Instructional Continuity with Canvas
Getting Started | Teaching Online | Video Tutorials | Video Conferencing | Online Assessments | Secure Exams |
Any array of events can disrupt faculty’s ability to teach courses via on-campus, in-class sessions. Cal Poly’s commitment to students includes making sure that we provide students an opportunity to complete courses despite disruptions, whenever possible.
The Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology - Instructional Continuity site.
Please view the ITS page for Working remotely at Cal Poly.
Fall Workshops/Webinars
Please see our Workshops & Events for more info.
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Please visit the Canvas Guides. |
Getting Started
- Recorded Tutorials (videos)
- Equity-Minded Practices for Remote Teaching (video)
- How to log into Canvas.
- Canvas 24/7 online chat and phone support is available.
- The Canvas Online Orientation, Launching a Course Online with Canvas, and Creating Accessible Canvas Content courses are self-paced on how to use Canvas. They include videos, step-by-step instructions, links to resources, examples, and resources you can reuse. As a student in the course, you can also see how Canvas can be organized for easy navigation.
- Review the Quality Learning and Teaching (QLT) Instrument & Canvas Tools
- We have a Template that faculty can use to start their courses.
- Canvas course checklist provides steps for after you import your PolyLearn course or start from scratch.
- Canvas Quiz Settings to Maximize Security
- The Canvas Videos are all online.
- The CTLT provides “Instructional Continuity” resources.
- The Difference Between Emergency Remote Online Teaching and Online Learning.
Creating my Canvas Course
You may be new to Canvas or new to teaching fully online. These resources may be helpful. The CTLT has Instructional Continuity Strategies available online.
Video Conferencing
Cal Poly has a license for ZOOM, a video conferencing software that allows for live streaming or recording of instructors’ lessons, meetings, or office hours. ZOOM allows for video, audio, screen sharing, group breakout rooms, chat, and polling. It can be used from any computer, laptop, tablet, or phone, and it works on Mac, PC, iOS and Android devices with the ZOOM app downloadable from the Apple App Store (iOS) or GooglePlay (Samsung and Android).
Canvas Videos
The Canvas Online Orientation course is a self-paced course on how to use Canvas. It includes videos, step-by-step instructions, and links to resources. As a student in the course, you can also see how Canvas can be organized for easy navigation.
| Overview | New Quiz |
| Creating a HomePage | Discussions |
| Files Overview | Rubrics |
| Rich Content Editor | Quizzes |
| Pages | Gradebook |
| Modules | SpeedGrader |
| Announcements |
Online Assessments
To create an effective online course takes education and time. Please try some authentic assessment methods below that support your student learning without falling into what is easy - online proctored exams.
You may also find this Alternative Assessments in Canvas community resource very helpful.
Discussion: Discussions allows instructors to set up an area for organized course-related discussions. Students are able to create posts as well as respond to posts from other students. The instructor acts as a moderator, and the discussion can be graded or non-graded. The Speedgrader is an efficient means to view all posts and replies from individual students in graded discussions.
Assignments: Assignments allows instructors to collect student work and provide grades and feedback. This tool can be used for either formative or summative assessment. Rubrics are available in the Assignment. These are scoring tools that explicitly describe performance expectations for an assignment, and can be aligned with course learning outcomes.
Peer Review Assignments: Peer Review Assignment. When creating an assignment, you can require students to complete a peer review of another student's work. For peer reviews, you can manually assign peer reviews or choose to have Canvas automatically assign peer reviews for you. You can also choose to allow students to see other students' names in peer reviews or make them anonymous. When anonymous peer reviews are enabled, instructors and TAs can still view the names of student reviewers in Speedgrader and in the student submission page. However, if anonymous grading is enabled in Speedgrader, the names of both students will be hidden in Speedgrader but not in the student submission page.
Flip (Flipgrid): is a free video discussion tool that allows for threaded video discussions in your Canvas course. Learn more.
Quizzes: Quizzes and New Quizzes (New Quiz Video) can be used to create surveys for student feedback, or low-stakes formative quizzes to help students self-assess what they have just read or reviewed. Quizzes can allow multiple attempts to help students review important concepts. Quizzes provide a variety of question types, as well as options for immediate feedback on individual questions.
You may also find the Alternative Assessments in Canvas page in the Canvas Instructional Designer Blog helpful.
Secure Exams
What are the Quiz settings that help create a successful student experience?
To learn more, please see the Canvas community page.
- Create a Quiz for practice to allow the student to try out the tool and work on any bugs before the real exam. Learn more about quiz types.
- Institute an honor code with your students. Add a True/False question at the end "I swear on my honor that I have neither given or received aid on this exam".
- Do not curve exams, since it may be an unfair advantage over students who follow academic integrity.
- Before the quiz is available, set the Grading Policy to Manual. This is helpful when you are grading essay questions and you want to hold ALL the quiz grades until you are done.
NOTE: If you want students to see Quiz results (answers) after they/everyone take(s) the quiz...you need to choose the "results" settings before anyone takes it. You cannot change these settings after. Then use the Manual Grading Policy to hide the grade/results until you Post. - Time limit, gives the students a set amount of time to answer the questions. An open-book exam would be harder if unprepared. Learn more about Quiz Options / New Quiz Settings. The difference between Quiz & New Quiz.
- Set the quiz to show one question at a time.
- Only let students see their quiz responses (quiz settings) after a set date or their last attempt.
- Use Question Banks so questions randomize for each student. The more question options, the higher ability to provide a different quiz for each student.
How to Create a Randomized Quiz with Question Banks. - Provide DRC students the additional time they need to take the exam: Quiz & New Quiz.
- You can also choose to hide the correct answers. An office hour can be create to discuss quiz results if needed.
- NOTE: if you use images in your Quiz, make sure your students ONLY use Chrome.
- Change the exam to a project. Make it a presentation in PowerPoint or a paper.
- Allow students to reflect about their learning. Use Flipgrid, a free video discussion tool that allows for threaded video discussions in your Canvas course. Learn more.
Secure Settings for Quizzes and Grades
How can I hide the quiz results from students until I can grade all the essays?
You can change the settings for students to view the response or when they can see the correct answers within the Quiz settings. NOTE: students still can see their score/points with this setting. 
How can I prevent students from seeing the score/points until after everyone has taken the activity?
Within the Gradebook, set the Manual Grade Posting Policy for your published Quiz, Assignment or Graded discussion activity before students complete. If you select a manual posting policy, activity grades remain hidden from student view by default until you post grades for the assignment. If you select a manual course posting policy after activity grades have already been entered, the policy will not apply retroactively and any posted grades will remain visible.
You can also hide or post activity grades within the SpeedGrader that already has student submissions.
Faculty can choose to review student quiz data (not NEW Quiz) if they are concerned about student access. Quiz logs can be reviewed after the quiz has been taken, but ONLY if you go to Settings > Feature Options > Quiz Log Auditing in each course before the quiz is taken. 
Online Assessment options are available above.
LockDown Browser is a wonderful tool to use in a proctored environment. Meaning a lab with someone watching the students take the test. LockDown Browser - on that one device, keeps students from opening other webpages and printing. Students' would have to install the LockDown Browser software on their own computers.
If your students do NOT have the tools, students can receive technical resources either by their departments or retention@calpoly.edu.
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Please visit the Canvas Guides. |
