Follow the steps below to build your course from the ground up.

Request a Course Shell

Before you begin building your course in Canvas, you’ll first need to obtain a new course shellby completing the Course Shell Request Form. Be sure to choose Canvas Request at the top of the form!

Note: This course shell will not be accessible to students, but is used for the development of your course materials prior to the “live” course being created in Canvas.

Navigate to Your Course

  1. Log in to Canvas at https://montana.instructure.com/login/saml.
  2. When you log in, you will land on your Canvas dashboard.
  3. Select the desired course by clicking on its course card.

Note: Depending on where we are in the migration schedule, you may or may not see all your courses. All courses scheduled for automatic migration will appear by July 2025.

Canvas dashboard showing three course cards: 'Growing with Canvas,' 'Practice Course,' and 'Passport to Canvas.' The left sidebar includes navigation options such as Dashboard, Courses, Calendar, Inbox, History, Commons, and Help. The 'Growing with Canvas' course card is highlighted.

Organize your Course

Modules control the entire flow of your course and its content. As an instructor, you can add modules, add items to a module, and manage module settings. You can also reorder all modules and module items.

  1. Navigate to the Modules tab from the course navigation menu on the left.
  2. Scroll through your migrated modules. You will need to review and update these to fit with your course's structure.
    1. Note: You have the flexibility to structure your course into weeks, units, topics, or any other format you prefer.
  3. Rename and reorder your modules and activities
    1. Use the three dots on the top right of the module to edit the name.
    2. Then, use the dot cluster on the left of each item to drag and reorder your modules and activities to a new location.

Note: Some activities may appear in a new category titled "Imported Assignments," created for activities that cannot be categorized into an existing module. You can access these by selecting Assignments from the course navigation menu. Consider relocating these activities to a more appropriate module for your course.

close-up of module menu with three dots outlined in redClose-up of module box with eight dots to drag and reorder modules outlined in red
  1. At the top right of the modules page, click on Student View to see how your modules look from the view of your students.
    1. Note: When you or your students click on Modules, it will take you back to the top of the modules page so it may be helpful to have your most recent module at the top.
      2.   
close-up of Student View button with glasses icon outlined in red

For more information on Modules, refer to the video resource below.

Video: Modules Overview

Create New Content

Some migrated content elements may not transfer well and will require rebuilding. Canvas offers a versatile toolkit for creating new content, including pages, assignments, discussions, quizzes, links, documents, and external tools. Use the links below to learn more about each content item.

Canvas Pages

Canvas Pages provide a platform for presenting course materials.

Tutorial: How Do I Create a New Page in a Course?

How Do I Create a New page in a Course?

Video: Pages Overview

Assignments

Assignments track student progress and facilitate feedback.

Tutorial: How Do I Create an Assignment?

How Do I Create an Assignment?

Video: Assignments Overview

Quizzes

Quizzes assess student understanding with various question formats.

Tutorial: How Do I Use the Quizzes Index Page?

How Do I Use the Quizzes Index Page?

Video: Quizzes Overview

Discussions

Discussions foster collaborative learning environments.

Tutorial: How Do I Create a Disussion as an Instructor?

How Do I Create a Discussion as an Instructor?

Video: Discussion Overview

Set up the Gradebook

Each assignment's grades can be calculated as points, percentages, complete or incomplete, pass or fail, GPA scale, and letter grades. Assignments can be organized into groups for weighting.

Only graded assignments, discussions, quizzes, and surveys published are shown in the Gradebook. “Not Graded” assignments will not be shown.

Tutorial: How Do I Use the Gradebook?

How Do I Use the Gradebook?

Video: How Do I Use the Gradebook?

Weighting Grades

You can organize your assignments in Canvas into groups such as "quizzes" or "homework".

When you select this option, you assign a weight to the assignment group rather than to individual assignments. Canvas calculates the grade by dividing the total points a student has earned by the total possible points for all assignments in that group.

Tutorial: Weight Your Gradebook

Weight Your Gradebook

Video: Weight Your Gradebook

Create and Schedule Announcements

Finally, add new or review the announcements that were migrated from your Brightspace D2L course and make any necessary changes. Use the resources below to learn how to schedule announcements in advance or for a specific section.

Tutorial: How Do I Add an Announcement

How Do I Add an Announcement?

Video: Announcement Overview

Copy Course

Once your content is complete in your shell and your live course becomes available prior to the start of the semester, you can copy your content over using the Copy a Canvas Course tutorial.

Next Steps

Canvas and ATO provide a variety of live training courses and webinars.

Visit our Training Calendar Page to view and sign up for upcoming sessions.

Additionally, explore our On-Demand Resources Page for links and information about Canvas live trainings, content-specific courses, and instructor-focused videos and guides.