Welcome to the SBCTC Getting Started with Canvas Training. First, give yourself a pat on the back because you have already been successful if you are reading this message. Great job! You are at the correct place! This course was created by Boyoung Chae and Scott Dennis with the State Board of Technical and Community Colleges. My name is Brandy Long.

PLEASE NOTE: Canvas and Internet Explorer (IE) are not known for playing politely together, therefore IE is not a recommended browser (you will experience the most problems with IE than any other browser). The one Canvas developers recommend is Chrome, but things work fine with Firefox and Safari as well.

So, what is this course all about?

This course is designed for instructors who have never used the Canvas learning management system or who are just getting started. By the end of the course you should have a basic understanding of the Canvas tool set and be ready to begin using Canvas with your classes - regardless of whether you intend to teach online fully or simply move a portion of your activities and lectures online.

Specifically, upon the completion of this course, you will be able to:

navigate within Canvas, and customize the navigation options and course display.
communicate effectively, using the Canvas communication tools
create a simple module and add course items to it
collect and assess students’ work and activities
copy course materials from one course to another and back up your work in Canvas

How to pass this course:

This course is pass/fail. Those who complete all the required activities, assignments, and quizzes listed in the syllabus will be issued a certificate of completion. The course is designed so that you should be able to complete everything if you work for about an hour a day, five days a week during the three weeks in which the course is scheduled to take place.

Now that you have some idea on the topics that will be covered, let’s begin the course. I suggest that you follow the steps below to get yourself oriented to the course:

Click Modules from the left frame, and check out all items in Module 01. You will do all the first-day-of-the-class things here!—learn about the instructor, introduce yourselves to each other, learn basic communication skills, how to submit assignments, etc. You will work sequentially through all modules to complete this course.
Please make sure to read the Syllabus. You will find a detailed course schedule and the rules you need to remember in order to successfully complete this course.
Don’t forget to participate in the fun introductory activities in Module 1.
Finally, let's watch this one minute introduction to Canvas:

video transcript (of words that appear on screen in video)

Then you will be all set! Good luck, have fun, and keep pushing yourselves! Don’t forget that I am (literally and metaphorically) here for you!