21 Science Canvas Course Templates

The Home Page is kept short with a focus on the essential elements of the course. The content can be edited and modified by the instructor.

• A virtual clock to remind students the current time in Vancouver (Pacific Time)
• Four quadrants that redirect students to key elements of the course (Course Syllabus, Course Schedule, Course Assessments, Course Modules
• Land Acknowledgement
• Instructor and TA contact (if applicable)
• About the Virtual Classes

This module summarizes the key elements of the course syllabus. All pages can be edited by the instructor.

• Welcome! In this page, the instructor welcomes students to the course and can provide a short bio, as well as a short introduction video to promote instructor’s presence in the course.
• Course Orientation. In this page, the instructor can clarify their pedagogical approach, the course expectations, how to do well in the course, the course organization, and the tools that will be used in the course.
• Course Schedule. In this page, the instructor will indicate when (and where) the live lectures will take place, the topics covered, and what activities and assessments are due.
• Course Assessments. In this page, the instructor will list all the graded activities and provide details on each assessment strategy (learner-centered approach).

The course content is organized using the Modules area. The course content can be organized in a module structure or a weekly structure.

• Module 1, Module 2, Module 3, etc.
• Each module starts with a Module introduction page that introduces the topic of the module, list the learning objectives and the tasks to complete.

The Home Page can be edited from the Home area in Canvas. Click the Edit button on the right hand-side corner of the screen. You can use the rich content editor (RCE) options to update the text, or use the html editor available on the right-hand side corner of the window (identifiable with the </> button).

• Update the course banner with your own banner. Preferably use the following specifications for your banner image: 1000px x 200px.
• Update the course introduction message. You can also add the general course or program objectives.
• The 4 quadrants are internal links to pages available in the Course Introduction module. They are important parts of the course syllabus. You can replace any of these 4 quadrants, as well as the links.
• Update the Instructor and TA Contact information.
• Update the About the Virtual Classes space to include more details about your live lectures.

Click on the page header and click on the Edit button on the top right-hand side corner of the page. Remove the text in [square brackets]. You can add a short bio accompanied by a profile picture. You can create a round profile picture using this free tool, crop-circle.imageonline.co. You could also use the New Webcam Recorder available under My Media in the course menu to record a short video introduction of yourself and the course, where you can summarize the format of the course, the expectations, etc.

Click on the page header and click on the Edit button on the top right-hand side corner of the page. Remove the text in [square brackets]. The course orientation provide details on your pedagogical approach in the course. You can use this page to describe the format of the course and how the live lectures (synchronous) are supported or complemented by the online material on Canvas or another platform (asynchronous). You can also clarify your expectations in terms of work required outside of class hours, as well as clarify the communication strategy in the course (e.g. using announcements, emails, contributions to discussion fora, etc.). You could also create a short screencapture video introducing the Canvas course to students, showing how to navigate the course, how to access the course syllabus and the different modules. Different tools are available, KalturaCapture (available under My Media in the course menu) or Camtasia (available for download under Help > Software Distribution).

Click on the page header and click on the Edit button on the top right-hand side corner of the page. Remove the text in [square brackets]. Under the Week/Topic column, you can include the day and time of the live lectures and the video-conferencing tool used (e.g. Zoom). Complete the Activities and Assessments column, by adding the due dates and any other important details. You don’t need to add direct links to the activities or assessments to make the page easy to update from term to term. You can add or remove columns to customize the course schedule to your needs. You can also provide a pdf version of the course schedule.

Click on the page header and click on the Edit button on the top right-hand side corner of the page. Remove the text in [square brackets]. You can update the table and add/remove rows to add or remove assessments from the list. You can then update the description for each deliverable, including participation and assessment using external tools (e.g. WebWork, GradeScope, peer assessment tools, iClickers, UBC Blogs, etc.).