Canvas Assignments
This microcredential represents the skilled use of Canvas features to provide learners with a range of options to demonstrate competence and reflect on their learning. (ISTE Standard 7a)
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Utah Effective Teaching Standards > Standard 1: Learners and Learning
Element 1: Personalizing Learning - Designing learning that builds on background knowledge while providing opportunities for each student to access, practice and refine new learning. -
Utah Effective Teaching Standards > Standard 2: Instructional Design Clarity
Element 3: Instructional Planning - Planning high quality, personalized instructional activities that are informed by student progress data, provide multiple opportunities for students to reflect upon and assess their own growth and allow multiple opportunities and means for demonstration of competency. -
Utah Effective Teaching Standards > Standard 3: Instructional Practice
Element 2: Assessment Practices - Critically analyzing evidence from both formative and summative assessments to inform and adjust instruction and provide feedback to students to support learning and growth. -
Utah Effective Teaching Standards > Standard 3: Instructional Practice
Element 4: Innovation and Technology - Intentionally selecting the use of technological and non-technological tools to enhance and deepen student learning, encourage creativity and innovation in learning and facilitate students’ appropriate use of available tools and resources to achieve desired student outcomes.
To earn this 0.5 USBE credit microcredential you will submit two types of evidence from the list below to demonstrate your effective use of Canvas tools to create, administer, and review assignments for learners. You will also complete a short written or video reflective analysis. Click Earn This Microcredential to learn more!
To receive this microcredential, an educator must be using Canvas to enhance or transform the assignment experience. Evidence of how Canvas is bringing additional functionality to the process must be present. Fully articulated directions and resources must provide clarity and enrichment for students.
You can create assignments on the Assignments page. You can create an assignment shell, which is a placeholder for an assignment within an assignment group, or you can create an entire assignment with all the assignment details at the same time.
Peer Review:A peer review assignment enables students to provide feedback on another student's assignment submission. Peer reviews are a tool that allows communication between students and can help students master the concepts of a course and learn from each other. Peer reviews can be assigned to show student names or display anonymously.
Submission Types:Canvas has four assignment submission types. They are listed under the "Edit" function for each assignment: No Submission, Online, On Paper, External Tool.
Availability Date:In addition to setting a due date for an assignment, instructors can specify a specific date range when students can submit the assignment. These dates are called availability dates. These dates are optional and can be set depending how you want to manage the assignment.
Group Assignment:You can create a group assignment by using the Group Assignment checkbox. Canvas uses group sets to assign group assignments, and each group within the group set that is assigned to the assignment is required to complete the assignment. When creating or editing a group assignment, you can assign an assignment to specific groups. You can also set different due dates and availability dates for a group within an assignment that is assigned to the rest of the class.
Assignment Groups:Using Assignment Groups allows you to organize the assignments in your course.
Rubrics:You can add a rubric to an assignment to help students understand expectations for the assignment and how you intend to score their submissions. Occasionally, rubrics are added to assignments when you have an outcome inside of the rubric that you would like to use for alignment purposes. In addition to assignments, rubrics can also be added to graded discussions and quizzes. Rubrics can be added by finding an existing rubric in one of your courses, or by creating a new rubric.
Speedgrader:SpeedGrader makes it easy to evaluate individual student assignments and group assignments quickly. SpeedGrader displays assignment submissions for active students in your course. However, SpeedGrader displays assignment submissions according to the current Gradebook settings for inactive enrollments and concluded enrollments. For instance, if the Gradebook settings show inactive enrollments, inactive student submissions also appear in SpeedGrader. You can access SpeedGrader through: Assignments, Quizzes, Graded Discussions, and the Gradebook.
External Tool:Canvas, like many LMSs, supports loading external resources inline using the IMS LTI standard. These tools can be configured on a course or account level, and can be added to course modules or used to create custom assignments (see the LTI Outcomes service for more information on that). Canvas supports some additional integration points using LTI to offer a more integrated experience and to allow for more customization of the Canvas product, even in a cloud environment. This is accomplished by configuring additional settings on external tools used inside of Canvas.
Discussions:Canvas discussions allow for interactive communication between two or more people. Students can participate in a conversation with an entire class or small group. Discussions can be created as an assignment for grading purposes, or serve as a way for students to communicate and learn from each other. Discussion topics can be organized as focused or threaded discussions, depending on the purpose.
As a teacher looks to collect information about his or her students’ learning, Canvas Assignments or Discussions may be great options. To demonstrate consistency of effective Assignment/Discussion use in the classroom, a teacher may choose to submit evidence for this badge after having used several Canvas Assignments/Discussions with their students. This is an opportunity to show proficiency with Canvas’ powerful Assignment/Discussion features and demonstrate effective use in the classroom.
Category: Preparation and Planning
Select ONE of the evidence options below to demonstrate your planning in using Canvas assignments to enhance teaching and learning.
Submit a unit plan of your design with at least three assignment items in Canvas, including at least one Canvas Assignment and one Canvas Discussion. (The remaining item may be either an assignment or discussion.) Assignments and discussions should be used at various points throughout instruction. This unit plan should demonstrate how you set up and create the Canvas assignments and discussions, and include content within the learning. In a separate section of the unit plan, include citations for research supporting your instructional approach. (See the resources section for examples.)
Category: Implementation
Select ONE of the evidence options below to demonstrate your effective implementation Canvas assignments to enhance teaching and learning.
Submit a 3-5 minute narrated screencast demonstrating your effective use of Canvas Assignments and Discussions in your practice. This screencast should include examples of at least three assignment items in Canvas, including at least one Canvas Assignment and one Canvas Discussion. (The remaining item may be either an assignment or discussion). The screencast should also include descriptions of set up, student submissions, and feedback given. Be sure to follow your district/charter guidelines for student privacy.
Submit a self-enroll link to a Canvas course or module of your design. This course/module should include at least three assignment items in Canvas, including at least one Canvas Assignment and one Canvas Discussion. (The remaining item may be either an assignment or discussion.) The course/module should also include learner submissions, and show feedback given to the learners. Depending on your district/charter settings, this self-enroll feature may not be available for student courses. Be sure to follow your district/charter guidelines for student privacy.
Submit samples of learner work that demonstrate your effective use of Canvas. These must include samples of at least three assignment items you have created (including set up details) for at least one Canvas Assessment and one Canvas Discussion (remaining item can be an assessment or discussion). In total, you should submit at least 3 samples of student work. Samples should show student work on these assignments and any feedback given to the learner. This may include screenshots, images, or document examples. Please be sure to annotate or provide appropriate descriptions as needed. Be sure to follow your district/charter guidelines for student privacy.
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: Evidence includes examples of at least 3 assignment items in Canvas including at least 1 Canvas Assignment and 1 Canvas Discussion. The remaining item may be either an additional Assignment or Discussion. Submission items must show evidence of use with students.
Criterion 2: Evidence demonstrates knowledge of and proficiency with using multiple aspects of Canvas Assignments including, but not limited to, multiple submission types, rubrics, peer reviews, group assignments/discussions, due dates, grading, and feedback (text, comments, media, etc.).
Criterion 3: All Canvas Assignment or Discussion items must include well-articulated directions, instructions, and/or expectations that could stand alone if needed (absent students, independent learning, etc.). Appropriate resources, links, documents, or templates are also included.
Describe how the use of Canvas Assignments and Discussions has enhanced or transformed the way you check for understanding of your learning objectives throughout the learning process.
Discuss what aspects of a Canvas Assignment or Discussion lead to the best examples of acceptable evidence that learners have met your learning objectives.
Discuss what next steps do you plan to take as you continue to improve the way you use Canvas Assignments or Discussions in your practice.
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: Reflection provides examples of how Canvas Assignments and Discussions have improved their abilities to check for learner understanding throughout instruction. Reflection shares specific examples of better snapshots of learning, improved feedback loops, more authentic assessments, and/or multiple representations of learning.
Criterion 2: Reflection discusses the features of a Canvas assignment that most support the meeting of learning objectives. Expected features may include the use of multiple submissions types, peer reviews, group assignments, links to content/resources, feedback, and/or rubrics.
Criterion 3: Reflection explains areas where improvement can still be made with Canvas Assignments or Discussions. Possible areas may include more consistent use of Canvas Assignments and Discussions, increased use of rubrics, additional opportunities for peer review or group assignments/discussions, or looking toward Canvas Quizzes or external tool submissions.
The Backward Design (UbD) Model framework created by Wiggins and McTighe reorders the components of the traditional lesson design model so that student outcomes are better supported and realized. Determining acceptable evidence of student learning is essential to the learning process and provide a basis for creating pedagogically sound assignments and discussions in Canvas.
Advancing Formative Assessment in Every Classroom: A Guide for Instructional Leaders, 2nd Edition by Connie M. Moss and Susan M. Brookhart
Formative assessment is a continual process in the classroom. Moss and Brookhart provide the pedagogical background necessary to use any tool to assessment student learning. This knowledge will help a teachers make the right choices when creating assignments or discussions in Canvas.
Canvas Instructor Guides: Discussions
https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10460#jive_content_id_Discussions
Canvas’ Instructor Guide provides all of the how-to resources from Canvas on creating and using Canvas Discussions. Each task and element is described in detail for a teacher learning how to use Canvas Discussions.
Canvas Instructor Guides: Assignments
https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10460#jive_content_id_Assignments
Canvas’s Instructor Guide provides all of the how-to resources from Canvas on creating and using Canvas Assignments. Each task and element is described in detail for a teacher learning how to use Canvas Assignments.
Canvas Assessment and Analytics - Self-Paced Course
https://dsd.instructure.com/enroll/DYDHL7
Use the self-enroll link to begin working on this self-paced, asynchronous course.
In Canvas, you will find that there are many different ways to assess student learning. In this course, you will learn how to access, create, assign, moderate, and grade assessments. You will discover how to attach learning outcomes and rubrics to assignments. You will also learn how to provide effective feedback on assessments.
Canvas Basics: Getting Started - Self-Paced Course
https://dsd.instructure.com/enroll/E4GAFF
Use the self-enroll link to get started on this self-paced, asynchronous course.
This course is designed to help you become familiar with Canvas Course Navigation, Course Settings, Inbox and Calendar. This course will help you with your course set up. To get started click on the Course Overview button below.
Canvas Assignments - Self-Paced Course
https://dsd.instructure.com/enroll/X8CHWL
Use the self-enroll link to get started on this asynchronous, self-paced course.
In this course, you will find information on all elements of assignment creation. Each module is designed to provide examples of each element that can be utilized in an assignment. Remember to create assignments with students in mind. Consider click paths as you create your assignments. The fewer clicks required to complete an assignment, the more likely they will engage and complete tasks.
Paula Almenar
Michelle Atkin
Samuel Bartholomew
Sharalyn Beazer
Jamie Boldt
Carli Brown
Valerie Burgoyne
Jeanette Carrington
Rebecca Child
Zakary Erickson
Jessica George
Tricia Green
Ema Griffin
Iain Harvey
Tammi Hill
Madison Hoffman
Lori Jacobsen
Scott Judy
Maximilian Keller
Lorena Lesue
Rebecca Love
David Ludwig
Carly Maloney
Julynette Martinezgonzalez
Katie Mayer
Derek Miller
Katie Moss
Natalie Niederhauser
Abby Orgill
Ariel Price
Corey Romano
Karen Stark
Adam Sturm
Amanda Summers
Shaina Trujillo
Marshall Underwood
Deanna Wilson
Allison Yancey
250 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3204
Phone: 801.538.7807