Communication and Feedback Tools in Canvas

This document includes a variety of communication and feedback tools in Canvas. Each tool includes

information on reasons to use the tool, instructions for using the tool (with screen shots), and details

from applicable sections of the OEI Rubric (from the “Distinguished to Exemplary” and “Satisfactory to

Accomplished” categories) in order to help inform best practices.

Sections (hyperlinked within the document)

Announcements (same as Announcements in Moodle)

Conferences (no equivalent in Moodle)

Conversations (equivalent to Email in Moodle)

Discussions (equivalent to Forums in Moodle)

Groups (same as Groups and Groupings in Moodle)

Scheduler (no equivalent in Moodle)

Survey (same as Survey or Questionnaire in Moodle)

Last updated 5/13/2016

Announcements (Same as Announcements in Moodle)

Communicate about course logistics

Feed posts from a blog or other information sources, including RSS feed

Remind students of tasks

Direct students to resources

Send a message to the entire class (weekly announcements for instructor-initiated contact)

Notify students of other opportunities for exploring content (area lectures, workshops, events, etc.)

OEI Rubric (Best Practices)

Contact includes multiple forms of communication

Instructors have a plan for initiating contact prior to or at the beginning of class and at regular intervals during the course

Guidelines explaining required levels of participation (i.e., quantity of interactions) are provided

Top of the page

Select Announcements from the menu on the left-hand side of the page

Click on in the middle of the page

Create a title for the Announcement

Write the announcement, or record/upload media to your announcement by clicking in the toolbar

Select an option for when the announcement will be posted, or other options

Attach documents by accessing Insert Content into the Page on the right by clicking the appropirate content section and tab (Links, Files, or Images) and dragging the content to the announcement

Click Save

Discussions (equivalents to Forums in Moodle)

Provide a question for students to discuss about course content

Offer an open discussion for students to ask questions and support one another

Set up an opportunity for students to debate one another on course content

Set up small group or full class discussions

Provide instructor input

Check for comprehension and critical thinking

Brainstorm ideas

OEI Rubric (Best Practices)

There are plentiful opportunities for interaction, as appropriate

Communication strategies promote critical thinking or other higher order thinking aligned with learning objectives

Communication activities benefit from timely interactions and facilitate “rapid response” communication (i.e., students gain practice discussing course content extemporaneously without looking up basic, declarative information)

Contact includes multiple forms of communication

Instructors have a plan for initiating contact at regular intervals during the course

Communication activities are designed to help build a sense of community among learners

Student-to-student interactions are required as part of the course. Students are encouraged to initiate communication with the instructor

Guidelines explaining required levels of participation (i.e., quantity of interactions) are provided

Instructor plans to use communication tools effectively to provide course updates, reminders, special announcements, etc.

Instructions are written clearly and with exemplary detail to ensure understanding

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Select Discussions from the menu on the left-hand side of the page

Click on on the right-hand side of the page

Create a title for the discussion

Write the discussion prompt, or record/upload information by clicking in the toolbar

Choose from options, group discussion, availability of discussion, etc.

Attach documents using the attachments feature or use the Insert Content into the Page box on the right. Click the appropirate content section and tab (Links, Files, or Images) and drag the content to the announcement

Click Save Title

Setting up a Graded Discussion

Select “Graded” from the Options menu

Click “This is a Group Discussion” if assigning for small groups and select the groups:

(Groups need to be set before this can be done; you may choose more than one group)

Assign points (you can leave the points 0 for an ungraded discussion)

Identify how the grade will be displayed from the drop down

Identify assignment group from drop down (or create new

assignment group) (if applicable)

Check Require Peer Reviews if applicable and choose the appropriate option

Determine who will be assigned the discussion if applicable

(double click on the text space under “Assign to” for a list of option)

Determine a due date

Indicate the length of time the discussion will be open (this can be left blank for a semester-long, open discussion)

Click Save

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Conferences (through BigBlueButton) (similar to Blackboard Collaborate)

Accommodate up to 50 people

Create synchronous (real-time) lectures

Broadcast real-time audio and video

Share presentation slides

Demonstrate activities, resources, strategies, troubleshooting, etc.

Conduct virtual office hours

Meet with student groups

OEI Rubric (Best Practices) Real-time presence of

instructor and/or peers

There are plentiful opportunities for interaction, as appropriate

Communication strategies promote critical thinking or other higher order thinking aligned with learning objectives

Communication activities benefit from timely interactions and facilitate “rapid response” communication (i.e., students gain practice discussing course content extemporaneously without looking up basic, declarative information)

Contact includes multiple forms of communication

Instructors have a plan for initiating contact prior to or at the beginning of class and at regular intervals during the course

Communication activities are designed to help build a sense of community among learners

Student-to-student interactions are required as part of the course. Students are encouraged to initiate communication with the instructor

Opportunities for students to seek additional help when necessary

Top of the page

Select Conferences from the menu

on the left-hand side of the page

Click on button on the

right-hand side of the page

Enter a name for the conference

Ignore “Type” (defaults to Big Blue

Button)

Identify the length of the conference

(or select “No time limit”)

Describe the conference

Determine invitees (entire class or

individual students or groups)

Click Update to save changes

Access conferences by clicking

Conferences and then Join

Enable recording for students who

cannot view the conference live

(recordings are deleted 14 days

after the conference ends)

Student Groups and Student Group Home Page (equivalent to Groups and Groupings in Moodle)

Set up instructor or student determined groups: o Collaborative work groups o Peer review groups o Student-led study groups

Communicate with specific groups through the Student Group Home Page

OEI Rubric (Best Practices) There are plentiful

opportunities for interaction, as appropriate

Communication strategies promote critical thinking or other higher order thinking aligned with learning objectives

Communication activities benefit from timely interactions and facilitate “rapid response” communication (i.e., students gain practice discussing course content extemporaneously without looking up basic, declarative information)

Communication activities are designed to help build a sense of community among learners

Student-to-student interactions are required as part of the course. Students are encouraged to initiate communication with the instructor

Collaboration activities (if included) reinforce course content and learning outcomes, while building workplace-useful skills such as teamwork, cooperation, negotiation, and consensus-building

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Access groups by clicking and the tab (view a list of groups here)

Edit the group set name and set-up by clicking on the right-hand side of the page

Edit individual group information and view a group’s homepage by clicking next to the specific group

Use the Group Homepage menu on the left-hand side of the page to set up group announcements, pages, discussions, conferences, and collaborations or share files

Student Group Home Page

View student activity in the group

Send announcements and messages to individual groups

Assign tasks, discussions, and other activities to specific

groups

Share files and other resources with specific groups

Encourage groups to share work and ideas on their home

page

Set up conferences for specific groups

Select People from the menu on the left-hand side of the page

Click on on the right-hand side of the page

Create a Group Set Name for the specific activity/assignment

Indicate if groups will be student determined (in student-determined groups, students can leave one group and join another.) You do not need to select one of these fields if you want to assign students to groups.

Determine the number of groups and

particicpants in each group (you can

manually assign students)

Assign students by clicking the student name

and dragging to the appropriate group

Click Save

Conversations (email)

Send and receive emails from o Entire classes o Specific students o Groups

OEI Rubric (Best Practices)

Contact includes multiple forms of communication

Instructors have a plan for initiating contact prior to or at the beginning of class and at regular intervals during the course

Student-to-student interactions are required as part of the course. Students are encouraged to initiate communication with the instructor

Opportunities for students to seek additional help when necessary

Top of the page

Managing Conversations

Select from the menu on the left-hand side of the page

Click the All Courses dropdown menu at the top of the page to filter the inbox by course

Delete , archive and organize messages using the icons at the top of the page Starting a Conversation

Click at the top of the page to start a new message

Select the course(s) from the drop down or check “Send individual message” to email a single student

Access the address book to email individual students or groups

Type a subject and message, or record (audio or video) or upload recorded material by clicking at the bottom of th message box

Attach documents using the (this will automatically access your computer files, not Canvas files)

Reply , or reply all to messages using the icons at the top of the page (an inbox message must be selected first)

Click Send

Scheduler (no equivalent in Moodle)

Schedule o Office hours o Presentations o Group appointements o Other appointments

Schedule an appointment

Click on on the right-hand side of any page in your

course or click in the menu on the left-hand side of the page.

Click Scheduler on the upper right-hand side of the page

Click Create an appointment groupon the right-hand side of the page (a new pop-up window will open)

OEI Rubric (Best Practices)

Contact includes multiple forms of communication

Instructors have a plan for initiating contact prior or at the beginning of class and at regular intervals during the course

Student-to-student interactions are required as part of the course. Students are encouraged to initiate communication with the instructor

Opportunities for students to seek additional help when necessary

Top of the page

Editing Appointment Group (pop-up)

Enter the name for the appointment

Select a date and time range - you may select

multiple dates and time ranges (extra fields are

added as you choose dates) – OR –

Select a date and time, and “Divide into equal

slots” (this will automatically fill other times)

Remove times by clicking the

Identify a location

Select the course(s) participating by clicking Select

Calenders and choosing the course(s) from the

menu:

Choose from the Options

Offer additional details or a message and Save

and Publish – this will send the scheduler

announcement to students in the selected classes

Click Scheduler in your calendar to view scheduler

appointments

Click to edit the appointment, message

students who have and/or have not scheduled an

appointment, or delete the appointment

Course Survey (same as Surveys in Moodle and similar to Feedback and Questionnaires)

Use anonymous surveys to give students the opportuntiy to provide intermittent feedback on the course

Collect information about student learning

Offer students opportunities for self-reflection about skills, objectives and course content

Develop surveys as formative assessments in order to determine student familiarity with content

OEI Rubric (Best Practices)

Instructors have a plan for initiating contact at regular intervals during the course

Instructions are written clearly and with exemplary detail to ensure understanding

Opportunities for student self-assessment are plentiful

Learners have the opportunity to give anonymous feedback to the instructor regarding course design and course content both during course delivery and after course completion

Communications require reflection or other higher order thinking

Top of the page

Creating a Course Survey

Click on Quizzes in the menu on the left-hand side of the page

Click on on the right-hand side of the page

Select

Fill in the Quiz Instructions

Select Graded Survey or Ungraded Survey from the Quiz Type drop down menu Enter a total score (score can be 0 for ungraded survey. Students will automatically receive full credit once

they complete the survey)

Select options based on your preferences (Keep Submissions Anonymous option does not reveal who completed the survey)

Restrict quiz based on your preference with an access code or an IP address filter

Assign the quiz, due date, and availability Developing a Course Survey

Select and click on

Enter a question title or number in the box (Canvas does not automatically number quesitons)

Choose the question type from the dropdown menu (Multiple Dropdows allows for a Likert-type question; Multiple Answers allows for check boxes – see the next page for information on designing these types of surveys)

Identify a number of points if scoring the survey

Begin designing a number of poionts if scoring the survey

Edit the questions by clicking the next to the question

Delete questions by clicking the next to the question

Designing Multiple Dropdowns Survey Questions

Select at the bottom of the page

Enter a question title or number in the box (Canvas does not automatically number questions)

Choose Multiple Dropdowns from the menu:

Identify a number of points if scoring the survey

Enter instructions in the text box

Click the table icon and choose two columns and the number of rows you need

Fill in the table with questions and reference words in [ ] with no spaces (in this example [answer1], [answer2], [answer3])

Reference Questions Words

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Click the dropdown to select the reference word you would like to clarify

Enter the answer choices for [answer1] in the Correct and Possible Answer fields

Select [answer2] and enter the answer choices; select [answer3] and enter the answer choices

Click if more answer choices are needed

Click Update Question and Save or Save and Publish if the survey is ready for students to access

Preview the survey by clicking

Click to make changes to the survey

Preview of the survey

Return to edit the survey by clicking in the upper right-hand corner of the preview screen

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Creating a Multiple Answers Survey Question

Select at the bottom of the page

Enter a question title or number in the box (Canvas does not automatically number questions)

Choose Multiple Answers for checkboxes

Identify a number of points if scoring the survey

Write the question in the textbox

Enter possible answer choices

Click if more answer choices are needed

Click and or if the survey is ready for students to access

Preview the survey by clicking

Click to make changes to the survey

Preview of the survey question

Return to edit the survey by clicking in the upper right-hand corner of

the preview screen

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