Visit thenew Upcoming Canvas Changes page within the Canvas Community. This page is updated by Instructure and is the central location for communicating all Canvas’s significant upcoming changes. Canvas recommends you click the Follow button at the top of the document so you will receive all updates as they are made available. You may also want to review the upcomingCanvas Release Notesto find out what is coming soon and when. Check theCanvas System Status Updates for real time updates about existing features within Canvas.
Verify activities and content in the course are published.
Verify dates. Due dates are added to the calendar and the syllabus and serve as reminders to students. “Available from” and “Until” dates will unlock and lock the activity.
Verify instructions are accurate and well formatted.
Customize course navigation links. Keep only the links that are necessary. For example, in most cases the following should be hidden: Files, Pages, Outcomes, Conferences, and Collaborations. If using Modules you can hide even more links to simplify navigation for students. See: How to Reorder and Hide Course Navigation Links.
Verify Modules are logically ordered and published, if using them.
Verify Module “Lock until” dates are correct, if using them. See: How to Lock a Module.
Publish your course when you are ready for students to have access to it. This typically is on the morning of or before the official course start date. See: How do I publish a course? NOTE: Some faculty like to publish their courses well in advance of the start date, but only publish a handful of elements of the course (such as the syllabus). This allows enrolled students to “preview” the class.
Especially for online and hybrid classes, send an email to your students through your SURF Roster telling them how to access your course in Canvas.
Cautions
Canvas email (Inbox/Conversation) messages will not be sent out if the course is unpublished. Send class messages from your SURF Roster instead, prior to publishing the course.
Pay attention to the time stamp on anything you have placed a date on. 12:00 means the very first minute of the selected day. For end dates, it is often best to choose 11:59 PM to ensure you are setting it up on the correct date.
The following steps will to assist you with changing your sample student account password. Passwords may be changed throughout the year, passwords are required to be updated a year from the last reset Follow these directions after your employee password is reset, or when you need to reset the password for security purposes.
Changing the Canvas faculty student account password is the exact same process as regular login (example: jdoe) but login with this account’s login ID (example: jdoe-student ).
If you remember your current password for your sample student account, follow the steps outlined below:
This site explains the difference between the Canvas student view tool and MiraCosta College’s sample student account.
Canvas Student View
You can view a course the same way that your students view your course without logging out of your instructor account. Enabling Student View creates a ‘Test Student’ in your course. You can activate Student View in your Course Settings.
To see the student’s perspective on Canvas, use Student View to view the course, post and reply to discussions, submit assignments, view grades, view people, view pages, view the syllabus, view quizzes, view the calendar, and view the scheduler.
What Does Not Work in Canvas Student View
Attendance, conferences, conversations, collaborations, differentiated assignments, groups, LTI tools such as Pronto and Turnitin, peer reviews, and profiles do not work for the Test Student. Also, you will see only what you, as the instructor, allow your students to see.
Sample Student Account
At MiraCosta College all faculty have a separate sample student user added to their Canvas course. This is a separate account from your primary MCC faculty login account. The sample student account needs to be reset two times a year at the same time your employee password is reset.
With the sample student account all course content and tools that you have enabled for your students will work. This includes taking attendance, conferences, conversations, collaborations, differentiated assignments, groups, Pronto, LTI tools, Turnitin assignments, and peer reviews.
Reminder: You must publish your course and you must publish the course content or tool within Canvas before you can access it with your sample student account. Your sample student account has the same course permissions as your enrolled SURF students.
Sample Credentials
Add -student to the end of your MCC faculty login account. This will be your sample student account.
Example Log On: kturpin-student Password: Contact the ITS Help Desk at (760) 795-6850 for a password for first time users.
Substitute kturpin for your MCC faculty login and add -student
Troubleshooting computer problems is part of modern life when you teach online. Before you make that support call, try your hand at fixing some of the most common problems yourself.
Check your Course Management System (CMS) Status Is it a maintenance time? Or is Canvas currently experiencing an outage?
Clear Browser Cache (history, cookies, etc.) Clearing your browser cache often will resolve the problem by allowing your computer to download the latest version of the webpage and/or software.
Try a Different Browser If you have cleared your browser cache and things are still not working as you expect try a different browser. Example: if you are using Chrome, try Firefox and visa versa. Ensure that your browsers are up to date. You can always download the latest version free online.
Restart your Computer Many faculty and staff solve their problems with this simple step. Always a good option to try.
Check your Internet Connection Speed A slow connection could be why your CMS system is running slow. Share your result with your internet service provider as necessary to resolve.
Enable Browser Cookies Cookies are small files which are stored on a user’s computer. They are designed to hold a modest amount of data specific to a particular client and website, and can be accessed either by the web server or the client computer. This allows the online server to deliver a page tailored to a particular user, or the page itself can contain some script which is aware of the data in the cookie and so is able to carry information from one visit to the website (or related site) to the next.
Enable Java It strongly recommended to have the latest version to ensure proper functionality of our online systems.
Manage Pop-Up Blockers Pop-up windows, or pop-ups, are windows that appear automatically without your permission. They vary in size but usually don’t cover the whole screen. They are often required for certain online website applications to work properly.
Make sure that your Operating System is fully updated. Neglecting updates could deprive you of important bug and performance fixes.
