Getting Started with Canvas Basics

To access your PSU Canvas account, go to canvas.pdx.edu. You will be prompted to authenticate with your PSU Odin name and password. This will take you to the main Canvas Dashboard where all courses to which you have access are listed.

When students log in to your Canvas course for the first time, they need something friendly and welcoming that orients them and directly communicates what to do. Make sure your Course Home Page is ready.

Canvas has several ways to communicate with your students. Learn how you can stay connected.

Canvas has a number of tools to help you share course materials with your students. Using Modules to organize this content can simplify navigation for both you and your students.

Discussions are threaded conversations on a single topic. They are asynchronous, which means participants do not have to be online at the same time. You can use this flexible tool for communication and assessment.

Canvas Assignments is an assessment tool. Anything a student submits for grading and feedback is an “assignment.” Learn about the ways you can use the Assignments page.

In  online learning, you’ll often need to structure peer collaborations into the course and encourage them  through course structure, proactive communication, and feedback.

As with assessments in a face-to-face classroom, Quizzes in Canvas help you gauge student understanding of course content.

The Gradebook stores all information about student progress in the course, measuring both letter grades and course outcomes.

Canvas has lots of features and tools for teaching a course. But you also need these “under the hood” functions for managing your course site.