2025-2026 Beginning-of-the-Year Canvas Best Practices

Cross-listing allows you to combine multiple sections of the same course into a single Canvas course shell, saving significant time by creating content only once. It's **optional but highly recommended**, especially for middle and high school teachers who teach multiple periods of the same course and for elementary teachers who are departmentalized. You can still differentiate assignments and use SpeedGrader Links to an external site. for individual sections. Crosslisted sections also allow for grade passback with Infinite Campus.

It is critical that you cross-list your sections PRIOR to publishing your course and students turning in any work. Cross-listing becomes much more complicated and may result in data loss after students begin submitting assignments.

For support with cross-listing, refer to the Crosslisting Your Canvas Courses Links to an external site. document or contact Canvas Tier 1 Support via the Help menu on your Canvas Dashboard (Canvas Support Hotline or Chat with Canvas Support). You can also refer to the Canvas Guide: How do I cross-list a section in a course as an instructor? Links to an external site.

For Elementary Teachers: Your Canvas courses will have a new template pre-installed using the Canvas for Elementary interface. We encourage you to utilize this template for consistency across elementary courses. You can update the messaging and personalize elements, but retaining the core template helps streamline the student experience. Familiarize yourself with this interface to maximize its benefits. You will also receive additional support from the Digital Learning Specialist Team this school year.

For Middle and High School Teachers: You have flexibility in setting up your course homepage:

• Option 1: Import a previous homepage. If you have a well-established homepage from a prior course, you can import it.
• Option 2: Select a new template from Canvas Commons. Two new template options are available for import. To import a template from Canvas Commons:

1. Open your Canvas Course.
2. From the Homepage toolbar menu, select "Import from Commons".
3. Search for resources by keyword (e.g., "Richmond County School System Template").
4. Use the Filter option to narrow results, ensuring you check "Only Richmond County School System Approved Resources".
5. Select the desired template by clicking its name; you can preview components, view details, and version notes.
6. Click the blue "Import/Download" button.
7. Search for and check the box of the Canvas course where you want to import the template.
8. Select the blue "Import into Course" button.

Before publishing your course(s), complete the following to ensure a high-quality and accessible learning environment:

• A. Course Information & Expectations

  • Homepage: Provide a visual representation of the course, a brief description, clear instructions (e.g., where to begin), and easy navigation to current content. Update the homepage to include your name, email address, phone number, and preferred communication method. Include a Welcome Letter or link to a Welcome Letter. Personalizing homepage banners and buttons is optional.

  • Course Navigation Links Links to an external site.: Ensure navigation is clear and consistent, hiding unused items. Recommended items to enable include Home, Announcements, Modules, and Grades.

  • Syllabus Links to an external site.: Make sure a course syllabus is available. This should include class expectations (participation rules, etiquette, code of conduct), policies for grading, late work, and make-up work, and a list of supplemental textbooks, reading lists, and technology requirements.

  • Instructor Contact Information: Provide your contact information, which may include a biography, availability, communication preferences, response time, and a picture.

• B. Course Structure & Content

  • Link Validation Links to an external site.: All links, files, videos, and external URLs must be active and working.

  • Content Organization: Content should be "chunked" into manageable pieces by leveraging modules Links to an external site. and pages (e.g., organized by units, chapters, topics, or weeks). When possible, Canvas Pages should be used to present content instead of linking to external URLs or files in the module. Module titles and content within modules should have a thoughtful naming convention (e.g., "Unit 1: Synonyms and Antonyms," not just "Unit 1").

  • Content Consistency: Each content item type should be formatted consistently to make expectations predictable (e.g., all assignments are formatted to include directions, guidelines, and a technical support area linking to help guides).

  • Accessibility: Course content should follow General Accessibility Guidelines. Identify and correct accessibility issues using the Accessibility Checker tool.

  • Content Quality & Readability: Course content should build logically, increasing in understanding and difficulty. Content should be at the appropriate reading level for your students. Vocabulary for content-specific terms should have clear definitions.

  • Welcome Module/Page: Edit the course welcome module and welcome page from the course template. Provide key learning information such as goals, learning objectives, and/or standards, as well as course materials, supplemental textbooks, and reading lists.

• C. Assignment Groups & Grade Passback (CRITICAL!)

  • You MUST create/edit assignment groups in Canvas to exactly match the name and weight of your Assignment Categories in Infinite Campus. This step is critical if you intend to use Canvas for student submissions and grading/feedback.

• D. Publishing Content

  • Publish individual items and module headers as needed. Students can only access published content. Items shown in green with a green checkmark are published; items with a gray "no" symbol are unpublished. Module titles must also be published for students to view their content.

• E. Course Settings

  • Explore and edit course settings to meet your needs. Click "Settings," select the "Course Details" tab, scroll to the bottom, and select "More Options." Enable or disable optional settings (paying close attention to those related to discussions!) and then click "Update".

• F. Student View

  • View the course in Student View to see it exactly as your students will see it. This helps identify any unpublished items and understand the exact steps students will take to access content or submit work. Verify that all homepage buttons linked to internal course content and external resources are opening properly.

To learn more, check out RCSS Tier 1 Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist. Download RCSS Tier 1 Canvas Course Evaluation Checklist.

• A. Learner Interaction

  • Clear Instructions: Learning activity descriptions and instructions must be clear, detailed, and include instructor expectations and clear expectations for the creation of the learning product.

  • Submission Directions: Learners must be provided detailed directions on how and where they will submit work.

  • Appropriate Tasks: Tasks and submission requirements should be appropriate for teaching methods (synchronous, asynchronous, or blended).

  • Task/Submission Match: Ensure the task matches the submission type (discussion, assignment, quiz, audio/visual recording, handwritten/typed, etc.).

  • Opportunities for Interaction: Activities should include opportunities for both learner-learner interaction (e.g., discussions, constructive collaboration, peer reviews) and learner-instructor interaction (e.g., instructor actively engaged in authentic conversations and provides quality feedback).

• B. Assessments

  • Standard Alignment: Learning activities should directly tie into a standard, or tasks should provide scaffolding to reach the standard.

  • Grading Policy Alignment: Any assessments must be aligned with the RCSS Grading Policy.

  • SpeedGrader Links to an external site. Use: Assessments should support instructors' use of SpeedGrader to score and provide prompt and high-quality feedback.

  • Activity Variety: Use a variety of activities to increase learner engagement and promote active learning.

    • Grades 4-5: Minimum of 4 minor (assignments, discussions, or quizzes) and 2 major (test papers, culminating assessments) activities per 6 weeks.

    • Grades 6-12: Minimum of 8 graded activities per month (assignments, discussions, or quizzes).

  • Due Dates: Use due/available until dates so activities appear on students' calendars and to-do lists.

  • Feedback: All graded activities in Canvas should have feedback shared with students. Utilize SpeedGrader to score and provide prompt feedback (text, audio, or video).

• C. Student-Centered Practices

  • Announcements: Course announcements should meaningfully communicate important information regarding course activities, interesting course-related topics, resources, or reminders.

  • Rubrics: Use rubrics to clarify expectations for course assignments, discussions, and quizzes.

  • Student Choice: Provide student choice by selecting more than one option for an online assignment submission type to allow students to demonstrate their understanding through different modalities.

  • Passport to Canvas: Walk through or review the Passport to Canvas student training course with your classes as needed.

  • Offline Access: Support students with offline access to Canvas by enabling your course to be "downloaded and viewed offline".

On the course home page, click the "Publish" button! Once the course is published, students will be able to view and participate.