student expectations and practices.
    
  • Note the course assignment due dates listed in the Course Summary at the bottom of the page and make any necessary changes.
    

Helpful Resources

•  Review course assignments (accessed by clicking “Assignments” on the left navigation menu).
•  Check/Edit Assignment Details by clicking the assignment name. 
• NOTE: The due dates should be updated to the current term but may need to be adjusted based on your preferences. 
• Review the directions and rubrics for all assignments, so you are ready to facilitate and help students work their way through them successfully.
  
• Set up student groups under the People tab in the left navigation menu (if applicable).
• Review grading categories and the grading system used in the course Gradebook. If using a “weighted grades” system, you will want to make sure the categories total 100%. 
• NOTE: Canvas grading systems dictate how the graded items in your course will calculate students’ final grades. The two most frequently used systems are 1.) Total Points: graded items are each worth a specific number of points that are combined to calculate the final grade or 2.) Weighted Grades: graded items are assigned to categories and each category is assigned a percentage of the overall final grade totaling 100%. 
• Mute assignments (if needed or desired).
  NOTE: Canvas allows students to see assignment grades as soon as the instructor has graded the assignment. Students can also receive notifications every time a Canvas quiz grade is updated. Instructors may choose to mute assignments and quizzes and then unmute them to release all finalized grades to students at once.

Helpful Resources

• Review any pre-written course announcements already built into the course to identify those you may want to use. Open them, edit appropriately, and then re-schedule each announcement for delivery. Delete the announcements you do not wish to use (if applicable).
  
  • If no announcements are listed, you may wish to create new announcements to use in the course. You can write and send them throughout the term, or you can write them now and schedule them for delivery at a later date. 
  • NOTE: Students will not receive announcements until after the course is published. Delaying an announcement to post at a later date can ensure the announcement is sent after the course is published. 
• Add your Welcome Message.
• NOTE: Usually, the welcome message video is sent as a Course Announcement. If using a video for your welcome message, we recommend uploading the video to your Miami YouTube account, adding captions to meet accessibility standards, and then embedding it on your Home page. 
•  Set your announcements to display on the course home page (if desired).

Helpful Resources

•  Review and update your course Home page to ensure that all of the buttons are correctly linked and the information in each of them is correct. 
• Add your Instructor Contact Information to the course Home page and remove the yellow highlighting 
• Review and update the left-hand course navigation to ensure that it is set up the way you would like it to be in your course. Need more information? Visit our Interactive Walkthrough for Canvas Course Set-Up.
• NOTE: Remember that allowing students to navigate directly to assignments, Discussions, Quizzes, or Files directly is discouraged. E-Campus courses are designed for students to work through the course by accessing the Modules page.
• 
  

  The following items are the suggested left-hand navigation options for all Miami University Regionals asynchronous distance learning courses:

  1. Home
  2. Announcements
  3. Syllabus
  4. Modules
  5. Grades
  6. MUR Student Resources & Policies
  7. People
  8. Send Grades to Banner
•  
• Check all links throughout the course by clicking on them to make sure they link to where they should.
  

  NOTE: You can check these links using the course link validator, which searches through course content and returns invalid or unresponsive external links in both published and unpublished content.

•  Review if there were course design elements built into the modules, such as prerequisites, “Mark as done,” “Add to To-Do,” or completion/advancement requirements.
• Ensure that all modules and pages are “Published” (the cloud next to the course element is green - indicating published).

Helpful Resources

• Publish the course.
•  Send a Welcome Message (different from your Welcome Video) to your students using either Canvas Email or as a Course Announcement.
  
  NOTE: Students won’t receive Canvas Email unless the course has been published. Once the course is published and has any student activity, it cannot be unpublished.