Canvas
Canvas is the University of Illinois' official learning management system (LMS). This state-of-the-art, user-friendly platform provides students and instructors with one central location where they can easily access their course syllabus, assignments, announcements, grades and anything else that is pertinent to their course. (NOTE: Some niche programs may use a different LMS that is tailored to their specific needs.)
GETTING STARTED
If you're new to Canvas, here are some steps to take to help you get started:
- Log in to access your Canvas space or request a Canvas space if you don't have one and begin exploring the features and tools.
- Enroll in Canvas 101, a self-paced faculty training course that introduces you to the most commonly used tools in Canvas. (NOTE: We recommend Mac users view the Canvas 101 course using Google Chrome.)
- Attend a workshop. There are many training opportunities available to learn about Canvas tools and features. View the training calendar and choose a workshop that is right for you.
- If you can't attend a workshop, view Canvas training videos and webinar recordings on Illinois MediaSpace. You may also consult the instructor guide or tutorial video series on the Instructure website.
- If you taught a Compass course between Fall 2019 and Spring 2021, your content will be automatically copied to Canvas. Follow our automatic content import guide to start working with your course content in Canvas.
- If you want to explore Canvas using Compass course content older than Fall 2019, follow our manual content import guide.
TOOLS AND FEATURES
Canvas is known for its intuitive tools and features. Here are a few:
- Attendance lets you easily take attendance based off a class list or seating chart.
- With Syllabus items listed in the Course Summary are automatically hyperlinked to content. The Course Summary provides an organizational view of the 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.
- 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 administration and are not yet available.)
- SpeedGrader is similar to Blackboard's online grading feature but includes additional features that allow you to annotate submissions by adding comments, highlighting text, and drawing; grade with Canvas Instructor App; record audio and video feedback for student submissions; and use speech-to-text to give feedback (in Chrome).
Learn about more tools and features in Canvas.
Canvas Assistance Options
Requesting a course site is a manual process. Go request a course space. Almost all courses will be Registrar-Affiliated. Follow their instructions for ordering your course site. Note that adding content, such as the material used in a previous course, is also a manual process. The Instructional Support Team is happy to assist you in that work.
Canvas provides considerable flexibility for assignment extensions, please look at this article: Canvas: Extend an Assignment Due Date for One Student.
This article in Instructure’s support is a great introduction into how groups work in Canvas: What are Groups?.
This article in the Knowledge Base provides a good overview of the grade submission process and other grading matters in Canvas: Finalize Grades.
The TA staff must be manually added, since they aren’t part of the academic roster provided by the registrar. Go to the People tab in the navigation and then to the “+ People” tool to enter the information for your TA staff.
There are several assistance options for the Canvas learning management system. If you prefer to approach your questions on your own, Instructure (Canvas’s parent company) provides support via the Help button located at the bottom of the navigation bar of every Canvas course site. That button leads to options for using their chats, a phone support option, and links to support materials created here at UIUC. The following link will direct to the Tech Services Knowledge Base, which is structured with topical information as well as allowing for direct questions: Canvas Start Page.
INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT
CITL's Instructional Support Team provides Canvas training and assistance, including helping to migrate existing courses.
- Stop by during open office hours on Zoom, held on Thursdays from 11 am — 12 pm CST
- Schedule an individual consultation at your convenience by emailing IST at citl-info@illinois.edu.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
For Canvas technical support, contact the Technology Services Help Desk. Help Desk hours are:
- Monday — Friday: 8 am — 9 pm CST
- Saturday — Sunday: 12 pm — 5 pm CST
Contact the Help Desk at consult@illinois.edu or 217-244-7000