Features – Canvas Transition

As you continue to explore and experiment with Canvas, we’ve listed a few features that you can use right now that may assist with content delivery and classroom structure.

New Tool	Benefits	How-To Guide
Attendance	Can easily take attendance based off a class list or seating chart An assignment called Roll Call is created in the course	How do I use the Roll Call Attendance tool in a course? How do I take roll call using the Attendance tool? How do I run Roll Call Attendance reports in a course? To access all Canvas Guides related to the Attendance tool, see the Instructor Guide – Attendance section.
Calendar	Calendar automatically populates with items that have Due Dates and “To-Do” dates set by instructors Drag and drop items on calendar to make changes (and automatically update assignment/item settings) Each user also has a personal calendar Allows for multiple views: Week, Month, and Agenda After students submit assignments, these items are automatically crossed off	How do I use the Calendar as an instructor? How do I add an event to a course calendar? How do I view the Calendar iCal feed to subscribe to an external calendar as an instructor? How do I use the Calendar as a student? To access all Canvas Guides related to the Calendar, see the Instructor Guide – Calendar section.
Collaborations	Allows faculty and students to easily integrate things like Google Docs and Microsoft Word documents directly in the course NOTE: Availability of specific items, including Google Drive and Microsoft Office 365, will be determined by campus admin and are not yet available	What are Collaborations?
Communication Preferences	Instructors and students can add additional contact methods (like text messages) based on their preferences NOTE: Some of the available preferences will be determined by campus admin	How do I set my Canvas notification preferences as an instructor? How do I add contact methods to receive Canvas notifications as an instructor?
Outcomes		How do I use the outcomes page in a course? How do I create an outcome for a course? How do I create outcome groups for a course? To access all Canvas Guides related to Outcomes, see the Instructor Guide – Outcomes section.
Scheduler	This is a feature in the Calendar that allows instructors to set up appointment group times for student sign-up	How do I add a Scheduler appointment group in a course calendar? How do I view or edit a Scheduler appointment group in a course calendar? How do I remove students from a Scheduler appointment in a course calendar?
SpeedGrader	Similar to Blackboard’s online grading feature but includes additional useful features: Annotate submissions by adding comments, highlighting text, and drawing Ability to grade with Canvas Instructor App Record audio and video feedback for student submissions Use speech-to-text to give feedback (in Chrome)	How do I use SpeedGrader? How do I use Chrome’s speech recognition feature to leave a comment in SpeedGrader? How do I add annotated comments in student submissions using DocViewer in SpeedGrader? To access all Canvas Guides related to the SpeedGrader, see the Instructor Guide – SpeedGrader section.
Syllabus	Items listed in the Course Summary are automatically hyperlinked to content Course summary provides organizational view of course based on due dates and calendar events New assignments and quizzes automatically are added to the syllabus tool If your gradebook uses weights, this is automatically updated	How do I use the Syllabus as an instructor? How do I edit the Syllabus in a course? How do I use the Syllabus as a student?

Canvas Highlights

To introduce the Canvas LMS, the Grainger College of Engineering created a short video that highlights several important features in Canvas. These key attributes demonstrate the potential to create a dynamic space for students to engage in your courses within Canvas

We are working on providing more highlights like these in the May update.