Get Started in Canvas for Instructors

Owned by
Christine Sandella
Last updated: Jan 12, 2024
4 min read

Get started with accessing and setting up your course in Canvas quickly. Below you will find basic instructions on accessing the course site, posting a syllabus, adding files, and publishing the course site. 

Get Started:

Access a Canvas Course

  1. Log into PirateNet using your Seton Hall credentials.

  2. Search for and click on the Canvas app.

  3. On your Canvas Dashboard, the card view will display course cards for quick access to all of your courses. The sidebar shows various activities from your courses.

 

Canvas Dashboard interface with one published course card and two unpublished course cards.

Note: If your course is not listed on your Canvas Dashboard, you might not be listed as the Instructor of Record in Banner. Please contact your department for assistance.

Post the Syllabus

  1. Copy the content of your syllabus.

  2. In the course navigation menu, click Syllabus.

  3. In the right-hand sidebar, click Edit. This opens the rich text editor.

  4. Paste your syllabus content, and then click Update Syllabus.

Canvas Syllabus rich text editor window with update syllabus button.

 

  1. In the course navigation menu, click Syllabus.

  2. In the right-hand sidebar, click Edit Syllabus Description.

  3. In the Content Pane, click the Files tab.

  4. Click Upload a new file, and then browse for your syllabus file.

  5. Click Upload. A link to the syllabus file will appear in the rich content editor.

  6. Below the rich content editor, click Update Syllabus.

You can use the syllabus tool as an organizational tool by creating an interactive syllabus which links to other course components, such as readings, videos, modules, and assignments. With interactive syllabi, students only have to go to one page on your course to access all other content. Learn how to use the Canvas Syllabus Tool.

Add Content

As an instructor, Files allows you to create a repository of files related to your course. You can upload one or multiple files, publish and unpublish files, and set restriction to files. Organize your files using the folders feature. Learn how to upload files in Canvas.  

  1.  In the course navigation menu, click Files.

  2. In the right-hand sidebar, click Upload.

  3. Find and click the title of the file that you would like to upload, then click the Open button. You can also drag and drop files from a file window directly into the Canvas file repository.

Before you make a course visible to students, verify links to course content throughout your course to ensure they are valid. You can check these links using the course link validator, which searches through course content and returns invalid or unresponsive course content links in both published and unpublished content. Please note, some links flagged as unresponsive are inaccessible by Canvas servers but will still work for students.

  1. Click Settings in the menu.

  2. On the right-hand sidebar, click Validate Links in Content.

  3. Click the Start Link Validation button.

  4. Canvas will list any pages that have invalid links. Click on a page title to edit the page and fix the link. (Note: Old Blackboard course links will no longer work within Canvas.)

  5. Once you have updated the list, click the Restart Link Validation button.

View the Course in Student View

The Student View feature allows you to determine what your course looks like from a student’s perspective. You can access the Student View button from multiple places within your course. 

Enable Student View

  1. Go to Settings in your course navigation. 

  1. Click the Student View button.  

  2. Once you have click the Student View button, you will be able to access your course as a fully functional test student. 

When you are viewing course content from the student view, you will see a pink border at the bottom of your screen. The Reset Student button will delete your test student's progress so you can reset and resubmit assessments that you are testing. To leave student view and go back to your instructor view, click the Leave Student View button. 

Publish the Course

When courses are initially created in the system, they are not published. Students are not able to view or access unpublished courses. Publishing your course in Canvas does not automatically publish all the content. Published content in Canvas will have a green check on the right side of the item. If an item has grey circle with a line though it, it is unpublished. Students will only be able to view published materials. In order to enable students' ability to access a course and its contents, follow the steps below:

Publish an Item

  1. When viewing an item, click the circle with the line through it on the right-hand side. This will publish the item and a green check will appear.  

Publish a Module

  1. On the right-hand side of any module name, click the circle with the line through. A menu will appear.

  2. From this menu, you can choose to publish the module and all its items, or just publish the module and leave individual items unpublished.

Publish a Course

  1.  From your Canvas Dashboard, click into the unpublished course card.

  2. In the right-hand sidebar, click the Publish button.