Tech Tools for Teaching: Canvas Cidi Labs

How to use Canvas for Teachers: Make a Canvas Page using Cidi Lab Tools

My school district uses Canvas as our student facing teaching software platform. For those wondering how to use Canvas, learning a new software program can be daunting! However, it doesn't have to be.

Learning how to set up Canvas and the in's and out's of customizing your own Canvas pages can help you to provide better access to instruction for your students, and allow you to control how you best communicate with your learners. Creating a page is the first step in learning how to set up a Canvas course or create a Canvas module.

To Get Started

Open up a blank page in Canvas...

1. Go into a course and click on "pages."

2. Click "view all pages."

3. Click "add a page."

4. Title your page.

...And open your Cidi Labs toolbar.

Click "edit" on the top right of your page. If your Cidi Labs toolbar does not open automatically, use Alt+Shift+D or click on the rocket ship icon on the upper right hand corner of your screen. Tip: Go to settings and turn on "automatically launch tools" so this toolbar will always show up as soon as you go in to edit any Canvas page.

Take a look at a visual demonstration of all these features

Let's dive in! Building Blocks of a Canvas Page

A Canvas page is composed of a theme and however many content blocks you add to that page.

Step 1: Add a theme to your page.

On the Cidi Labs toolbar, select the following from the menu:

1. Click "Create/Edit Content"

2. Click "Choose a Theme"

3. Hover over the options to see a preview of what each theme would look like. Click on your preference for it to fill in your Canvas page.

Step 2: Add a content block.

1. Click "+Add Content Blocks" from the top of the Cidi Labs toolbar menu.

   1. A selection of pre-made content blocks will appear. Click on these and you can automatically build your page using these templates.

2. To create a blank content block instead of using the template options, type a title for your content block in the space called "Create New Content Block." Click the green + button to add it to your page.

3. You can also simply click the green + button to add a blank content block to the page. A title can always be added later by typing one directly in your content box, highlighting your text, and choosing "Heading 3" from the page's center toolbar.

On the far right, all of your content blocks will show up in the Cidi Labs toolbar menu. If you hover over these, Cidi Labs will highlight the pertaining section. This allows you to verify that a section you wish to delete is the correct one. You can delete a content block section by clicking on the red X.

Remember to hit "Save" at the bottom of the page periodically to avoid loosing your work.

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Let's get fancy! Adding Advanced Elements

~ Not ready for advanced features yet? Scroll down for a Canvas hack! ~

Take your Canvas page from basic to professional looking by adding icons, tabs and accordions, snippets, buttons, images, embedding content from external sources, or customizing the color theme.

Add an Icon

1. Place your mouse cursor before the first letter of your title.

2. On your Cidi Labs toolbar, select "Advanced Elements."

3. Click the option for "Icons."

4. In the toolbar, click "Insert Icon at Cursor."

5. A pop-up box will appear and you can search icons.

6. If you insert an icon and wish to delete it, click in the center of the icon and hit backspace. Be sure to put your cursor at the start of your title again before adding a replacement icon.

Add Accordions/Tabs

1. On your Cidi Labs toolbar, select "Advanced Elements."

2. Click the option for "Accordions | Tabs."

3. Choosing "At Cursor" will allow you to put tabs or accordions inside an existing content block. Choosing "As Block" will create a brand new content block only composed of your tabs or accordions.

4. Choose your design preference: Accordions, Expander, Tabs

5. To add multiple tabs/accordions, continue to click "+Add Panel" until you have enough.

6. Title each tab/accordion as desired. Compose your content below the tab header.

Add Snippets (Pre-styled directions)

1. On your Cidi Labs toolbar, select "Advanced Elements."

2. Click the option for "HTML Snippets."

3. Click the dropdown for "Institutional Snippets." Select your preference from the options provided and customize your directions.

These snippets provide students with visual consistency for similar tasks that you give, such as downloading something, watching a media clip, or simply reading general directions.

Embed Content into a Canvas Page

1. Retrieve the embed code from your external source, such as a Padlet or YouTube video.

2. On your Cidi Labs toolbar, select "Advanced Elements."

3. Click the option for "Embed content."

4. Paste your code into the box provided.

5. Place your cursor in the appropriate area on your Canvas page. Then click "insert at cursor."

Embedding content allows your students to interact with other media directly on Canvas. For instance, students can add to an embedded Padlet directly from your Canvas page--there is no need for them to move off your site and go to Padlet.com!

Change your Theme's Color Scheme

1. On your Cidi Labs toolbar, select "Advanced Elements."

2. Click the option for "Customize the style."

3. Click the option for "Colors for banner theme."

4. Click on the color block next to each row and select the color you prefer from the color palettes provided.

Change Colors of Section Headers

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1. Place your cursor in the section you wish to change.

2. On the very top of the Cidi Labs toolbar, click the icon that looks like a target.

3. Color options will appear on the toolbar for you to choose from.

Create a Navigation Button

Buttons allow students to navigate to your other Canvas pages from their current location.

1. Type the name of the page you wish for students to go to directly in your Canvas page's content block.

2. Hyperlink your word/phrase to the page you wish it to navigate to.

   1. To do this, highlight your word/phrase.

   2. In the center page toolbar, click the link icon and select "Course Links."

   3. Select "Pages" and pick the appropriate Canvas page to form the link.

   4. (Note: You must have already created the other Canvas page you want to have students navigate to.)

3. Keep your word/phrase highlighted. On the very top of the Cidi Labs toolbar, click the icon that looks like a target.

4. Because you have already made the hyperlink, the Cidi Labs toolbar will give you options to change the basic hyperlink into various buttons.

5. The toolbar allows you to choose a pre-set button style. You can also customize the size and color by scrolling down on the toolbar and selecting these advanced features.

Add an Image to your Header

1. Place your cursor at the end of your page's header title and hit enter.

2. On the center page toolbar, select the icon to add an image.

3. Click "Upload image." (Note: You should already have the image saved to your computer, ready to upload.) Click submit.

4. The image will insert as a large block. To make it smaller, grab the corners and shrink it down to resize.

5. On the center page toolbar, click the alignment tab to center the image.

6. With the image still selected, go to the very top of the Cidi Labs toolbar and click the icon that looks like a target.

7. The Cidi Labs toolbar menu will give you options to style your photo as desired.

Voila! Enjoy professional looking, student friendly Canvas pages!

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Not ready for advanced features yet? Try this Canvas hack!

Embed a Google Doc

Embedding a Google doc is a simple way to update content on your Canvas page...without actually editing anything on Canvas. I've used a Google doc to create a daily agenda. I embed it on my Canvas homepage for students to access it, but I update it in Google Drive each day! Embedding a Google doc is a one-time task that can streamline your teaching tasks.

1. Create your Google doc and update the permissions so anyone can view it.

2. On your Canvas page, place your cursor wherever you'd like the Google doc to insert.

3. On your Canvas page's center toolbar, click the Google Drive icon.

4. Click "Select File."

5. Choose the appropriate Canvas page and click "Add."