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Canvas - Using Google Assignments
Google Assignments is an external tool within Canvas Assignments that allows you to distribute, review, and grade student work with Google Workspace for Education. With Google Assignments, you can assign and collect any file type, including Google Docs and Microsoft Word files. You can also attach assignment files that will automatically distribute a personalized copy for each student.
To use Google Assignments in Canvas
- Create a new Canvas Assignment
- Within the Submission field, select External Tool (A) and then click Find (B).
3. From the list, click on Google Assignments (LTI 1.3), then click Select .
4. Sign in using your Puget Sound credentials.
5. Once logged in, click Link to link your account with Google Assignments.
6. Adjust your desired settings for your Assignment. You can Check for originality and/or attach template file that will create a copy for each student. You'll also be able to assign Total Points, add Due Dates, or a Rubric. Then, click Create.
7. When you are redirected to the Configure External Tool window, click Select.
8. Please reach out to Educational Technology for more information about the transition to from Google Apps LTI to Google Assignments.
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Ten Things To Do in Canvas
Looking for a quick guide to get your course ready for the Fall semester? These ten action items will help you get started and ready to teach. For more information, you can follow the Canvas Course Checklist.
If you’re moving to Canvas for the first time and coming from Moodle or Blackboard, we’ve provided video overviews and a helpful guide to get you started in navigating the new platform in our comparison of Moodle, Blackboard and Canvas:
1. Explore the Canvas Training and Resources course :
Our Canvas Training and Resources course is entirely self-guided, with modules, video trainings, and documentation available for you to reference as you use Canvas
2. Copy your course content:
You can copy existing content from a previous Canvas course or a sandbox using the course import tool. You can copy over specific course content or the entire course.
3. Manage Course Announcements :
Course announcements are used to communicate with students directly without leaving Canvas. You can publish announcements immediately, or use delay posting to schedule an announcement at a certain date and time. If you’re using a course copied over from a previous semester, be sure to clear announcements from previous semesters.
4. Clean up your Course Navigation Menu:
In Canvas, your course navigation menu is customizable, giving you the ability to show, hide, or rearrange menu options. We’ve also created a list of recommended visibility settings for all menu options.
5. Set up your Gradebook :
Your Canvas Gradebook allows you to set policies for grade posting and late submissions, reorder columns, manage assignment groups and weights, and create any additional columns needed to cater to your grading style. Canvas also comes with SpeedGrader, allowing you to quickly grade assignments, discussions, and quizzes in one place.
6. Browse new features :
Explore the latest features and updates to Canvas since the Spring 2024 semester. Updates include changes to SpeedGrader, Message Students Who, along with a major redesign for Discussions and assignments.
7. Favorite your current courses:
If you’re teaching more than one Canvas course, or still seeing courses from past semesters, you can customize your course dashboard by favoriting and unfavoriting select courses .
8. Publish your course:
Your course will be automatically published the first day of classes. However, it’s generally recommended to provide access to your students up to one week before classes start to allow them time to familiarize themselves with the course layout. You can also customize what content is published, including limiting access to specific modules.
9. Browse Support Options :
Canvas offers 24/7 technical support chat and phone lines for platform usability questions. If you have a UMass-specific Canvas question, send us an email at @email .
10. Review resources for students:
Students may have questions about using Canvas. For answers to some common questions and information on guiding students through logging into and using Canvas as part of their course, please refer to the below links.
- Canvas Overview for Students
- Accessing and using Canvas at UMass
- Using the Canvas Student App
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Creating an assignment
Here's an interactive tutorial.
https://www.iorad.com/player/1896650/How-to-create-a-Canvas-assignment
1. Let's get started. There are various ways to create an assignment. You can create assignments on your calendar, on the modules page, or on the assignments page. Let's create one on the assignments page. Click Assignments .
2. Click the Add Assignment icon.
3. Here you'll enter some basic information to get started. Begin by typing a Name for your assignment.
4. Let's assign a due date. Click the calendar icon.
5. Let's select the 19th for this assignment.
6. Click Done
7. You can enter the Point value for the assignment or leave it blank. You can modify the points later.
8. With this information, you can save the assignment as is and enter the assignment details later. Let's add more content. Click More Options .
9. You can modify the assignment name if you need to.
10. Click the assignment content window to enter your assignment details.
11. Now we can change some of the assignment settings. Click the Display Grade as dropdown menu.
12. You can assign grades as a percentage, as a Complete/Incomplete, individual points, letter grade, GPA scale, or an ungraded assignment. For now, let's choose the Complete/Incomplete option, which will allow us to grade as a pass or fail assignment.
13. In the Submission Type dropdown, you can determine how students will submit the work. No Submission might be an option for in-class presentations, whereas Online would require student to post to Canvas. On paper might be for in-person typed papers.
14. Let's choose the Online submission option.
15. There are several types of online entry options, and you can select more than one option. We will have students upload their submission, as opposed to typing it out, recording media, or sharing a website link. Click the File Uploads checkbox.
16. If you want to restrict what type of file students upload - for example, a document, spreadsheet, or video - then click Restrict Upload File Types .
17. Type the file extension in the box.
18. If you want to limit the amount of times a student can submit an assignment, then click the Submission Attempts dropdown menu.
19. You can choose between Unlimited and Limited. Click Limited .
20. Type out the Number of Attempts that you will permit for this assignment.
21. If you want to make this a group assignment then click the checkbox called This is a Group Assignment .
22. You can select from a Group Set that you have created in the People tab, or create a new Group Set for this assignment.
23. If you would like students to have the opportunity to review each others' work then click the checkbox Require Peer Reviews .
24. Here you can choose to either manually assign students to review other students, or have Canvas randomly assign students to each other. You can modify automatically assigned peer reviews. Check the box Peer Reviews Appear Anonymously .
25. Let's add an Available from date. This will indicate the starting date when students will have access to the assignment. Click the calendar icon .
26. Let's choose the 14th as the first date when students will have access to the assignment.
27. Now let's add an Until date. This will indicate the last day when students will have access to the assignment. Click the calendar icon .
28. Let's choose the 21st as the last day when students will have access to the assignment.
29. When we first created the basic assignment details, it set the assignment to be due at midnight the morning of the due date. I want them to have the day to submit the assignment and need to modify the hour the assignment is due.
30. Click the calendar icon .
31. I set the due time for 11:59pm. Click Done .
32. Click Save
33. Since we clicked Save and not Save and Publish, we still need to publish our assignment. Review the content and then click Publish .
34. Click Assignments to see your assignment in the course list.
35. Now let's add the assignment to a module. Click Modules .
36. In the module where you want to add the assignment, click the Add Content icon .
37. Select Reflection Journal 4.3 from the dropdown.
38. Click Add Item
39. That's it. You're done.
Getting started with Modules
Search Utah State University:
Create an assignment in canvas.
In Canvas, any activity with an associated point value is considered an Assignment and will appear on the Assignments page, as well as in the gradebook. Assignment formats include quizzes, discussions, online document submission, and no submission, and external tool assignments. You can give an assignment to everyone in the course or target it to a specific section or user.
Types of Graded Activities in Canvas
The following table lists the types of graded activities in Canvas and their strengths and weaknesses.
| Multiple submission types, alignment with rubrics and outcomes, no paper waste, easier to control content, easier to randomize, faster grading, student submission directly to instructor and TAs | Potential technical problems such as network problems or internet connectivity loss, possible file size limitations, less personal feedback, learning curve for teachers or students not familiar with Canvas or technology in general | |
| Quizzes | Automatic grading and regrading, multiple attempts, instant feedback | No regrading if you pulled questions from a question bank, cannot add points automatically, limited regrading options |
| Surveys | Instant feedback, faster grading, no paper waste, faster than passing out paper surveys to hundreds of students Points awarded based on survey submission | Potential technical problems Not available in New Quizzes format |
| Discussions | Discussions not limited to a single class period. Students have more time to formulate responses, keeps a record of comments for grading purposes, shy students more likely to participate. All students in the class can see the submission so students can get ideas from each other. | Potentially time-consuming to read comments from large groups of students, potential technical problems, students may not do their own work after seeing work of others (can be circumvented using the requirement to post before seeing other student replies) |
To Create an Assignment
On the Course Navigation menu, click Assignments
On the Assignments list page, click Add Assignment
On the Assignment edit page, create the assignment by adding a name, instructions, and specifying the assignment options
(See the Assignment Options table for details)
Assignment Options
The following table describes the options for creating assignments.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Points | Determines the point value of the assignment. |
| Assignment Group | Places the assignment into an assignment group. You can use this option if you want to organize the Assignment list by assignments, discussions, and quizzes. Groups can also be used to filter assignments in the gradebook. The default group is Assignments, so Canvas places all assignments, discussions, and quizzes in that group unless you specify otherwise. For more information, see Create an Assignment Group. |
| Display Grade as | Determines the method of grading. Methods include points, percentage, complete/incomplete, letter grade, GPA Scale, or Not Graded. |
| Submission Type | Indicates how you want your students to submit the assignment. Submission types include No submission, Online, On paper, or External tool. For more information, see Submission Types. |
| Group Assignment | Makes the assignment a group assignment. You can indicate if you will give a group grade or an individual grade. |
| Peer Reviews | Requires the students to have the assignment reviewed by another student. |
| Assign | Assigns the assignment to a specific group or to everyone. Sets the due date for the assignment. |
Canvas - Get Started
The following list of pages will guide you through getting started with this tool. The current page is listed in bold.
- Log into Canvas
- Notification Preferences
- Access your Course
- Create an Assignment
- Create a Quiz in Canvas
- Add a Syllabus to Canvas
- Early Course Access for Students
- Publish Your Course
- Communication
- Five Keys to Grading
- Prepare Final Grading
University Center for Teaching and Learning
How to create assignments for your canvas course.
- Quick Start
- Instructor Help
- Student Help
How to Create Assignments
Using assignments in Canvas provides a streamlined process for assigning homework and creating quizzes for students. Canvas considers an ‘assignment’ to be anything that is graded, whether that be a quiz or homework assignment, and whether it’s delivered entirely online, paper-and-pencil, or is a participatory assignment with no actual deliverable.
This Quick Start guide will cover the creation of assignments where the student submits a file electronically, on paper, using an external tool such as Turnitin or Panopto , or where no submission is expected (e.g. class participation). See How to Create Tests and Quizzes for Your Canvas Course and Create and Manage Discussions for more information about using those tools as assignments.
1. In the Course Navigation menu, click the Assignments link.
2. Click “ +Assignment ” at the top right.
3. Write the assignment title and directions for students.
4. Assign the number of points available for the assignment.
5. Choose an “ Assignment Group” . Assignment groups are, in essence, a category of assignment. For more information about using Assignment Groups, see the Canvas guides regarding Assignments.
6. There are four submission types :
- No Submission: an activity where nothing will be collected from students (e.g. a participation grade)
- For the full details about the online assignment subtypes, (text entry, annotation, file upload, etc.), please see the official documentation .
- We have a recorded mini-webinar on annotation assignments, including assignment ideas, available on the Training Webinars page.
- On Paper: assignments/quizzes/activities that were written on paper and collected by the instructor
- External Tool: assignments submitted through a 3rd party tool that is integrated with Canvas, such as a textbook publisher’s website or Turnitin
7. Submission Attempts: You may allow unlimited submission attempts for Online assignments, or restrict attempts to one or more. When a student submits to an assignment they have already submitted to, the previous submission is retained as well, and the instructor may view both.
8. Group Assignments and Peer Reviews: Assignments can be created as either a group assignment or peer review assignment.
9. Assign options- You can assign an assignment to your entire class, a specific student, and/or a section of your class. You can also set the due date and the availability dates (when your students can submit their assignment). Each section can have different due dates and availability dates.
10. If you are finished creating the assignment, click on “ Save & Publish “. If you are not finished creating the assignment, click on “ Save ” and you may come back and work on it more later without students having access to it.
Instructor Help for Assignments
Creating assignments.
- How do I create an assignment?
- How do I add a moderated assignment to be graded by multiple reviewers?
- How do I create an online assignment?
- How do I add or edit details in an assignment?
- How do I add or edit points for an assignment?
- What assignment types can I create in a course?
- How do I limit submission attempts for an assignment?
- How do I add an assignment that includes anonymous grading?
- How do I enable anonymous instructor annotations in student submissions?
- How do I import SCORM files as an assignment?
- How do I publish or unpublish an assignment as an instructor?
Managing Assignments
- How do I use the Assignments Index Page?
- Can a student resubmit Canvas assignments?
- How do I assign an assignment to everyone in a course?
- How do I assign an assignment to a course group?
- How do I assign an assignment to a course section?
- How do I assign an assignment to an individual student?
- How do I view differentiated assignments with different due dates in a course?
- How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?
- How do I delete an assignment?
- How do I duplicate an assignment?
- How do I move or reorder an assignment?
- How do I use Direct Share to copy an assignment to another course?
- How do I use Direct Share to send an assignment to another instructor?
Creating and Managing Peer Review Assignments
- How do I create a peer review assignment?
- How do I use peer review assignments in a course?
- How do I automatically assign peer reviews for an assignment?
- How do I manually assign peer reviews for an assignment?
- How do I view student peer review comments as an instructor?
Creating External Tool Assignments
- How do I add an assignment using an external app?
- How do I create a cloud assignment with a Microsoft Office 365 file?
Using Assignment Groups
- How do I add an assignment group in a course?
- How do I create an assignment shell in an assignment group?
- How do I create rules for an assignment group?
- How do I move or reorder an assignment group?
- How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups?
Grading Considerations
- How do I add a grading scheme to an assignment?
- How do I download all student submissions for an assignment?
- How do I upload all student submissions for an assignment?
- How do I exclude an assignment from the course’s final grades?
- How do I give extra credit in a course?
Student Help for Assignments
- How do I view Assignments as a student?
- How do I filter assignments by type as a student?
- How do I submit an online assignment?
- How do I submit a text entry assignment?
- How do I enter a URL as an assignment submission?
- How do I submit a media file as an assignment submission?
- How do I upload a file as an assignment submission in Canvas?
- How do I upload a file from Microsoft Office 365 as an assignment submission?
- How do I know when my assignment has been submitted?
- How do I manage celebration animations in Canvas as a student?
- How do I submit a cloud assignment with Microsoft Office 365?
- How do I download assignment submissions from all my courses?
- How do I annotate a file as an assignment submission in Canvas?
- How do I use DocViewer in Canvas assignments as a student?
- How do I submit a PDF assignment with annotations in the Student app on my Android device?
- How do I add annotations to a submission in the Student app on my iOS device?
Groups and Peer
- How do I submit an assignment on behalf of a group?
- How do I know if I have a peer review assignment to complete?
- How do I submit a peer review to an assignment?
- Where can I find my peers’ feedback for peer reviewed assignments?
- How do I view the rubric for my assignment?
- How do I view the rubric for my external tool assignment?
- How do I view rubric results for my assignment?
- How do I know when my instructor has graded my assignment?
- How do I view assignment comments from my instructor?
- How do I view annotation feedback comments from my instructor directly in my assignment submission?
- How do I view my Roll Call Attendance report as a student?
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You can create assignments from the Assignments Index page (Assignments area of course site) and you have two options: You can create an assignment shell, or you can create the entire assignment. An assignment shell is just a placeholder for the assignment within an assignment group, such as a discussion assignment within the discussion assignment grouping. You can come back and add the details at any time. For more information on both creating an assignment shell and creating an entire assignment, see the Canvas guide article How do I create an assignment? .
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Getting Started with Canvas Assignments
- Last modification date Updated On July 26, 2024
- Categories: Assignments , Canvas , Uncategorized
- Categories: assessment , Getting Started , Grading
Canvas Assignments are a way for instructors to provide students opportunities to practice using the knowledge and skills they have gained or to assess student performance related to such knowledge and skills. (Creating an Assignment is the only way to create a new column in the Gradebook.)
In Canvas there are four basic Submission Types for assignments. The submission types include:
- No Submission : For assignments for which you are not collecting any content from the students.
- Text Entry : For students to enter text directly into a text box on Canvas.
- Website URL : For students to enter a URL (usually to a blog, video, podcast, etc.).
- Media Recordings : For students to upload or record media for submission.
- File Uploads : For students to upload files for submission ( Restrict Upload File Types will allow you to limit which types of files may be submitted).
- On Paper : For assignments students will submit in person.
- External Tool : For assignments which students will submit through a third-party tool (such as Turnitin, Panopto Video Quiz, and PlayPosit).
Managing an Assignment
Managing assignment groups.
When getting started with Assignments, learn to
- Create an assignment shell with the Canvas guide How do I create an assignment?
If you select Peer Reviews Appear Anonymously , annotation tools in SpeedGrader will become unavailable.
If you change the Assign To area from Everyone to select students after submissions have already begun, and do not have a second set of Assign To dates, submissions from unassigned students will disappear.
- Published assignments are visible as existing outside of availability dates, but students cannot see the details.
- If looking to update the due and/or availability dates on multiple assignments, see How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?
- If choosing the option to make an assignment a Group Assignment : If only assigning to specific groups, make sure to click the X on the Everyone Else choice under Assign to .
Media Recording Assignments are not recommended due to technical reasons. Instead, have students submit media by embedding it in a Text Entry assignment through Panopto .
Clearly express expectations and criteria for grading by using a Rubric .
Be cautious limiting submission attempts, as students often make mistakes loading documents and need multiple attempts to ensure you have the correct submission.
- Delete an assignment with the Canvas guide How do I delete an assignment?
- This duplication process will not work for Quizzes.
- Attach a rubric to an assignment for grading or to communicate expectations to students with the Canvas guide How do I add a rubric to an assignment?
Accessibility Tips
- Use descriptive text for links, instead of long URLs or ‘click here’.
- Make instructions brief and to-the-point. Avoid long paragraphs and sentences.
- Consider allowing multiple submission types to accommodate technical limitations students may face.
Assignment Groups are a way to categorize different graded items in Canvas. For example, you may have journals, blogs, and essays which your students create in your course. Assignment Groups allow you to label and group different types of assignments separately in order to better organize and for ease when applying weighting (see How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups? ). When getting started with Assignment Groups, learn to
- Add and delete assignment groups with the Canvas guide How do I add an assignment group in a course?
- Move or reorder an assignment group with the Canvas guide How do I move or reorder an assignment group?
- Make rules governing grading expectations within assignment groups with the Canvas guide How do I create rules for an assignment group?
Additional Resources
- CTI Resource: What is the Assignments Index Page?
- How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?
- How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups?
- Canvas Student Guide
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How to Create an Online Submission Assignment
Instructors will organize their graded assignments from the “Assignment” link in the Course Navigation. Published assignments will then automatically sync into the Canvas Gradebook for instructors to add grades and provide feedback.
Online submission-type assignments, specifically, allow students to submit work for instructors online, through Canvas. Then, instructors can have digital forms of work without the need to download and clutter their desktop memory.
**Once students submit to an assignment, the instructor CANNOT unpublish it
**Graded discussions or quizzes will automatically drop into the “Assignments” section, but should be created in their respective sections (“Discussions” or “Quizzes” via the Course Navigation links).
- What are Assignments?
- How do I create an Assignment
- How do I create an online assignment?
- How do I assign an assignment to an individual student?
- How to Upload and Embed Files via the Rich Content Editor
- How do I assign an assignment to a course group?
- How do I use peer review assignments in a course?
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Create & customize canvas assignments - knowledgebase / teaching learning and research / canvas / assessments and grading / assignments - oit service center.
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Create & customize canvas assignments.
- cb christine brown
- ej edwin jeng
- mv maggie vecchione
- MK Melissa Kane
- rt rebecca taub
- Last updated: Jul 3, 2023 by Claire Streckenbach
Canvas allows you to create assignments for your students and customize the settings to meet your grading approach for your course. Within the grading settings of a Canvas Assignment, you can select the grading settings for each assignment based on the assignment’s type, objectives, and expectations. You may also choose to use points, percentages, or complete/incomplete to track progress and provide feedback to students about their work.
Create Canvas Assignments
| Assignments include quizzes, graded discussions, and online submissions. |
To create an assignment:
- Log in to Canvas at canvas.brown.edu and select your course from the Global Navigation menu on the left.
- Enter the name of the assignment in the Assignment Name box.
- Enter a description of the assignment in the box below if relevant.
| 6. Set the point value 7. Select the assignment group 8. Select how grade will display to students 9. Indicate how students will submit 10. Allow a moderator to review multiple independent grades for selected submissions |
Your new assignment will appear on the Assignments page under the assignment group you selected. Any Assignments you create automatically show up in the Calendar, Syllabus page and Gradebook.
| : Only graded assignments, graded discussions, graded quizzes, and graded surveys that have been display in the Gradebook automatically. |
| : Canvas can notify you when students submit assignments or comment on submissions. You can set how often and where notifications from Canvas are sent (e.g., personal email, mobile phone, etc.). |
For more information on how to create and manage assignments, please see the following links:
- How do I add a rubric to an assignment
- How do I manage rubrics in a course
- How do I set notifications
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Related Content
- Enable TurnItIn for Student Assignment Submissions
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Canvas How-To: Assignments
Section menu close, office of academic technology.
- Canvas Administration
- External LMS User Requests
- Canvas Basics
- ⚙ Ally & Accessibility
- ⚙ Analytics
- ⚙ Announcements
- ⚙ Assignments
- ⚙ Attendance
- ⚙ Closing Courses & Incompletes
- ⚙ Collaborations
- ⚙ Combine Courses
- ⚙ Discussions & Discussions Plus
- ⚙ Extra Credit
- ⚙ Group Assignments
- ⚙ Inbox & Messaging
- ⚙ Journals, Blogs, & Wikis
- ⚙ Extra: Create Tabs on a Page
- ⚙ Panopto Recordings
- ⚙ People, Rosters, & Roles
- ⚙ Profile & User Settings
- ⚙ Quizzes & Accommodations
- ⚙ New Quizzes
- ⚙ SpeedGrader
- ⚙ Turnitin Assignments
- ⚙ Video-Based Assessments
- ⚙ VoiceThread Group Projects in Canvas
- ⚙ Zoom in Canvas
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- Training Opportunities
- OAT Updates & Tech Tips
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Contact Information
Mary Stuart Rogers, MSR 380
Adding an Assignment
Canvas Assignment can be used to collect a submission from students electronically, provide instructions for and remind students about an in-class activity, and track extra credit.
How do I create an assignment?
How do I add assignment types, pages, and files as module items?
Editing Assignment Details
After creating an assignment, modify the assignment details and settings by clicking the action menu and select Edit. Update the assignment instructions and guidelines, set the due date, and number of points to earn.
How do I add or edit details in an assignment?
Removing or Duplicating Assignments
Clean up unused assignments by removing them from Modules, or by deleting them from the Assignments page of your course.
How do I delete an assignment?
Establish a routine pattern of assignments and activities for students. When assigning an assignment that students will complete each week, create the assignment once, then duplicate it and move it to subsequent weeks.
How do I duplicate an assignment?
Allowing a Resubmission
By default, resubmissions are always allowed if the instructor leaves the Attempts setting at "Unlimited". After students submit their assignment, they may revisit the assignment to submit a new version. As the instructor, you can view the various versions of the submission, deciding which version to accept and grade. Prevent students from revisiting the assignment by limiting the number of attempts in the assignment settings or set an Until availability date.
Can a student resubmit an assignment?
Creating Group Assignments
To create an assignment that the students will submit as part of a group, check the box for "This is a Group Assignment" in the Group Assignment area.
Understand groups in Canvas
Configuring Peer Reviews
Use the peer review option to pair students up with a partner to review and provide feedback of their work.
How do I create a peer review assignment?
Want to learn more?
View all Canvas Guides for Assignments
Updated: October 11, 2022
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- Instructors: Create, edit and delete courses and assignments
Create an assignment
Use Assignments to create, collect, and give feedback on assignments in a learning management system (LMS).
Before you begin
To use Assignments, you need an LMS and a Google Workspace for Education account. The account usually looks like [email protected] . If Assignments isn't installed in your LMS, ask your administrator to go to Get started with Assignments .
Create an assignment in Canvas
- Sign in to Canvas.
- Open the course.
- Enter a name and description for your assignment.
- When you set the points to zero, assignments are left ungraded in Google Assignments.
- Points that use a decimal value will be rounded down in Google Assignments.
- Due dates are imported automatically into Google Assignments if the Canvas assignment has a single due date for all students. Otherwise, the due date is left unset in Google Assignments.
- To save your assignment, click Save or Save & Publish .
- To confirm your changes and return to the rest of your assignment, click Edit .
- Tip : Your Canvas admin might have given Assignments a different name.
- If you’re signed in to your Google Workspace for Education account—Click Continue .
- If you’re not signed in—Sign in with your Google Workspace account.
- If this is your first time using Assignments in this course, you must link your LMS account to your Google Account. For instructions, go to Link your account to Assignments (below).
- Files students submit are shared with the instructor.
- Tip: Files students submit automatically upload to SpeedGrader™.
- Click Create .
Tip : Students can't see an assignment until you publish it.
Copy an assignment to another course in Canvas
- In the sidebar, click Assignments .
- Click Copy .
Use SpeedGrader with Google Drive files
If you create an assignment in Canvas, you can use SpeedGrader to grade students’ Drive files. However, you won’t be able to use the features included in Assignments. For details, go to Use SpeedGrader with Google Drive files in Canvas .
Create an assignment in Schoology
- Sign in to Schoology.
- In the sidebar, click Materials .
- Click Add Materials and select Google Assignments .
- If this is your first time using Assignments in this course, you must link your LMS account to your Google Account. For instructions, go to Link your account to Assignments (below).
- Enter a title for the assignment.
- (Optional) To edit the total points or add a due date or any other instructions, enter the details.
- Click Create .
- Open the assignment.
Create an assignment in another LMS
Setting up an assignment varies for each LMS. Contact your IT administrator. Or, for more information, go to the Assignments Help Community .
Link your account to Assignments
The first time you use Assignments in a course, you need to link your Google Workspace for Education account. When you do, Assignments creates a folder in Google Drive for student assignments and automatically sends grades to the LMS. Students can't submit classwork until you link your account. After you select Google Assignments as an external tool, choose an option based on whether you're:
Google, Google Workspace, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.
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About assignments in Canvas
Watch a video overview of Canvas assignments
Why do I have to re-create my assignments in Canvas?
If you already have assignments created in Word or Google docs, Catalyst tools, or posted online, you might wonder, “What’s the point is of recreating them in Canvas?” Not only does Canvas make it easy to create assignments with lots of options (selective release, group assignments, peer review, submission type) it also adds convenience for you and your students.
What are Assignment Groups?
Like Catalyst Gradebook, Canvas prefers for you to create assignment groups for organization. The groups you create control how the gradebook is structured and you can choose to weight final grades based on those groups. By default you begin with a group called Assignments. You can choose to keep all of your assignments in this one group, or create as many new ones as you like.
Where do I create assignments?
You can create assignments in the Assignments area of Canvas or in the Calendar. Your Assignments page will show the work you have assigned. In student view, the Assignments page will show all assigned work and the point value of each (if you set point values when setting up an assignment). Any graded activity (such as a discussion, quiz, essay or project) can be an assignment.
When you create an assignment in your Canvas course it is automatically added to the assignment list on the Syllabus page, the course calendar, and your gradebook. If you change the due date for an assignment, Canvas updates it course-wide. If you alter the assignment you can have Canvas notify your students.
What can I do with assignments?
Assignments can be used to:
- Set up online submissions that can be quickly graded in the SpeedGrader™
- Grade online submissions work submitted on paper
- Set up peer review
- Grade Discussions, either among the whole class or student groups
- Open Quizzes for a limited amount of time
- Create ungraded activities that align with course outcomes
Assignments and Grading
Having your assignments in Canvas and automatically linked to the gradebook means you can take advantage of SpeedGrader and rubrics to make the grading process faster and more efficient. Canvas communication tools allow you to provide your students with text or multimedia feedback on all assignments.
Canvas @ Yale
- Canvas Assignment Tool: Overview
Updated on Mar 22, 2022
The Canvas Assignments tool is one of several native Canvas tools that allows instructors to collect student work for grading. Through the Canvas Assignment tool, students can submit their completed work and instructors can easily collect and score the work either offline (by downloading all submissions with a single button click) or online through the Canvas SpeedGrader function. Canvas Assignments can also be used to create columns in the gradebook for grading student work that is not submitted online.
Several of the External Applications integrated into Canvas work in coordination with the Canvas Assignments tool. For these tools, you will still create the Canvas Assignment as normal, but you will need to follow the detailed instructions for the specific external application to properly link it to the Canvas Assignment. Visit our Instructional Tools support page and click on the appropriate tool for details.
Table of Contents
This article will address the following information:
Why use Canvas Assignments?
Use cases for assignments, how do i use canvas assignments in my course, what will my students see, additional resources, for students.
Canvas Assignments are a great centralized location to find and submit their coursework. It can provide students with detailed instructions for each assignment, due dates, template files for students to use when applicable, and rubrics to help students understand what is expected to achieve full credit for their work. Canvas' online grading via the SpeedGrader tool is a core feature of the Canvas Assignment tool, which allows students to quickly receive and reply to instructor comments on their work. Canvas Assignments also work hand-in-hand with the Canvas Grades area, so students can quickly see how well they did on each assignment and how they are doing overall in the course in one place.
For Instructors
Canvas Assignments streamlines the way that student work is collected. Instead of receiving digitally completed homework in the form of individual emails from each student for each assignment, instructors can create a Canvas Assignment to collect the work of all students. With Canvas' online grading tools, instructors can use rubrics for consistent grading and can use the Canvas SpeedGrader tool to provide detailed annotations on student-submitted files or simply use the one button download all submissions button to export all student files at once to their local computer. The Canvas Assignments tool also allows instructors the flexibility to assign activities to specific due dates for individual students or even create activities that are only available to certain students.
Canvas Assignments can be used in many ways—below are just a few examples of how assignments can be used in your course:
- Homework Assignments
- Research Papers
- Written Exams
- Handwritten Student Work (check out our help article for students on how to create a PDF of handwritten work )
- Overall grade for course (that differs from the Canvas-calculated Totals column)
- Grade for an oral exam or other activity that does not require students to hand in work
- Class participation grade
- Peer Review Assignments – students can be assigned to read and comment on one or more of their classmates' submissions
- Group Assignments – require one submission for a group of students
Instructor and TA level users can always access the tool to create and organize activities, but the tool can be hidden from students if desired. To learn more about how to use Canvas Assignments to facilitate your online course work, please reference:
- Creating an Assignment
- Grading Assignments Using the SpeedGrader
- Due Dates versus Display Dates
- How do I automatically assign peer reviews for an assignment?
- How do I view student peer review comments as an instructor?
- How do I assign an assignment to a course group?
- Turnitin Assignment Settings Options
- Viewing a Turnitin Report (Instructor)
The actual view your students see will depend on the settings you set on your assignments. Below you can see what a student would see for an online, file upload submission type assignment.
On each assignment, instructors can set an " Available From " date, which is the date when the assignment will open for students to start submitting their work. Even though an assignment may not yet be open, students will be able to see that there is an assignment and will be able to click on it.
When a student views an assignment that has not opened for submissions yet, they will see a message showing that the assignment is locked and the date when the assignment will open, which is the " Available From " date.
When going to submit a file, the students will see the assignment instructions, points, due / available from / until dates, and the rubric (if one exists). The students will submit by clicking the " Submit Assignment " button and following the process to upload and submit their file(s).
Creating Assignments
- Duplicating an Assignment
- How do I exclude an assignment from the course's final grades?
- How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?
- How do I add a rubric to an assignment?
- Rubrics (Vendor Guides)
Assignment Groups (For organizing assessments and weighting grades)
- How do I add an assignment group in a course?
- How do I move or reorder an assignment group?
- How do I move or reorder an assignment?
- Creating Weighted Assignments Groups
Grade Posting Policies
- How do I select a grade posting policy for a course in the Gradebook?
- How do I select a grade posting policy for an assignment in the Gradebook?
- Using the Grade Posting Policy
Student Resources
- How to create a PDF of hand written assignments
- How do I submit an online assignment?
- How do I upload a file as an assignment submission in Canvas?
- How do I submit a text entry assignment?
- How do I enter a URL as an assignment submission?
- How do I submit a media file as an assignment submission?
For more help, please contact [email protected] .
Discover Instructional Tools
- Assessment Finder Tool
- Canvas @ Yale External Applications: Overview
- Feedback & Accessibility Barriers Tool: Overview
- Panorama: Overview
- FeedbackFruits: Overview
- Canvas Quizzes: Overview
- Gradescope: Overview
- Respondus LockDown Browser: Overview
- Turnitin: Overview
- LabArchives: Overview
- WordPress: Overview
- Canvas Collaborations: Overview
- Canvas Groups: Overview
- Canvas Announcements: Overview
- Canvas Inbox: Overview
- Canvas Modules: Overview
- Canvas Pages: Overview
- Canvas Syllabus: Overview
- Photo Roster: Overview
- Canvas Discussions: Overview
- VoiceThread: Overview
- Ed Discussion: Overview
- Perusall: Overview
- Mid-Semester Feedback: Overview
- Post'Em: Overview
- Qualtrics LTI: Overview
- Poll Everywhere: Overview
- Media Library (Panopto): Overview
- LinkedIn Learning: Overview
- Zoom: Overview
Other Resources
- Accessibility
- Inclusivity
- Canvas @ Yale Settings
- Enrollment & Permissions
- Technical Support Guides
- Updates & Known Issues
- Canvas @ Yale Admin / Registrar
- Instructor Getting Started Guides
- Course Management
- Assessments, Feedback and Grades
- Canvas @ Yale External Applications
- Instructor FAQ
- Student Getting Started Guides
- Student Assessment Guides
- Student FAQ
COMMENTS
You can also attach assignment files that will automatically distribute a personalized copy for each student. To use Google Assignments in Canvas. Create a new Canvas Assignment; Within the Submission field, select External Tool (A) and then click Find (B). 3. From the list, click on Google Assignments (LTI 1.3), then click Select. 4.
You can create blogging groups and place a single student in each group. Then, the discussion thread is just for them! With smaller classes, instructors have all discussions viewable but ask that only the student author create content in the thread. (Which does make for a long list of discussions in the course!)
Your Canvas Gradebook allows you to set policies for grade posting and late submissions, reorder columns, manage assignment groups and weights, and create any additional columns needed to cater to your grading style. Canvas also comes with SpeedGrader, allowing you to quickly grade assignments, discussions, and quizzes in one place. 6.
Enabling Handwritten Assignments . Handwritten Assignments are an assignment type included in the Paper to Digital add-on. Once Paper to Digital is made available to your institution, the Handwritten Assignment type is enabled by default. In your account settings, you will see the Paper to Digital option checked in the Allow these features section.
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The U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability sets forth a framework for U.S. government efforts to prevent conflict, stabilize conflict-affected areas, and address global fragility, in line with the Global Fragility Act of 2019. America's prosperity and security depend on peaceful, self-reliant, U.S. economic and security partners. By breaking the costly cycle of conflict and ...
To create an assignment shell, locate an assignment group and click the Add Assignment button [2]. Assignment shells only include fields for the assignment type, name, due date (optional), and points. You can add assignment details at any time by editing the assignment.
Select Online Entry Options. 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 ...
You can create assignments on your calendar, on the modules page, or on the assignments page. Let's create one on the assignments page. Click Assignments. 2. Click the Add Assignment icon. 3. Here you'll enter some basic information to get started. Begin by typing a Name for your assignment.
In Canvas, any activity with an associated point value is considered an Assignment and will appear on the Assignments page, as well as in the gradebook. Assignment formats include quizzes, discussions, online document submission, and no submission, and external tool assignments. You can give an assignment to everyone in the course or target it ...
In the Course Navigation menu, click the Assignments link. 2. Click " +Assignment " at the top right. 3. Write the assignment title and directions for students. 4. Assign the number of points available for the assignment. 5. Choose an " Assignment Group".
STEP BY STEP PROCESS WITH EXAMPLESThis Canvas online tutorial video explains how to create assignments, how they function, and how you grade them using speed...
To create an assignment that is assigned only to a specific student, click the Remove icon next to the Everyone label [1], then start to type the name of a student in the Assign To field [2]. Search fields are dynamic, and you can search for students by first or last name. When the full name appears, click the name. Lists are not scrollable.
To create a new assignment group, click the Add Group button and enter an assignment group name in the Group Name field. To save the assignment group, click the Save button. From the assignment group's Options icon, you can edit the assignment group details and grading rules, delete the group, move assignments to other assignment groups, and ...
Jul 26, 2018. 6110. You can create assignments from the Assignments Index page (Assignments area of course site) and you have two options: You can create an assignment shell, or you can create the entire assignment. An assignment shell is just a placeholder for the assignment within an assignment group, such as a discussion assignment within ...
Select Rubric. In the first column, select a course or account [1]. In the second column, locate and click the name of a rubric [2]. You can view the criteria and points in each rubric. To select a rubric for the assignment, scroll to the bottom of the rubric and click the Use This Rubric button [3].
Canvas Assignments are a way for instructors to provide students opportunities to practice using the knowledge and skills they have gained or to assess student performance related to such knowledge and skills.(Creating an Assignment is the only way to create a new column in the Gradebook.). In Canvas there are four basic Submission Types for assignments.
Learn how to create an assignment in Canvas, how to assign points, due dates, and submission types. Learn two ways to build new assignments in Canvas and ho...
Published assignments will then automatically sync into the Canvas Gradebook for instructors to add grades and provide feedback. Online submission-type assignments, specifically, allow students to submit work for instructors online, through Canvas. Then, instructors can have digital forms of work without the need to download and clutter their ...
Canvas allows you to create assignments for your students and customize the settings to meet your grading approach for your course. Within the grading settings of a Canvas Assignment, you can select the grading settings for each assignment based on the assignment's type, objectives, and expectations. ...
Creating Group Assignments. To create an assignment that the students will submit as part of a group, check the box for "This is a Group Assignment" in the Group Assignment area. Understand groups in Canvas. Configuring Peer Reviews. Use the peer review option to pair students up with a partner to review and provide feedback of their work.
If you cannot see the Start Assignment button, your instructor may want you to submit your assignment in a different way or the availability date has passed. View the description of the assignment for instructions, or contact your instructor for assistance. Canvas does not support file uploads larger than 5 GB.
This video tutorial walks you through how to set up a Google Assignment assignment in Canvas. Google Assignments allows you to make a copy of a Google Drive ...
In this tutorial we will explore three ways for new teachers to create assignments as they design their courses - each way with its pros and cons. Feel free...
To add a rubric to your assignment, click Add Create rubric. Learn how to create or reuse a rubric for an assignment. SpeedGrader™, click Canvas SpeedGrader. Tip: Files students submit automatically upload to SpeedGrader™. Click Create. In Canvas, click Select Save∨Save Publish. Tip: Students can't see an assignment until you publish it.
Once you have added assignments to your assignment group, you can create rules for the entire assignment group. Assignment group rules determine how Canvas handles any exceptions you want to create for grade calculations. Assignment groups can be weighted or unweighted. When using the lowest or highest score rule, an assignment group must ...
Click " +Assignment " at the top-right corner. Name your assignment in the top box. Enter a description or assignment details in the Rich Content Editor. If you would like to attach files, you can select the file from the Documents icon. For more information on using the Rich Content Editor, review the "Using the Rich Content Editor" article.
You can create assignments in the Assignments area of Canvas or in the Calendar. Your Assignments page will show the work you have assigned. In student view, the Assignments page will show all assigned work and the point value of each (if you set point values when setting up an assignment). Any graded activity (such as a discussion, quiz, essay ...
Canvas Assignments can also be used to create columns in the gradebook for grading student work that is not submitted online. Several of the External Applications integrated into Canvas work in coordination with the Canvas Assignments tool. For these tools, you will still create the Canvas Assignment as normal, but you will need to follow the ...