Creating Assignments
When creating assignments for students online, you'll want to cue them to the various components of the activity by giving them instruction along the way. In an in-person class, we often introduce an activity verbally, explaining the process and providing tips; we also encourage questions from students to clarify requirements.
In the online realm, instructors need to think about how to introduce an assignment without this in-person component, including anticipating questions in advance in order to prevent students from running into barriers that might prevent them from completing the work.
At a minimum, consider providing:
- introductory info (overview about the activity)
- clear instructions with due date(s)
- Canvas how-to
- grading & feedback details
Be sure to include a due date so the activity will appear on the Canvas Calendar for students.
We've provided a walk-through below and an example on the next page to help you get started.
Introduction
Introduce the assignment and its goals. Students appreciate learning why they will be completing this assignment, and that buy-in can increase motivation. This can also be a good place to connect to course objectives or SLOs.
Instructions
Give them the steps of the process here.
- Use a sequence
- via the numbered list
- to get students to understand
- the order the activity needs to be done in
- from start (preparation) to finish (submission via Canvas)
If you're telling students to review content that they have worked with earlier in the module/course, link to the content for easy access. For example, instead of merely telling students to go to the Zoom Guide page, actually link them to Zoom Overview: SWC Students.
💪🏽 It's also a great idea to provide links to academic support and tutoring options.
Canvas How-To
One of the biggest barriers to students is not knowing technically how to submit their work in Canvas.
We recommend including content from the Canvas Video Tutorials Links to an external site. (for students), as well as how-to links from the Canvas Student Guide Links to an external site..
- Video Overview
- Submit work
- Check graded work
- How do I view my grades in a current course? Links to an external site.
- How do I view rubric results for my assignment? Links to an external site.
- How do I use the icons and colors in the Grades page? Links to an external site.
- How do I view annotation feedback comments from my instructor directly in my assignment submission? Links to an external site.
And lastly, remind students that they can always contact Canvas 24/7 via Live Chat in the Canvas Help menu.
Grading & Feedback
You've made it clear what your expectations are for students. How will you interact with student work? Here are a few ideas:
- Tell students how their work will be graded and how you will provide feedback. We encourage the use of a Canvas rubric Links to an external site. + either text, audio, or video feedback Links to an external site., and you some assignments might benefit from annotated comments Links to an external site..
- Tell students how to find their feedback. Should they look for a completed rubric and/or written comments in Grades? Should they click on the assignment name from Grades to view annotations? You are investing time in providing this feedback, and we don't want students to miss it. Here are a few helpful guides to share:
- And lastly, what is your grading turnaround time? Two days? One week? Telling students up front will reduce the emails asking this question.