Create your course
Request your Canvas course via MyCUInfo: click on the course title, then select ‘Create/Modify Online Course.’ See Canvas - Request a Course tutorial for detailed instructions.
Learn Canvas basics
Visit the OIT Academic Technology Training Page for live and on-demand trainings. OIT offers live trainings at the start and end of each semester, and on-demand trainings are available year-round.
- New to Canvas? Try the Teaching with Canvas on-demand training for basic Canvas information. Assignments and Grading and Administering Quizzes and Exams are also useful.
Explore Sample CU Boulder Canvas courses that effectively use Canvas and Cidi Labs Design Tools. Users will need to log in to Canvas to access the sample courses.
Consult the Digital Accessibility Office resource page to make sure your course is designed accessibly.
Add content to Canvas
Upload or import content into the Canvas course:
- Use the Files link on the course navigation menu to upload documents to your Canvas course
- Select ‘Import Existing Content’ on the home page to import content from a previous Canvas course
- You can add content anytime before or during the semester
Use Modules to organize your course content. Create multiple modules to organize content items by week (the most popular student request) or content type.
Choose a Home Page where students will land when they access your course. Your Home Page is set to Modules by default. You can change your Home Page to a custom page, your syllabus, the assignments list, or course activity stream by navigating to your Home Page and then selecting ‘Choose Home Page.’
Add your syllabus. Select ‘Syllabus’ from the course navigation menu, then the ‘Edit’ button. Next, paste or upload the document into the Rich Content Editor and save by selecting ‘Update Syllabus.’ See additional information on the Syllabus tool.
Create or check graded items (e.g. assignments, quizzes, graded discussions) and ensure the correct due dates and points possible.
Organize graded items into Assignment Groups. If you use final grade weighting, check that your assignment group weights match your syllabus.
Publish your Canvas course
Validate course links to confirm all internal and external links are functional.
Preview the course with Student View to verify content is available or restricted appropriately.
Publish the Canvas course to give students access and to begin communicating through Canvas. Note the Canvas course needs to be published, and the Start Date must pass before students can access the course.
After publishing, let students know. Use announcements or the inbox to communicate with students enrolled in your course.
