What is a room in Canvas?
When you log in to Canvas you'll see your dashboard. There you will find a course card that you click to open your room and any other rooms you have access to.
- See explanation: The first page in Canvas - Dashboard with course cards
The first time you open a room it will often be empty. What you see is a page where you can add existing content or create a module:
A room in Canvas contains learning resources for students, such as course materials, lecture notes, a link to the reading list in Leganto, a link to videos in Panopto, links to secondary literature or external resources/databases, assignments to be completed and handed in, quizzes, discussions, co-writing projects, various digital tools and more.
Build a room
Canvas uses a "modular" structure for rooms. Often, a module contains resources associated with a lecture or a teaching week or a theme, but it is up to you as a teacher how to present your content to the students.
See explanations (canvaslms.com):
- What are modules?
- How do I create a new Module?
- How do I add items to a Module?
- How do I reorder Modules?
- How do I edit Module items?
- How do I delete a Module?
- How do I remove Module items?
At the UiO we have created a template room with two modules and a home page where the modules are automatically linked. You can customize your modules and add more. You choose sor yourself whether you want to use the room template or build your own room from scratch.
See explanations:
- Use the UiO template for a room (uio.instructure.com)
- How do I set a Front page in a course? (canvaslms.com)
- How do I change the Course Home page? (canvaslms.com)
Content/materials in the room
Material you want to share with the students can be uploaded from Modules or Files in the room. Material that is not to be uploaded to the Canvas room can be linked from Modules or a page/discussion/announcement/assignment (choose External URL). Please note that there is limited space in Canvas, so large files such as videos must be uploaded to Vortex, for example in a folder alongside the semester page, and linked to from the Canvas room.
Students get access to the room and its materials/content by logging in from a web browser or the mobile app. Remember to publish the Canvas room and the content in the room in order for students to get access.
See also:
- Insert video located in Vortex, in Canvas (uio.instructure.com)
- What should go where? Information in Canvas vs. information on the semester page.
Further work and start of the semester
- Checklist and minimum requirements before publishing
- When do students get access to a room in Canvas?
- For more functions in Canvas, see the employee course Canvas A-? (uio.instructure.com)