Semester Checklist for Students
Canvas Tutorials Semester Checklist for Students
Student Tutorials
Get Ready for the New Semester
This page is a Canvas quick start guide for students. Read the information on this page to get started with your courses that use Canvas. If you are instructor, please view the Instructor Semester checklist.
Important Tips: Viewing Courses in Canvas
As soon as you register for courses, the course list in Canvas is updated. Before the semester starts you can view your courses by clicking Courses in the global menu. In the pop-out menu select All Courses. This will display the All course list page. Courses that have not started yet will be listed under future enrollments.
The courses will become available to students on the first day of the semester OR the day they are scheduled to start. If a course is scheduled to be available in Mod II, please note the course start date is set for the first day of the Mod II which is the midterm date of the current semester. The start date can be confirmed in the Laker Hub under the IRIS section. Select Student > Registration > My Class Schedule.
Please note that some instructors do not publish the course on the first day of the semester. Unpublished courses will not display on your Canvas dashboard but will display in your course list. If you are not sure if a course is unpublished, click Courses in the global menu and select All Courses. Unpublished courses will be listed in the course list but will not be linked. If you do not see the course in your course list or under future enrollments, contact Information Systems and Services.
Steps to Get Started with Your Course
Below are some important steps students should complete in Canvas to prepare for the new semester. If you have questions, please contact Information Systems and Services.
What to Do Before Classes Start
Below as tasks you can complete before classes start to prepare for upcoming semester. Click an item to view or use the expand all option to see all items in the list.
1. Review Login Information
All of the web services (Laker Hub, IRIS, Email, and Canvas) use the same user ID and password. The page linked below has information about each service. Print this page out for later reference in case you forget your password.
2. Pickup Your Textbooks
Learn the details of the textbook pickup process at the links below.
3. Learn about Proctoring
Some courses require test proctoring for some exams. When exams require proctoring, you must schedule an appointment with one of the available proctoring labs. Proctoring is offered at Mattoon Campus, Kluthe Center (Effingham), Western Regional Center (Pana), and Eastern Regional Center (Marshall). The links below have information about proctoring schedule and how to schedule appointments.
4. Learn How to Access Your LLC Email Account
Learn how to access your email account and create a connection to your email account in the Laker Hub. It is important to note that all Canvas notifications will route through your Lake Land College email account. You can adjust your notification preferences in Canvas.
Note: You can also setup notification preferences in the Laker Hub. Login to the Laker Hub and under the IRIS menu, click Students>Communication> Text Messaging and Email Notification. On this screen you will be able to set your desired preferences for special circumstances. These include notifications of class cancellations, critical campus incidents, college weather closings, and general announcements.
5. Review Technical Requirements for Canvas
Canvas supports the latest two versions of the most popular web browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari). Review the requirement details and download a second browser. If you have issues in one browser, always try another to see if you have the same issue. Please note that Internet Explorer is no longer a supported browser. If you have Windows 10 computer, the default browser is Edge which is a supported browser.
6. Customize Your Canvas Profile
The tutorials linked below will show you how to navigate Canvas and customize your global dashboard and profile. In your profile you can add a profile picture, add a brief biography, customize your ways of contact and notifications. You can also create a portfolio on the Portfolium network.
7. Download the Canvas Student Mobile App
If you have Android or iOS mobile device, you can download the Canvas Student app to access your courses on your mobile device. View details at the link below.
8. Check Out Your Studio Account
Starting Fall 2019 all students will have a Studio account. Studio is integrated video platform students can use to create or upload video content to Canvas. Students will see the Studio link in the global navigation and in rich content editor. View guide at the link below.
9. How to Get Technical Help
You can call or email Information Systems and Service for help with Canvas. You can also stop by the office. Information Systems and Services is located in the lower level of the library.
10. (Optional) Enroll in Practice Course
Click the Help Menu in global navigation and select Enroll in Practice Course. The practice course is designed to help you learn how to navigate Canvas and submit assignments online. When you are done with participating in the course click the Home link in the course menu and select Drop this Course from the right sidebar. This will conclude your enrollment in the practice course.
What to Do After Classes Start
Below as tasks you can complete after classes start to prepare for upcoming semester. Click an item to view or use the expand all option to see all items in the list.
1. Learn How to Use the Canvas Inbox
Click the Inbox link in the global menu to view your inbox. You can send and receive messages through Canvas Inbox from your instructor and other students in the course. Messages will be routed through your ways of contact and preferred notifications settings on your Canvas account profile. Please note your default way of contact is your Lake Land College email account. See step 4 and 6 from the previous list above for instructions on how to access your Lake Land College email account and customizing your Canvas notifications. If you want to practice sending messages, you can enroll in the practice course to test sending messages (see step 10 from the previous list above). View the link below for inbox guides.
2. Learn How to View Your Calendar in Canvas
Click the Calendar link in the global menu. Course assignments and events will be listed in the Canvas calendar. Every course will have a color associated with all course assignment and events on the calendar. The course colors associated with the calendar are the same colors you can set for each course on your global dashboard (see step 6 from the first list above). Be sure the calendar filters are set to display all your courses assignments and events. View the link below for calendar guides.
3. Learn How to Access Personal & Course Files
In the global menu, click Account and then select Files from the profile menu. Each user in Canvas will have a personal file space located in their profile and some courses will allow student access to the course files. View the link below for file guides.
4. Learn How to Access Course Content
Most courses will be setup to display content in modules as the home page. If the homepage is setup differently, you can navigate the course using the course menu. Please note in some courses instructors may restrict content based date or requirements. This information can be seen from the module page.
5. Learn How to Submit Assignments
Assignments can be viewed in the your To Do list on the global dashboard and in your calendar. In a course, all graded assignments (including graded quizzes and discussions) will be listed on the assignment page. Quizzes and Discussions also have an index page where you can see graded and non graded quizzes or discussion topics. Instructors may add assignments to the module page as well. Review the guide linked below for steps on to view and submit assignments in Canvas.
6. Learn How to Post Discussion Replies
All discussions will be listed on the discussion page. Graded discussions will also be listed in your To Do list, calendar, and course assignment page. Instructors may add discussion assignments to the module page as well. Review the guide linked below for steps on to post discussion replies in Canvas.
7. Learn How to Complete Quizzes
All quizzes in the current quiz tool will be listed on the quiz page. Each quiz will display with rocket icon. Graded quizzes will also be listed in your To Do list, calendar, and course assignment page. Instructors may add quizzes to the module page as well. Review the guide linked below for steps on to complete quizzes in Canvas.
IMPORTANT! Some quizzes may be in the new quiz tool. These quizzes will display with assignment icon and will not display on the quiz page but will display on the assignment page. Instructors can also add quizzes from the new quiz tool in modules. Guides for the new quiz tool are included in the guide linked below.
8. Learn How to View Grades and Feedback
You can review your grades and instructor feedback from the grades page in Canvas. Starting with the spring 2020 semester, students will be able to view their own user analytics on their participation in a course. View the guides below for details on view grades, instructor feedback, and analytics.
Other Tools Instructors May use in Canvas Courses
Below less common used features of Canvas course that instructors may use. Review the guides for these items below. Click an item to view or use the expand all option to see all items in the list.
Group Assignments
Instructors may organize students into groups and require students to work on an assignment as a group.
Peer Review Assignments
Instructors may require students to submit work for peer review. Once students submit work for peer review, they will be required to peer review a set number of other students' work.
TurnItIn Assignments
Instructors may require students to submit assignments to TurnItIn. There are two ways instructors can setup TurnItIn assignments. In some cases you will be submitting directly to Canvas just like any other type of assignment submission and other instructors may be setup the assignment where you use the TurnItin process to submit assignments. In both cases TurnItIn will generate a link to a similarity report for your assignment so you can review and update your work.
Conferences
Instructors may use Conferences to offer live lectures or office hours.
Collaborations
Instructors may require students to collaborate with peers using GoogleDocs