Canvas Information & Resources
MiraCosta’s Canvas system may be accessed at miracosta.instructure.com – faculty and students log in with their SURF username and password. You’ll also find buttons to log into each of MiraCosta’s course management systems at miracosta.edu/online . See below for many great resources to help you learn to use Canvas, and earn MiraCosta Flex credit along the way.
Top Canvas Resources for Faculty
- Canvas Instructor Guides – comprehensive step-by-step tutorials on all Canvas features
- Canvas Instructor videos – small but useful set of videos on key Canvas features
- MiraCosta Canvas tutorials – locally created guides on key Canvas features and how Canvas works with SURF
- Still transitioning from Blackboard or Moodle to Canvas? Please review this guide with links to key resources.
- 24-7 Canvas hotline for faculty: 1-833-345-2890
- Questions about how Canvas works specifically at MiraCosta? Contact Karen Turpin, Online Instructional Technologist: kturpin@miracosta.edu / 760-795-6787
Canvas Workshops
Online Introduction to Teaching with Canvas
Over 250 MiraCosta faculty members signed up for 4-week online “Introduction to Teaching with Canvas” classes in 2017-18. If there is additional demand for this class in the future, Online Ed will consider how best to offer it. MiraCosta faculty and staff can also join a completely independent version of the class. You’d be working on your own through the material without feedback from instructors nor regular communication with fellow students, but it may be a helpful way to get up to speed on the basics of Canvas on your own. You may also be interested in joining the free @One version of this class – see the @One catalog to sign up for an upcoming session.
Videos of Past MiraCosta Workshops
- Canvas Basics: Materials, Gradebook, Announcements (video, 111 min.) 1/18/18 Handout | Chat Transcript (txt)
In person workshop presented by curry mitchell with simulcast online via Zoom - Grades in Canvas (video, 49 min.) 1/16/18 Online workshop presented by Karen Turpin
- Using Turnitin in Canvas (video, 77 min.) 1/16/18 Chat Transcript (txt)
In person workshop presented by Billy Gunn and curry mitchell with simulcast online via Zoom - Canvas: Course Design through Rich Content Pages (video, 91 min.) 1/16/18
Handout
In person workshop presented by Billy Gunn and curry Mitchell with simulcast online via Zoom - Canvas: Just the Basics for Beginners (video, 58 min.) 1/16/18 In person workshop presented by Karen Turpin with simulcast online via Zoom
- Bb to Canvas: Re-creating Content & Assignments (video, 55 min.) 1/12/18 Online workshop presented by Sean Davis & curry mitchell
Chat Transcript (txt) - Blackboard to Canvas: Export/Import Essentials (video, 65 min.) 1/12/18 Online workshop presented by Karen Turpin
- Time to Learn Canvas! What are the options? (video, 49 min.) 8/14/17
Chat Transcript (txt) Online workshop presented by Jim Julius - Accessible Screencasting for Canvas (video, 72 min.) 8/14/17
Chat Transcript (txt) Online workshop presented by Karen Turpin - Canvas Communication Basics (video, 48 min.) 8/11/17
Chat Transcript (txt) Online workshop presented by Sean Davis & curry mitchell - Canvas Course Design & Organization Basics (video, 48 min.) 8/11/17
Chat Transcript (txt) Online workshop presented by Sean Davis & curry mitchell - Canvas Page Design (video, 82 min.) 1/16/17
In-person workshop presented by curry mitchell - Canvas Communication Tools (video, 70 min.) 1/13/17
In-person workshop presented by Robert Kelley - Canvas Course Design (video, 50 min.) 1/13/17
In-person workshop presented by Billy Gunn - Getting Started with Canvas (video, 54 min.) 1/13/17
In-person workshop presented by Gail Meinhold - Transitioning to Canvas (video, 79 min.) 1/13/17
In-person workshop presented by Jim Julius and the Canvas Transition Team (Gail Meinhold, Sean Davis, Robert Kelley, Billy Gunn, and curry mitchell) - From Blackboard to Canvas – Preview and Q&A (video, 75 min.) 11/18/16
In-person workshop presented by Robert Kelley, Sean Davis, and MiraCosta students. - Goodbye, Blackboard and Moodle. Hello, Canvas! (video, 77 min.) 8/18/16
Slides (Google presentation) Chat transcript (txt)
Online workshop presented by curry mitchell, Billy Gunn, and Jim Julius.
Flex Credit is available for viewing MiraCosta workshop videos. This is a pre-approved activity (in the Other Activities category Conferences and Presentations) – see this PDP presentation for details on how to record pre-approved activities.
Tour a MiraCosta Canvas Class!
What does a Canvas class look like? Well, there are a number of approaches to designing a class in Canvas. Check out some short videos by MiraCosta faculty. And then go behind the scenes – in Canvas – to learn more!
Gail Meinhold – Nutrition & Aging (4:45)
Explore some of Gail’s course and get tips from her – in Canvas!
Robert Kelley – Behavioral Stats (4:13)
Explore some of Robert’s course and get tips from him – in Canvas!
Canvas Student Orientation – this open Canvas course can also be a good way for faculty to introduce themselves to Canvas from the student perspective. Faculty are also welcome to link directly to this resource within their own Canvas classes to help their students learn key features of Canvas.
curry mitchell – English 100 (6:02)
Explore some of curry’s course and get tips from him – in Canvas!
Explore curry’s tips and code for Tabs, Accordions, Buttons, and Grids – in Canvas!
Billy Gunn – Film 111 (6:48)
Explore some of Billy’s course and get tips from him – in Canvas!
Leola McClure – Group Communication (5:01)
Flex Credit is available for time spent engaging with any of the above resources. This is a pre-approved activity (in the Other Activities category Conferences and Presentations) – see this PDP presentation for details on how to record pre-approved activities.
More Faculty Resources
- Getting Started guide and full instructor guide from Canvas
- Canvas at MCC – A collection of MiraCosta-specific tutorials & articles
- Canvas Community Resources – Resources, examples, and strategies for learning and exploring Canvas
- @ONE’s Canvas resources, including courses, webinars, brief videos, and more
- Robert Kelley’s Top 11 Tips for Rebuilding Your Course in Canvas
- FastTrack Video Series – series of 2 1/2 minute videos on different Canvas features.
- Lynda.com Canvas training videos – Brief topical introductory videos about Canvas. These may be accessed for free through the CCC Professional Learning Network – sign up at https://prolearningnetwork.cccco.edu/user/login
- Join the California Community College Canvas Community to participate in CCC-oriented discussions, sharing of ideas, and support for Canvas improvements
- CanvasLIVE – Webinars and live chats about Canvas, and archives of past live online training.
- Instructor Orientation – self-paced, free course from Canvas.
- And often starting with a Google search is the quickest path to finding something really useful!
Again, Flex Credit is available for time spent engaging with any of the above resources.
Blackboard to Canvas Transition Resources
- Blackboard to Canvas migration guide from Canvas includes links to both Blackboard and Canvas tutorials
- Rebuilding a Blackboard Course in Canvas: What to Expect – notes from MiraCosta faculty member Robert Kelley
- Guide from @One that shows the relationship between Canvas tools and Blackboard tools, and provides links to tutorials on the Canvas tools.
- In many cases, it may be easier to re-create classes in Canvas rather than exporting a class from Blackboard and importing it into Canvas. However, you may wish to try exporting portions of Blackboard classes, or entire classes, and importing into Canvas. See Copying Into Canvas from Blackboard or Canvas for details.
Moodle to Canvas Transition Resources
- How do I import content from Moodle into Canvas? from Canvas
- Guide from @One that shows the relationship between Canvas tools and Moodle tools, and provides links to tutorials on the Canvas tools.
Canvas Faculty and Student Support
MiraCosta’s Online Education department provides support for faculty using Canvas, and MiraCosta’s Student Help Desk provides support for students in Canvas classes.
When local support is unavailable, including evenings and weekends, Canvas provides technical support for faculty and students at the following phone numbers.
Faculty: 1-833-345-2890
Students: 1-877-884-1673
Canvas has excellent “Getting Started” guides for faculty and for students. See above for more faculty training resources.
Faculty and students can also create a helpdesk ticket for support from within Canvas by clicking on the Help icon and then selecting Report a Problem.
You may also review recent and upcoming updates to the Canvas system, as well as submitting or voting on feature additions and changes you’d like.
Canvas Status Updates
Click the link below if you are experiencing Canvas errors – these may be due to temporary issues with the entire Canvas LMS service and not something we control locally.
LTI Tools Available in Canvas
- Turnitin – originality checking, online grading and peer review
- ConferNow – Live web conferencing using Zoom
- Google Drive – enabling tighter integration between Google apps and Canvas
- Various publisher tools – click to learn more
- Many other LTI tools (“Apps”) are available – some have been made available institutionally and you can see those in the Navigation tab of Course Settings; others can be enabled by faculty individually; you can see those in the Apps tab of Course Settings. See the Canvas Guide on the App Center to learn more.
Workarounds
Canvas does not have a dedicated journaling tool like the one in Blackboard. However, it is possible to use Canvas tools to provide students with a place to submit their writings or reflections at various points throughout the semester. This is done by creating a series of assignments within the same assignment group.
How did MiraCosta get to Canvas?
MiraCosta College took on a comprehensive Course Management System evaluation in spring 2016 that led to the selection of Canvas. The college then transitioned away from Blackboard and Moodle and to Canvas during 2016-17 and 2017-18. Starting in summer 2018, Canvas is the sole supported course management system for MiraCosta classes.
One of MiraCosta’s early Canvas adopters, music professor Christy Coobatis, says this about using Canvas in spring 2017:
Has been an extremely successful semester because of it!
Both students and I loved the program.
I have more and clearer communication than ever before!
Another, Adult High School professor Julie Cord, says:
I am in LOVE with Canvas and I truly feel it has helped support my students and my teaching already in very substantial ways.