Learning Canvas Live

MSU Live Training

MSU offers several training sessions each month, both in person and virtually. Review the options available and sign up for a course that suits your needs.

These workshops are all hands-on; please bring your personal computer to fully engage in the training.

Canvas Essentials Badge

MSU faculty can earn this badge by participating in at least three (3) Canvas training opportunities and demonstrating the skills required to enhance their teaching using Canvas's essential tools and features.

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Canvas Live Training

Canvas also offers live training sessions, which you can find in the Canvas Training Portal.

Accessing the Canvas Training Portal

For detailed steps, visit our full tutorial, How to use the training portal.

Recommended Canvas Live Training

Below are the recommended live training in the Canvas Training Portal. While there are many more, we have narrowed it down to the essential training to get you started and prepared for teaching in Canvas. Typically, these training sessions feature a small group of participants and a workshop format.

First Look

First Look introduces participants to the Canvas environment, login procedure, and global navigation. Attendees will explore account setup, personal preferences, and communication tools like the Inbox and Calendar. This session also presents the numerous avenues for support available to each Canvas user. (Recorded Video Session)

Course Settings and Sharing

During this session, participants will learn how to manage course details, add external LTI tools (apps), view and manage course sections, and customize course navigation for students. They will also explore feature options and discover how to copy courses for reuse and export course content to share with others. Finally, they will learn what other file types Canvas supports for importing existing course content stored in other LMS systems using the importing and exporting tools.

Accessibility

Accessibility introduces basic concepts, approaches, strategies, and resources regarding creating, designing, and delivering Canvas courses accessible to all students, including those with disabilities. We will explore the Rich Content Editor tools and learn how to create accessible content with alt text, color contrast, meaningful links, and closed captioning.

Pages and the Rich Content Editor

Pages are a media-rich content delivery tool inside a Canvas course. During this session, users will see examples of pages appropriate for different grade levels and content types. Participants will also explore the (New) Rich Content Editor to help them create engaging and dynamic pages to engage students and drive their learning. In addition, users will be shown how to embed valuable third-party tools to reduce distractions and focus learning inside Canvas.

Leveraging Modules

Leveraging Modules teaches participants how to create a flow within a course by organizing and structuring content with the Modules tool. Participants will explore how to create and manage content modules, leverage progress monitoring capabilities, and scaffold student access to course content.

Assignments

The Assignments session explores all the options and use cases for the Assignment tool in Canvas. Participants will create and manage Assignment groups, organize their Assignment index, and work to develop cohesive assignments for their courses. They will also explore assignment settings, applications, and tools. Additionally, participants will learn how to utilize rubrics for assessing assignments.

Course Design Considerations

Course Design Considerations highlights the best practices in Canvas for creating student-centered course spaces that students can easily navigate from a browser or a mobile device. We’ll discuss strategies such as chunking content into smaller bursts of learning, best practices for building native content, and provide participants with tips for leveraging enhanced tool sets in Canvas.

Classic Quiz Basics

Quiz Basics will prepare participants to use the quizzing tool in Canvas. Participants will learn how to customize quiz settings and differentiate student assessment windows. Participants will explore a variety of quiz question types and have the opportunity to view example quizzes and use cases. (Understanding Classic Quiz phase-out)

Gradebook and SpeedGrader

Explore the Canvas gradebook and its newest features from the instructor and student perspectives. Users will experience the power of the SpeedGrader and the various ways they can use it to provide timely and detailed feedback for students while making the grading process more efficient and enjoyable.