How to Use the Canvas Syllabus the Right Way

Are you among the cadre of instructors who disables the Canvas Syllabus page in your course navigation? Let me show you a nifty way to organize your syllabus content so it’s easier for students to access (meaning they’re more likely to actually read it!). While we’re at it, I hope to change your mind about the much-maligned, often misunderstood Course Summary feature. C’mon along!

NOTE: Canvas has upgraded the RCE since I created this episode. Instead of the “Insert Content” panel mentioned, you’ll use the Links icon in the RCE toolbar to create your “back to Syllabus” link.

Posted in Byte-Sized Canvas.

Passionate about teaching and learning, Helen enjoys showing instructors how to apply best pedagogical practices in Canvas to create dynamic courses that keep their students engaged.

15 Comments

    • Hi, Monica,

      While the very early Byte-sized tutorials were done with PowerPoint, these later episodes are created using Camtasia.

      Warmly,
      Helen

  1. This is amazing! I am one of those instructors that hides the syllabus page and after watching this video, I am going to try out your suggestions.

  2. I’m delighted to hear it, Elizabeth. Way to be experimental! I hope you and your students will like the difference. =-)

  3. That seemed as it was very easy to do but you did it so quick. Is there a video of what you did and how you did it?

    • Hi, Carol,

      Glad you liked it. This video was intended to be the “how to” with all the steps. Given that I’ve only got a 5-minute window with the Byte-sized format, things do tend to happen fairly quickly. My suggestion would be to pause the video after each step to give yourself a chance to try it. Then hit Play again when you’re ready for the next step.

      Hope that helps!

  4. Hey,thanks, Helen.
    I am learning more every day.
    I have been teaching over 30 years….and use Blackboard at Brandman University (been teaching there for over 20 years).
    Been using Canvas since 2015 with community college.
    There is always more to learn.
    bye for now,
    Wendy Micham
    Psychology

  5. Helen, I absolutely love your Canvas videos. Is there a quick way for me to locate all of your Canvas videos? Your videos are inspiring. I love your tone and upbeat personality – most of all – your videos are easy to follow. You are awesome!

  6. Thank you – this was a simple yet effective way to represent the syllabus in canvas as something other than just a lengthy document and therefore allows the students to quickly look for the answer to something.

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