Canvas: Using the Canvas Calendar to Communicate Online Quiz Start Time

Using the Canvas Calendar to Communicate Online Quiz Start Time

Many students rely on their Canvas calendar to tell them when to show up for an online quiz. However, the only date and time that automatically appears in the Canvas Calendar is the due date of the quiz which is often the end of the quiz availability. This has resulted in students arriving late and not having any time to complete the online quiz. Instructors have detailed instructions for online quiz setup and scheduling, but addressing what students see in Canvas Calendar is not obvious.

Instructors usually set the Due date and time at or just before Available Until. They could set the Due date and time at the same time as the Available From date and time, but there are two issues with that:

  • Students usually have to show up earlier than the 'Available From' time to get access to the quiz and start on time.
  • Quizzes submitted after the Due Date and Time get flagged late - which can be very confusing for students and instructors.

In any case, the instructor needs to communicate to students when to show up for online quizzes through other means than the quiz setup. Instructors can inform students in the Syllabus about Due entries in Canvas calendar and when to show up for quizzes. Instructors can also use Announcements to remind students, and set Announcements to list on the Home page using these instructions at:
https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-show-recent-announcements-in-the-Course-Home-Page/ta-p/983 Links to an external site.

A simpler solution is to enter an event directly in the Calendar indicating when students have to be online for the online quiz. Entering this “show up for quiz” event can be done as follows:

    1. Navigate to the Canvas Calendar by selecting the Calendar option form the Canvas Global Navigation on the far left side of the Canvas Page:
      CalendarEvent1.png   

    2.  Select the plus '+' icon on the top right of the calendar page to add an event
      CalendarEvent2.png  

  1. Input the title for the event. For example, “MGMT 100 – Quiz 1”
  2. Select the Calendar Icon to select the appropriate date for the event.
  3. Input the start and end times of the event.
    The start time should reflect when students should show up for the quiz - this may be 15 minutes before the start time of the quiz.
  4. Ensure that the calendar selected is the calendar for the proper course. You can switch which course you are adding the event to dropdown menu beside the current calendar name.
  5. Select 'Submit' to save the event
CanvasCalander.png   
 
  1. If you have different sections for the course who will be taking the quiz at different times, you can select the “more options” button to navigate to a more detailed scheduling page.
    Note: select the more options button before selecting “Submit.”
    CalendarEvent4.png  

  2. On the appearing page, you are able to modify the title for the event, and you can add an optional description for the event. 
    CanvasCalander9-1.png        

  3. To create different event dates and times for different sections, scroll down and select the checkbox next to “Use a different date for each section”    
  4. Each section will appear with its own date and time box. Complete this information to assign different quiz dates and times to each section.
  5. Select 'Create event' to save this information
    CanvasCalendar10.png        

  6. The event(s) will now appear in the Canvas Calendar. Note that students will only see the event related to the section that they are registered in (only instructors see both sections' events.)
    CanvasCalender13.png        

 

UBC Okanagan Centre for Teaching and Learning Canvas Directory

Updated June 2021