Copying in Canvas: Assignment, Module,Event, Assignment, From Commons

Scribe At Work

Recently, teachers have been asking about copying items within a Canvas Course. Duplicating quizzes, assignments, and modules helps improve teacher workflow. This week's Friday Five features ways to copy different items within a single course in Canvas. 

How to Copy....

1. A Quiz- Do you need to copy a quiz to make a differentiated version?  The steps found here explain how to copy a quiz within a course. The same process can be used for copying into another course, just make sure to start in the course you would like the quiz copy to be in. 

2. A Module- Perhaps you would like to duplicate a module structure or a complete module. You can duplicate a module (if it does not contain a quiz or LTI assignment) by simply clicking on (1) the three dots to the left of a module title and then selecting (2) Duplicate. Here are full directions.

3. A Calendar Event- Are you having a special event in your class over multiple days? Create the event once and then use the Duplicate feature (found under More Options) to repeat the event for a subsequent number of days. You can even have Canvas automatically number the events for you.Here are full directions. 

4. An Assignment or A Discussion- Just like we saw with Modules, you can easily duplicate an assignment or discussion by clicking on the three dots next to the assignment and then selecting duplicate.

5. A Resource from Commons-  If you have explored Commons in the past, you saw that to fully preview a resource, you had to import it into a shell class. To make this easier you can now preview items in Commons before you copy them into a course. Here are full directions on how to do this and below is an example of how you can preview an assignment that was shared. Curious about Commons? Here is information on what Commons is and describes how it can be used to share items to other teachers in Pennridge.

Things to Consider in the New Year!

As we enter the new year, this Friday Five is 5 observations made regarding our Canvas use and a consideration for each...

1. Quizzes left open...

Each time you make a quiz you can set the Available From and To time and you can set a time limit. If you do not set these items, students may gain some unfair "advantages." For example, they could begin a quiz before you want them to and they can leave the quiz open as long as they want in order to take it "at their leisure".  For security purposes, it is a best practice to set a time limit and to take advantage of the time restrictions. (UPDATE: Please also note that you can set a password (access code) for a quiz. The password can be changed between classes. For more info, scroll down to "Set Quiz Restrictions" in the link above.) Also, refer to the October 6, 2017 Friday Five for a post on using Quiz Logs. Using and sharing this feature with students is a great deterrent.

2. Assignments that have no due dates and then...

somewhere else in Canvas (either in the daily agenda or an Event on the Calendar) there are directions telling the student to complete the assignment by a certain date. This practice creates more work for both the teacher and the student. If an Assignment has a listed due date, the course calendar automatically will have the due date and assignment details added. The assignment will show up on the student's To Do List. Also, remember that you can differentiate due dates on assignments in the Assignment settings. This will put the correct due date for each period (section) on each student's calendar based on the period s/he is in!  Want to reference the assignment on a Page, in a Module, or in an Announcement? No problem, just link the assignment to any of these features. 

3. Reluctance to collect work in Canvas...

Speegrader, speedgrader, speedgrader! If you haven't collected work in Canvas, do yourself a favor and make a New Year's resolution to try! With Speedgrader you can quickly zip through work and leave quick, specific feedback. Then by sync your assignment score to PowerSchool, you will truly improve your workflow. 

4. Missing Modules...

The Year 2 goal for Canvas use is organizing materials in Modules. Refer to the Year 2 Goals Module in the professional learning course for more details, tips, and examples. The beauty of Modules is that they allow for all the different components of Canvas and your course to be neatly organized by unit.  This not only benefits your students but also creates a great course template for you to use in the next school year.

5. Unused items left in Course Navigation...

Canvas can help you provide your students with easy access to course materials, information, and resources. Why not create a cleaner interface by hiding unused features found in Course Navigation? If you aren't using an item such as Collaborations, Chat, and Attendance (to name a few), hide them by following these directions. Also, remember my previous posts about the value of hiding Pages and Files!

11.18.16- Daily Agenda, Calendar, Community, To Do List, Log-ons

1. Daily Agenda-  While we are all using Canvas in our classes and implementing the four goals, we do have great flexibility in how we accomplish these tasks. Staci L is utilizing the Redirect Tool discussed in the 10.14 Friday Five to help her students easily access her Daily Agenda. She created a Course Navigation link to a Canvas Page she created called Daily Agenda. You can see what it looks like here.  Now her students can click on the link in her course navigation and be taken directly to information on each day’s activities. Brilliant idea and one that I will add to the  Ways to Post the Daily Agenda list.

2. To Turn In or To Complete, That is the Question-  Canvas is constantly improving and responding to user feedback. Beginning this Saturday, students’ To Do lists will be changing slightly. Now assignments that are “No Points” or “No Submission”  will be preceded with the word “Complete” and assignments that need to be submitted will be preceded with the words “Turn In”. This will make it clearer to students what type of action they need to take on an assignment created by a teacher. You can see what this looks like here.

3. Calendars- While the universal calendar for courses is extremely helpful there is a word of caution that needs to be shared with teachers and students alike.  Only 10 calendars can display on the calendar grid at one time. Many students may be managing more than 10 calendars as more and more clubs are utilizing Canvas Courses. Please remind students to make sure that they are mindful of which calendars are “clicked” on. Here is more information on how to filter calendars.

4. Canvas Community Groups- Are you interested in connected with other educators who are utilizing Canvas in their classrooms? There are hundreds of user groups that you can join to learn more about how teachers in your content area or with your interests are implementing Canvas and 21st century learning in their classrooms. Click here for information about these groups.

5. Student Log-in Directions-  Many students are forgetting how to log-in to Canvas when they have a loaner laptop. Please remind students that student log-in directions can be found under the Students Tab on the High School Homepage. I have included them here for your convenience. Teachers can find student login credentials on PowerSchool. Click on the Backpack icon for the period the student is in. Next select the student and finally select Logins from the drop down menu. Canvas credentials are the student’s computer username followed by the same @tag as your Canvas Credential. The password is their network password.

11.4.16 Grading Periods, Numbers to Brag About

Friday Five(ish)-

1. Working with Grading Periods: The attached and linked PDF has a list of 5 bits of info regarding switching between quarters in Canvas. Please check it out!
2. Data Worth Celebrating: We made it through the first quarter and everyone is working hard to learn how to implement Canvas in their classrooms. So, for the last 4 items I am including some amazing stats that demonstrate all of your hard work!

Since the start of the school year:

• 2,744 Assignments have been created in Canvas
• 1,285 Discussion topics have been created (note: this is not a year one goal!!!)
• 8,618 Files have been uploaded
• 110 Media recordings have been added to courses