Explain how you will communicate

Let students know early on how you will be communicating with them and how you expect them to communicate with you. 

Make use of the tools in Canvas like the announcements feature to provide clear and consistent updates to students. 


Make key dates clear

Outline key dates and assessment deadlines early in the semester where possible. 

Consider adding these to the module calendar to help students prepare for busy periods in the semester. 


Provide clear feedback

Provide clear and consistent feedback for module assessments where possible. 

Consider using built in tools like speech recognition or media comments, like audio or video, which may be quicker and more convenient. 


Use the module syllabus

The Canvas module syllabus offers a dynamic summary of the key dates and activities throughout the semester. 

The syllabus automatically adds information like assessment due dates and scheduled Zoom meetings which can give students an oversight of module requirements. 

Consider adding other key dates to the calendar as this will automatically populate the syllabus and will give students a view of important module milestones for the semester.

Note: If you create a page in Canvas, such as a list of supplementary reading materials, you can choose to add this to the student "to do" list by clicking "Add to student to-do" at the bottom of the page. 

You will be invited to include a deadline/due date and this will then be added to the module syllabus, as well as the student's "to do" list in their Canvas dashboard.