1. Creating assignments: Best Practices
CANVAS
Creating assignments: Best Practices
Cathy Gillis

2. Assignment Options:
Students can submit audio or video recordings by recording new media or uploading existing media. Canvas supports media uploads up to 500 MB.
When allowing file uploads as an online entry option, you can restrict certain types of files for assignment submissions. In the case of restricting assignments with an odd or unusual file type, try adding it to your course to confirm the file is accepted before requesting students to submit the file type.
Google Apps or Microsoft Office 365 (both installed for NVC and also includes DropBox), students can upload files from their respective Google Drive or OneDrive account directly. You can allow Google Drive and OneDrive files as submission types by selecting the File Uploads checkbox when creating an assignment.

3. Google and Turnitin
Google Drive File Types Students can submit Google Doc (.gdoc), Google Sheet (.gsheet), or Google Slide (.gslide) files. They can also use Google Docs to submit uploaded Word (.doc/.docx), Excel (.xls/.xlsx), PowerPoint (.ppt/.pptx), and PDF files not converted to Google Docs formatting. When Google file types are submitted as an assignment submission, those files will convert to their Microsoft counterpart file types and appear in the submission as respective Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files. Canvas uses the conversion file type for submissions (and to render supported file types as DocViewer files in SpeedGrader), so if you want to restrict file types to only include Google file types, you must also include the file types for each respective Microsoft file type as well. For instance, if you want to only allow Google Slide submissions, you must include .pptx as a restrictive file type, otherwise Canvas will not show the .gslide files in the Google Doc tab. Turnitin File Types You can create a Turnitin assignment. Turnitin accepts various file types and images.

4. Creating an Assignment:
Open Assignments:
In Course Navigation, click the Assignments link.

5. Adding Assignments
To create a new assignment, click the Add Assignment button.

6. Add Assignment Details:

7. Select Online Submission Type:
Select the online entry options you want to allow for the assignment. You can select up to four options:
Text Entry [1]: Students can submit their assignment directly in the Rich Content Editor. DocViewer annotations are not available for text entry submissions. Additionally, text entry submissions cannot be re-uploaded to the Gradebook.
Website URLs [2]: Students can submit a URL that fulfills the assignment. DocViewer annotations are not available for website URL submissions. Additionally, website URL submissions cannot be re-uploaded to the Gradebook.
Media Recordings [3]: Students can submit an audio or video recording that fulfills the assignment. They can either record new media or upload existing media. Video and audio uploads to Canvas can be up to 500 MB. DocViewer annotations are not available for media recording submissions. Additionally, media recording submissions cannot be downloaded.
File Uploads [4]: Students can upload a file to fulfill the assignment. DocViewer annotations are available for supported file types in SpeedGrader. Additionally, if your institution has enabled Google Docs, the Google Apps LTI, or the Microsoft Office 365 LTI, students can upload files from their respective Google Drive or OneDrive account directly. If only Google Docs are enabled for your institution, students must connect to Google Docs as a web service to submit an assignment as a Google Doc, Google Sheet, or Google Slide. File upload submissions can be downloaded and re-uploaded to the Gradebook.
Assignment settings are persistent to always remember and display the settings created or edited in the previous assignment in the course. Based on prior assignments, one or more of these options may already be selected for you.
Note: If using Microsoft Office 365, you must select either the File Uploads option or both the Website URL and File Uploads options to use the Office 365 tab on the assignment submission page. If you only select Website URL as an entry option, the Office 365 tab will not function properly.

8. Restricting File Types:
If you allow file uploads, you can choose to restrict submissions to specific file types. To enable this option, click the Restrict Upload File Types checkbox [1]. In the Allowed File Extensions field [2], enter a list of accepted extensions. All file types need to be separated by a comma. You can include spaces, caps, and periods in assignment file names.
Note: In the case of an odd or unusual file type, try adding it to your course to confirm the file is accepted before requesting students to submit the file type.

9. Save Save Save!
To save the assignment and publish it, click the Save & Publish button [1]. To save the assignment as a draft, click the Save button [2].

10. Adding Assignments From External Apps
When you create an assignment, you can choose to add an external app (LTI tool) as a submission type. External apps must be added in your course before they can be added to an assignment.
Notes:
The External Tool submission type does not support group assignments or peer reviews.
Grade passback from external applications (LTI tools) to the Canvas Gradebook is not restricted by course start dates. When students have access to a course before a course start date, they can participate in assignments using some external applications (LTI tools), and grades for those assignments will populate the Gradebook.

11. External Assignments Continued:
Follow the save first steps to create an Assignments as illustrated in the previous slides, but in the submission type, select “external tool.”

12. Find and Configure the External Tool
Click the name of the LTI tool [1]. Depending on the tool type, you may be taken to a separate screen for further configuration.
If you want the assignment to load in a new tab, click the Load in a new tab checkbox [2]. Click the Select button [3]. Save and Publish the assignment.

13. Editing the Details of an Assignment:
When you create an assignment, you'll add details for the assignment such as the description, file submission types, and point value.
If you create an assignment shell, you must edit the assignment to add the assignment details.
Assignment settings are persistent to always remember and display the settings created or edited in the previous assignment in the course. Please note that this feature only applies to settings; it does not include assignment due dates.
Note: When Multiple Grading Periods are enabled in a course, assignments are also respected against closed grading periods. Some attributes may not be available to editing.

14. Assignment Details, Continued:
Type the assignment title in the Assignment Name field [1]. If you created your assignment as an assignment shell, this field will be populated for you, but you can change it if necessary.
Use the Rich Content Editor to add images, text, links, equations, or insert media [2]. Use the Content Selector in the Sidebar to link to or upload course resources, including files and images [3].
Note: The Rich Content Editor includes a word count display below the bottom right corner of the text box.
Open an already created but empty assignment or create a new one. Click “edit” once created.

15. Assignment Details, Continued:
Enter the points for your assignment in the Points field [1]. Select the Assignment Group for the assignment in the Assignment Group drop-down menu [2].
If you created your assignment as an assignment shell, the points field and Assignment Group will be populated for you. You can edit these if necessary.

16. Assignment Details, Continued:
In the Display Grade as drop-down menu, select the method you want to use for grading. You can grade your assignment by percentage, complete/incomplete, points, letter grade, GPA scale, or set as not graded.
Note: The grading type is how the assignment score will display in the Gradebook. For example, an assignment worth 10 points is set to display as a percentage. A student who receives 8/10 points on the assignment will show as 80 in the Gradebook. If using a letter grade, learn how to create a grading scheme and apply a grading scheme to your assignment.

17. Assignment Submission Types Explained:
In the Submission Type drop-down menu, select the type of submission you want to accept for the assignment. By default, the submission type will be set to Online.
No Submission is when you do not want students to submit an assignment in Canvas. This assignment type can be used to create extra columns in the Gradebook, or when you want to create an assignment that involves multiple scores. Submission Type does not apply to Not Graded assignments.
Online is when you want students to submit their assignments using Canvas.
On Paper is when you want students to submit an assignment to you but not through Canvas. This assignment type applies to traditional face-to-face courses or hybrid courses when you want the assignment turned in during class, but you still want to create a column in the Canvas Gradebook for grading purposes.
External Tool is when you want students to submit their assignments using an external app (LTI) enabled for your course. You must enter a URL for the external tool.
Note: No Submission and On Paper assignments still appear to students on their Assignments page. To avoid confusion, it is best to make a note in the description about the assignment so students will know whether or not a submission is required and if so, how they are supposed to submit it.  

18. Creating a Group Assignment:
As part of an assignment submission, Canvas lets you set up an assignment as a group assignment, but you must first create the course groups. You can also choose to grade students individually in group assignments.

19. Require Peer Reviews:
If you want to require students review each other's work, you can create a peer review assignment. When requiring peer reviews, you can select whether to manually assign peer reviews or automatically assign peer reviews.

20. Allow Moderating Grading:
Canvas lets you set up an assignment with moderated grading, which allows multiple graders to evaluate a student's work and create provisional grades or secondary grade reviews. If you want to allow moderated grading, click the Allow a moderator to review multiple independent grades for selected submissions checkbox.

21. Edit Due and Availability Dates
By default, Canvas will set your assignment dates for everyone in your course [1]. However, you can assign the assignment to an individual student or course section. Create a due date for the assignment in the Due Date field [2]. The due date will already be populated for you if you created an assignment shell, but you can change it if necessary. You also have the option to add availability date fields [3].

22. Save Assignment
If you want to notify users about any future assignment changes, click the Notify users that this content has changed checkbox [1]. Click the Save button [2].
Note: If your assignment has not yet been published, the assignment will show the Save & Publish button. The Save button will create a draft of your assignment so you can publish it later.

23. I hope this training helps you in your online adventures!
Remember, the goal is to create a dynamic learning environment as you would in a face to face course. Canvas offers many tools to help you do this.
I hope this training helps you in your online adventures!