Visit knoxschools.instructure.com. You will see two buttons on the screen: teachers will select the "Students" and "Teachers" buttons to log in. This will require your single sign-on email and password. Canvas offers a comprehensive set of notification settings to help users stay informed and engaged with course updates and activities. These settings allow users, such as students and instructors, to customize how they receive notifications about various events within their courses. Users can fine-tune their notification preferences according to their own needs. They can choose to receive notifications through email, SMS, or within the Canvas platform itself. Notification options typically cover a wide range of events, including announcements, assignment due dates, discussion posts, grades, and more. This flexibility ensures that users can stay up to date without feeling overwhelmed by unnecessary notifications.

Canvas's notification settings are a crucial part of the platform, as they empower users to manage their learning and teaching experience effectively, ensuring that they receive timely information without being inundated with excessive alerts. By tailoring their notification preferences, users can make the most out of their Canvas experience while maintaining a balanced communication flow.

The Canvas dashboard serves as a central hub for users within the Canvas Learning Management System. It provides a dynamic and organized overview of a user's educational activities, courses, and relevant updates. Upon logging in, users are greeted by the dashboard, which typically displays a snapshot of upcoming assignments, announcements, discussions, and other essential course information. The dashboard's intuitive design allows users, whether they are students or instructors, to quickly navigate to their enrolled courses and access key materials. It often features a customizable layout, allowing users to arrange and prioritize information according to their preferences. This personalization ensures that users can easily access the most relevant content and updates first.

Key features commonly found on the Canvas dashboard include course cards representing each enrolled course, direct links to assignments and discussions, and recent announcements and notifications. This consolidated view fosters efficient time management, helping users stay organized and engaged in their academic pursuits. In essence, the Canvas dashboard acts as a command center, streamlining the interaction between users and their courses. It simplifies the process of tracking progress, submitting assignments, participating in discussions, and staying informed about course-related activities, contributing to a seamless and productive online learning experience.

Canvas users can access all of their courses by clicking on the course icon in the global navigation menu found on the left side of the screen. From the "All Courses" menu, teachers can customize their dashboard by starring their most-used courses. Courses that are starred will appear on their Canvas dashboard.

Summer courses, referred to as sandbox courses, are generated for teachers at the end of the school year. These courses are provided to staff members so they can utilize the space to create content for the next year. Summer courses conclude and are no longer editable in September each year. Content created in the course can be imported into the teachers' live courses at the start of the school year. Prior to the start of the school year, teachers receive courses for each course that they are assigned in Aspen. If you are a teacher who doesn't have courses assigned in Aspen, a sub-account administrator in your building can create a course for you.

The course navigation menu in Canvas provides users, whether they are students or instructors, with a structured and accessible way to navigate and engage with the various components of a specific course. Positioned typically on the left-hand side of the course interface, the navigation menu offers quick access to essential tools, resources, and activities that enhance the learning and teaching experience. This menu is thoughtfully designed to promote ease of use and efficient interaction within the course. It commonly includes sections such as:

• Home: This section often serves as the default landing page for the course, displaying announcements, upcoming events, and a brief overview of the course content.
• Modules: The module section organizes course materials and activities into thematic units or sections. This allows users to follow a structured learning path and access relevant content in a logical order.
• Assignments: Instructors can list all assignments with due dates and submission details here. Students can access assignment instructions, submit their work, and view their grades.
• Discussions: Users can participate in online discussions, view posts, and engage with their peers on various course-related topics.
• Announcements: Instructors can communicate important updates, reminders, and information through announcements, ensuring that students are informed about any changes or developments in the course.
• Grades: Students can view their grades for their assignments, quizzes, and other assessments. Instructors can manage grading and provide feedback from this section.
• Files: Course materials, documents, and resources are often stored here for easy access by both students and instructors.
• Syllabus: Instructors can provide an overview of the course structure, schedule, objectives, and policies throughout the syllabus section.
• People: Teachers can access a list of course participants.
• Quizzes: Students can take quizzes and assessments, while instructors can create, manage, and grade quizzes from this section.
• Mastery Tracker: This will be the access point to the Mastery content connect for students and teachers.
• Settings: Instructors can adjust course settings, configure navigation options, and manage course details in this area.

The course navigation menu's consistent placement and structure provide a user-friendly experience, enabling users to swiftly access the tools and resources they need to engage actively with course content, collaborate with peers, and achieve their educational goals within the Canvas Learning Management System.

The Canvas Gradebook is a powerful tool within the Canvas Learning Management System that enables instructors to efficiently manage, track, and communicate student grades and performance throughout a course. It offers a centralized location for instructors to input, calculate, and display assignment scores, quiz results, participation marks, and other assessment data. In addition to providing a comprehensive overview of individual and class-wide progress, this Gradebook allows instructors to organize assignments into categories, apply weighted grading systems, and adjust scores as needed. It also supports various grading scales, such as letter grades or percentages, giving instructors flexibility in accurately reflecting the course's assessment criteria.

One notable feature of the Canvas Gradebook is the option for grade passback to student information systems like Aspen. With grade passback, instructors can seamlessly transfer grades from Canvas to Aspen, eliminating the need for manual data entry. This automation streamlines administrative tasks and ensures that accurate and up-to-date grades are reflected in the institution's official records. By integrating the Canvas Gradebook with Aspen through the grade passback, educational institutions can enhance efficiency, reduce errors, and provide a more streamlined experience for both instructors and administrative staff. This integration promotes better communication between the learning management system and the student information system, resulting in a more cohesive and effective educational ecosystem.

In Canvas, modules are a structured and organized way to present course materials, activities, and assessments to students in a coherent sequence. Modules serve as containers that allow instructors to group related content and resources together, providing a clear and logical path for students to follow as they progress through the course. Each module typically represents a specific topic, unit, or week of instruction, and it contains a curated collection of items such as:

• Readings: PDFs, articles, textbooks, chapters, and other written materials.
• Assignments: Homework, projects, essays, and other assessments.
• Quizzes: Online assessments to gauge understanding and knowledge.
• Discussions: Online discussions and forums for interaction.
• Media: Videos, audio clips, and media presentations.
• External Links: URLs to external websites, resources, or tools.
• Files: Additional documents and resources.

Instructors have the flexibility to customize the order of modules to match the course's syllabus objectives and learning outcomes. They can also control the visibility of modules, releasing content to students based on a schedule or prerequisite completion. This sequential structure guides students through the course in a coherent manner, helping them stay organized and focused on the topics at hand.

In Canvas, the files feature serves as a centralized repository for all course-related documents, resources, and media. It provides instructors and students with a convenient way to store, organize, and access files that are essential for the course's content, assignments, and activities. The search feature in Canvas is a powerful tool that allows users, both instructors and students, to quickly locate specific course content, assignments, discussions, and other materials within the Canvas Learning Management System. This feature is designed to enhance efficiency by providing a streamlined way to find information without having to navigate through multiple menus and pages.

The rich content editor in Canvas is a versatile and user-friendly tool that empowers instructors and students to create, edit, and format content within the Canvas Learning Management System. This editor is designed to provide a robust set of formatting options while maintaining simplicity and ease of use. Key features of the rich content editor in Canvas include text formatting.

Users can apply various text formats, such as bold, italics, underline, font styles, and text size adjustments, to create visually appealing content.

Lists: The editor supports both numbered and bulleted lists, enabling users to organize information in a structured manner.

Links and Hyperlinks: Users can insert hyperlinks to external websites, files, or other course content, making it easy to connect to relevant resources.

Media Integration: The editor allows users to embed images, videos, and audio clips, along with other multimedia elements, directly into the content. This promotes engaging and interactive course materials.

Tables: Users can create tables to present data and organize information in a tabular format.

Equation Editor: For courses involving mathematical or scientific content, the editor often provides an equation editor to input mathematical formulas and symbols.

Accessibility: The rich content editor is designed with accessibility in mind, making it possible to create content that is usable by individuals with diverse needs.

HTML View: For users familiar with HTML coding, the editor often offers an HTML view that allows for direct code input, enabling advanced customization.

Undo and Redo: Users can easily undo or redo changes made in the editor, helping to prevent errors and ensuring content accuracy.

Auto Save: The editor often features an auto-save function, preventing the loss of content in case of accidental navigation or browser issues.

Preview: Before finalizing content, users can preview how it will appear to others, ensuring that formatting and elements are as intended. The rich content editor enhances the creation and customization of course materials, announcements, discussion posts, assignments, and other content within Canvas. Its intuitive interface and versatile features enable users to communicate effectively, engage learners, and create visually appealing content that supports effective online teaching and learning.

Canvas offers a diverse range of assignment types that instructors can use to engage students, assess their understanding, and foster active learning. These assignment types provide flexibility for instructors to choose the most suitable method for evaluating different types of content and skills. Some common assessment types in Canvas include:

Online Text: This type of assignment allows students to compose and submit text responses directly within Canvas. It's ideal for short essays, reflections, or textual analysis.

File Uploads: Instructors can set up assignments where students upload files, such as documents, images, presentations, or multimedia projects.

Media Recording: Students can record audio and video responses by using their computer's microphone and camera. This is useful for oral presentations, language assessments, or multimedia projects.

URL Submission: In this assignment, students can provide a link to an external webpage, article, video, or online resource relevant to the course material.

Quiz: Canvas quizzes enable instructors to create various question types, such as multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions. Quizzes can be used for formative or summative assessments.

Discussion: Instructors can assign discussion topics for students to engage in online discussions, share opinions, and exchange ideas with their peers.

Group Assignment: This assignment type allows students to collaborate within assigned groups on a shared project, presentation, or research assignment.

Peer Review: Instructors can set up assignments that involve students reviewing and providing feedback on their peers' work, promoting peer learning and assessment skills.

External Tool: Canvas supports integration with external tools and platforms. Instructors can create assignments that require students to complete tasks on third-party platforms, such as Google, with grades passed back to Canvas.

No Submission: Instructors can create placeholders for assignments that don't require digital submissions, such as presentations given in class.

Canvas's diverse assignment types cater to various learning objectives, assessment strategies, and teaching styles. Instructors can choose the appropriate type based on their instructional goals and the skills they intend to evaluate, providing a versatile and effective assessment toolkit within the Canvas learning management system.

Discussions: In Canvas, discussions provide an interactive and collaborative space for students and instructors to engage in meaningful conversations, share ideas, and explore course topics in depth. Discussions foster a sense of community and promote active learning by encouraging students to participate, reflect, and interact with their peers.

Quizzes: In Canvas, quizzes are a versatile assessment tool that allows instructors to evaluate students' understanding of course material through a variety of question types. Quizzes provide a way to gauge knowledge, comprehension, and critical thinking skills in an online learning environment.

Classic Quizzes: Classic quizzes are the traditional quiz format in Canvas. Instructors can create quizzes with a range of question types, including multiple choice, true/false, short answer, essay, and more. Key features of classic quizzes include:

• Question Variety: Classic quizzes often offer a diverse set of question types that allow instructors to assess different levels of understanding and skills.
• Question Banks: Instructors can create and store question banks for reuse across multiple quizzes.
• Customization: Classic quizzes allow for various customization options, such as shuffling the answer choices and setting time limits.
• Grading Flexibility: Instructors can manually grade subjective quiz questions, like essays and short answers.

New Quizzes: New quizzes are a more advanced assessment tool available in Canvas, offering enhanced features and improved functionality compared to classic quizzes. Some key differences in the features of new quizzes include:

• Question Types: New quizzes expand on the question types available in classic quizzes, with features like matching, categorization, and more.
• Question Banks: In item banks, new quizzes offer item banks, which provide a more organized way to store and manage questions. Item banks can be shared between courses and instructors.
• Auto Grading: New quizzes automate grading for many types of questions, saving instructors time on manual grading.
• Assessment Analytics: New quizzes provide more detailed analytics and insights into student performance, helping instructors identify areas for improvement.
• Question Logic: New quizzes include more sophisticated question logic options, enabling conditional questions in adaptive assessments.

The integration of the Mastery Connect Mastery Tracker and Canvas enhances the assessment and tracking capabilities for both teachers and students within the Canvas learning management system. The Mastery Tracker is a tool designed to monitor and evaluate student progress toward mastery of learning objectives, allowing for more targeted and effective instruction. With this integration, students and teachers can conveniently access the Mastery Tracker directly from the course menu in Canvas. By clicking on Mastery Tracker, users are seamlessly directed to their Mastery Tracker, where they can engage with the following features:

• Assessment Tracking: Teachers can design and assign assessments aligned with specific learning objectives. These assessments can be tracked and analyzed to identify areas of strength and areas that need improvement.
• Data Analysis: The integration allows teachers to access rich data and insights, enabling them to monitor student performance, identify trends, and make informed instructional decisions.
• Progress Monitoring: Students can view their individual progress toward mastery of various skills and learning standards, empowering them to take ownership of their learning journey.
• Targeted Instruction: Teachers can use the data from the Mastery Tracker to differentiate instruction, providing targeted support and resources to students based on their specific needs.
• Customization: The integration streamlines the user experience, allowing for single sign-on and eliminating the need for separate login credentials and access codes for Mastery Connect.
• Course Integration: The Mastery Tracker link in the course menu creates a seamless transition between the Canvas course and the Mastery Tracker platform, ensuring a cohesive learning experience.

By integrating Mastery Tracker with Canvas, both teachers and students benefit from a unified and efficient approach to tracking and improving learning outcomes. This integration simplifies access, enhances data-driven decision-making, and promotes personalized instruction, ultimately contributing to a more effective and targeted educational experience.

If you have inquiries related to Canvas or any of its tools, or if you would like training on the platform or its various components, please feel free to get in touch with us at edtechliaisons@knoxschools.org.