If you are new to using Canvas, you may want to take an introductory course in Canvas such as the self-paced online “Canvas 101: An online intro to Canvas for UBC instructors,” or the “Getting Started with Canvas” workshop offered through the CTLT. If you prefer to just jump in and start using Canvas, that’s fine too! The instructions in the checklists below include links on how to use the related functions in Canvas for making the required updates.

Before your course starts, you should:

Access your course and update the course settings (Checklist 1)
Review and edit course content (Checklist 2)

Checklist 1: Set up your course and update settings

This should be done as far in advance of the start of the course as possible in order to ensure that you have time to seek support and make changes if needed.

Setup your course by logging in to Canvas using your UBC CWL. Instructions from the LT Hub website describe how to access your course, add or modify content, publish your course to make it visible to students at the start of the term, and give your students early access to your course (if you wish).
Import content to your course
- If you do not see your course in the Canvas Dashboard after logging in, contact your Instructional Support Staff (ISS) or the LT Hub for help.
- If you have previously taught the course you will need to import course content.
Review and edit the following course settings (if you choose):
- Set the grade posting policy for all assessments to specify whether grades are visible as soon as they are entered into the gradebook or hidden until you post grades.
- Hide the totals in students’ grade summaries.
- Hide grade distribution graphs.
- Hide Select Class Materials From Student View in Canvas. In particular, hide the Files menu.
- Make sure Midterms and Final exams are not published.
Review or add dates for all assignments and quizzes. (note: if your course was copied from a previous term the availability and due dates will need to be updated)
If groups are used, create the groups and group sets (if group work is graded). Note: if you do not want to allow students to create their own groups, you must change this setting.
Reactivate Library Reserves (if applicable) by using the UBC Library Online Course Reserves (LOCR) to reactivate course e-Reserves. Note: if your course is cross-listed or merged, this must be done before LOCR is set-up for your course.
Set your Canvas name and pronoun.
If applicable to your course:
- Choose when students can access module items. If you would like to hide module items until a specific date, you can lock a module. (note: if the previous course was set up this way, the dates should have been updated when the previous course section was imported. However, it's a good idea to confirm if the dates are correct.
- Set-up “Mark as Complete” to help students track progress in the course.
Use the Canvas Student View feature to view your course as a test student.
Set your Personal Notifications in Canvas. You can set notifications in Canvas to be sent to your email or your cell phone. You can choose to be “Notified immediately,” in a "Daily summary," in a "Weekly summary," or you can turn "Notifications off." Notifications can be set globally or for individual courses. You are not able to set preferences for your students, but you can recommend that they do so.

The following notification settings are recommended:

- - Course Activities - All Submissions - If you want to see when students are submitting assignments and quizzes in real-time, set this to “Notify immediately."
  - Course Activities - Submission Comment - If a student responds to a comment that you make while grading, you may set this to be notified "Right Away."
  - Discussions - New Reply - set to "Daily Summary” so that you keep up to date on discussion posts
  - Conversations - Added To Conversation and Conversation Message - set to "Notify Immediately" so you don’t miss anything. This is Canvas’ version of email, but functions more like a group text.
  - Alerts - Content Link Error - Set to “Notify Immediately” so that you are kept up to date if there are errors in course links.

Refer to UBC’s Canvas instructor guide and UBC’s Canvas student guide for more information on using Canvas.

Checklist 2: Review and edit course content

In Canvas, course content is provided through modules, pages, announcements, assignments, discussions, and quizzes. The following steps will help you complete basic updates to your course. Information about additional updates and ways to communicate with your students are included in Module 2: During the course and Module 3: Concluding the course.

Fix broken links. Verify that all links in your course are valid by using the Canvas function Validate Links in Content.
Review and revise all content in your course. Instructions for reviewing, editing, and adding content in your course are available in the Understand your options for building courses in Canvas section of UBC’s Canvas Instructor Guide.
1. Update the course home page and add your contact information.
2. Review and revise all pages. This includes addressing accessibility issues (the accessibility checker in Canvas will help with this) and adding new content, including videos. For help with recording videos using Camtasia and adding them to Canvas, refer to the Camtasia Instructor Guide.
3. Review and revise all assignments and quizzes. This could include updating the instructions, value of the assignment, grading type, submission type, and other options.
4. Create or revise discussions. Asynchronous discussion forums are a good way to share information with your students and for you and your students to connect. Some discussions that you may include are listed below. If these discussions exist, review them to ensure the information is up-to-date. Additional information on ways to support student engagement is included in Module 2: During the course.
  - Q & A In this forum students post their questions so that you can publicly answer questions, rather than sending multiple emails repeating the same information for different students. If you include this forum, you should emphasize that students should emphasize that personal questions should be emailed directly to you, and that you will respond to all questions in order to ensure that correct responses are provided.
  - Student introductions. At the beginning of your course, have students introduce themselves to the class either via recorded video or a discussion posting. Provide some prompts to encourage conversations. (e.g. "What are you looking forward to learning most? What do you think might be a challenge? Tell us a little about yourself, your program and your life outside of class!") (note: some instructors incorporate an “introduce yourself” activity as part of the first assignment instead of using this forum)
  - Off-topic. This casual, ungraded discussion is for informal conversations, a place for you and your students to discuss other topics not directly related to the course (e.g. "Post your memes here" or "Netflix recommendations").
Revise the Syllabus. Providing a detailed inclusive syllabus with clear information about the course requirements and your expectations can reduce your workload by limiting the number of student queries on non-content related questions. Refer to the UBC Senate Policy V-130 for information about what must be included in a syllabus, the UBC course syllabus template, information on the page “How to make your syllabus more learner-centered” for more information on what to include, and a CHEM 100 syllabus created by Dr. Jackie Stewart).