Assignments
Assignments in Canvas are created by your instructor as a place for you to submit work online and keep track of assignments due in class.
Our goal is for you to be able to identify important assignment details, recognize the different submission types, and recognize common issues students have when submitting assignments.
Let's get started!
Assignments in Canvas
Anatomy of an assignment
An assignment is a graded activity in which you are submitting something to your instructor for scoring. This submission could be something you hand-in physically in class, but could also be turning in your work online. Canvas can accept assignments in all the following online formats: Text Input, Web Address, Document Upload, Student Annotations, and media recordings and uploads.
Opening Information
The first information you are given on each assignment is the due date, the point value, the availability date, and details or instructions for the assignment under a collapsible heading.
At the bottom of the page, you'll see the Submit Assignment button. This button won't do anything until you've created your submission. You'll need to scroll all the way to the bottom of the assignment to get to the submission controls.
Tip: Always make sure that you pay close attention to the assignment details. Important instructions and resources may be linked elsewhere depending on how the instructor lays out their course. When in doubt, double check requirements with your instructor!
The Rubric
Next, you'll find the rubric for the assignment, if your instructor is using one. It's also under a collapsible heading, which means you can click the heading to hide the rubric once you've looked at it.
Submission Controls
You'll find the submission controls at the very bottom of the assignment. Depending on the options selected by your instructor, you may only see one button, or you may see a five or more different options. Keep in mind that you can only make one type of submission for each assignment, even though you might be able to see all the different submission types.
Submission Types
If your instructor is asking for an online submission, there are five different types of submissions you might be asked for. Or they might give you the option to choose for yourself. Not all submission types may be available for an assignment since it is up to your instructor to decide what format works best for the assignment.
The different submission types you might encounter are:
Text entry
To submit a text entry assignment, select the Text Entry tab then simply type or copy and paste text into the Rich Content Editor box.
Best practices:
- For long prompts, start your assignment in a word processor (like Word or Google Doc) so that you can save your response as you go. When you are ready to submit, then you can copy over into Canvas' text entry.
- Keep in mind that sometimes formatting might not get copied over correctly, so always check that your copied text looks right. If not, you may have to make small adjustments to the text in Canvas.
Website URL
To submit a website URL, select the Website URL tab. Type or copy and paste the URL into the Website URL field.
Best practices:
- Always make sure that you are copying the full link for whatever site you are submitting. You can always check your submission afterwards and submit a new link if it is before the due date.
- Keep an eye out for specific details from your instructor around uploading links as some of the sources may require you to give viewing permissions or require URLs to behave in a certain way to be loaded by Canvas.
Media recording
To submit a media recording, select the Media tab. Click the Record/Upload Media button. Follow the instructions to record or upload your media.
Best practices:
- When recording media, unlike other upload options requires additional equipment. You will need a webcam and microphone. Newer laptops and desktops might have that built in but you should check with your instructor whether you will need those tools for your class.
- Sometimes you might need to give Canvas access to connected microphone and webcam through your web browser. You often will see an error message if that is the case and can quickly adjust those settings.
File upload
This is probably the most Common submission type. Here you will upload a file from your computer and submit your assignment.
Best practices:
- Always check the assignment details and instructions for specific file types. You may have to export from one file type to fit your instructor's specifications.
- If you are using Microsoft 365 or Google Drive to do classwork, you can access those files directly using the "Microsoft 365" or "Google Drive" submission tabs. They will create a copy of your file and upload it to Canvas automatically. Any changes you make to the original file will not be updated in your Canvas submission.
- File uploads will only accept files under 5GB in size. Most files will not be close to that threshold unless you are uploading large multimedia projects. If there are concerns, talk to your instructor about different ways to share the file with them.
- If your assignment requires you to upload multiple documents, you can select more than one document at a time from the file selector, or you can keep clicking on the rocket ship image to upload additional files.
Student annotation
To submit a student annotation, you will select the student annotation tab. Then you can annotate the document using a variety of tools. You may be asked to highlight text, use the point annotation, and text annotation tools, all of which allow you to also comment on your annotation to explain your thinking. For a full list of the annotation tools and how to use them, read through Canvas' How-to on Student Annotation Links to an external site..
Best practices:
- Read carefully through the prompt to see if there are specific ways that your instructor wants you to annotate. It could be specific tools to use (like "point" annotations) or a certain number of comments that you need to give on the uploaded file.
- When working on an annotation assignment, keep in mind that you have 10 hours from the time you start before your annotation session will time out. If you are worried about the time limit, just make sure to save any comment that you might be in the middle of writing, and then refresh your screen. This will renew your annotation session. If you leave an annotation session open overnight, make sure to refresh your screen before you start working again.
Tip: Did you know that Canvas can notify you right away when your instructor grades or comments on an assignment? Adjust your Canvas notifications so you can get up-to-date information on your grades as soon as your instructor submits them.
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