Instructional Design & Technology

last updated Jan 29, 2021 @ 4:50 pm

Often we suggest creating a Canvas page in which to present resources for students with some context. The alternative is to create a simple list of all the resources from Modules, which is unwieldy if you need to enrich resources with hints or instructions to your students.

Create a new page

1. Either from the Pages tool (+ Page button); or
2. From the Modules tool
   • click the plus sign to the right of the Module in which the new page will reside
   • in the Add box choose Page
   • then New Page
   • then title the new page and click the Add Item button

Adding content on a page

When you edit a page in Canvas, you’ll be using the Rich Content Editor (similar to a mini word processor). You can type, copy and paste, change styles, etc.

Formatting text

Use paragraph styles to create logical heading structures, which also improves accessibility for students using screen readers. In the examples below, the editor view (1st image) allows you to assign a Heading 3 style to the ‘Readings’ heading, as seen in the reading view (2nd image). Try to get into the habit of structuring all digital documents with paragraph styles, rather than font sizes.

Adding files, images, links, and videos

• How do I add files, images, links, and Kaltura videos in Canvas’ new Rich Content Editor?

Menus & tools in Canvas editor

(click toolbar image to enlarge)

Note that most menu items are also available from a button on the toolbar. For instance, from the menu Tools, you can select Apps to embed a Kaltura video. Or, you can click the plug icon on the toolbar if that’s more intuitive to you.

Menus

• Edit: Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Paste as text, Select all
• View: Fullscreen, HTML editor
• Insert: Link, Image, Media, Document, Equation, Table, Embed, Horizontal line
• Format: (font options), (alignment, direction options), Text color, Background color, Clear formatting
• Tools: Word count, Apps (aka external tools)
• Table: Insert table, format Cell, Row, Column, Table, Delete table

Toolbar (by sections)

• Font size, Block (aka paragraph style)
• Text format: bold, italics, underline, text color, background color, super/sub script
• Link, insert, embed
  • Links: External links, Course links (eg, Pages, Assignments, Quizzes, Announcements, Discussions, Modules, Course Navigation)
  • Images: Upload images, Course images (stored in Course Files), User images
  • Record/upload media: Upload/record media (on the fly), Course media (stored in Course Files), User media
  • Documents: Upload document, Course documents (stored in Course Files), User documents
  • Apps: aka External tools. Apps selected from ‘View All’ are added to menu. Includes Embed Kaltura Media, PlayPosit, YouTube search & embed, file shares and document collaborations