Overview
Canvas is Middlebury’s learning management system, and is used widely by faculty and students. Faculty who choose to use the platform can provision Canvas sites via Course Hub. Please note that Canvas sites are not created automatically.
Canvas allows you to:
- Conduct online, asynchronous discussions with your students;
- Collect assignments, provide feedback, and post grades;
- Post links; upload documents, videos, audio files, and more;
- Post deadlines and reminders through the calendar and announcements;
- Manage group work assignments;
- Integrate video conferencing with individual students, a whole class, or guest speakers;
- Communicate easily with the whole class, specific groups, or individual students.
Canvas also has a tools for helping with page design called DesignPlus, which are covered on a separate page, along with integrated apps (called LTIs), also covered on a separate page.
Log in to Your Account
All Middlebury faculty, students, and staff can log into Canvas using their Middlebury credentials.
Logging in to your account:
- Go to middlebury.instructure.com.
- Enter your Middlebury credentials
You can also access Canvas from your mobile devices via the Canvas app:
Set Up a Canvas Site and Add Participants
Here are some key resources to get you started with Canvas and setting up a Canvas site:
- Create a New Canvas Site with Course Hub
- Share a Canvas Site between Multiple Course Sections (aka Connecting Canvas sites)
- Import a Middlebury template from the Canvas Commons
- Import Content from One Canvas Site to Another
- Request a Canvas Site for Co-curricular, Administrative, or Other Purposes
There are a number of situations where faculty want to add a person to a course or allow access beyond the standard semester dates. You might want to allow a colleague to see how you structure your course. You might have a student who needs access to a course that’s closed to deal with an incomplete. Here are some ways to help make that possible, and some privacy and security considerations to keep in mind.
User Roles & Permissions
There is a common set of course level user roles and permission profiles available in Canvas. These roles define the levels of access and functionality within a course site. The Student and Teacher role are the most common roles. These are automatically provisioned by Course Hub for degree program courses listed in Banner. Other custom roles need to be manually assigned.
Below is brief overview of roles and their corresponding permissions. Learn more about roles and permissions available in Canvas.
Student: permitted to interact with course materials, submit assignments, and view their own grades. Student permissions are restricted though instructors may also grant other permissions to students.
Teacher: complete course-level admin and editing permissions with control over course settings, instructional design, and management of student assessment data.
Assessment/Viewer: restricted permissions similar to the student role, with the exception of view only access to all course grades. This role is most commonly used with the Academic Integrity Tutorial in Canvas, so that instructors may see the results of the tutorial for the students in their class.
TA: permissions similar to teachers except that a TA does not have have access to SIS (student information system) data. The TA role is defined to support teachers in management of course materials and includes access to the student grading function. For instructors seeking a non-grading TA function, see the Designer role below.
Auxiliary Grader: permissions limited to supporting course grading activities. This role is most commonly used when someone is hired to help with grading in large courses.
Designer: permitted to access and create course content, including announcements, assignments, discussions, and quizzes. Like the TA, the Designer role excludes access to student information system data and course analytics. However, Designers cannot view or edit grades.
Observer: similar to the student role, but restricted to viewing course content and interactions.
Export Work from Canvas
Instructors and students are encouraged to download copies of their work at the end of every term. Work can be exported even after the Canvas site has been placed in a read-only state. Learn what steps you need to take to export your Canvas data.
Self-Paced Canvas Learning Materials
- This self-guided Canvas course is designed to help Middlebury students get to know Canvas. While Instructure—the makers of Canvas LMS—provides guides for Canvas users (both instructors and learners), this course provides a step-by-step tour of the most common learning management features.
Faculty Introduction to Teaching with Canvas
- Follow this link to login to Middlebury Canvas and access the self-guided resource with a focus on teaching in the Canvas environment. Working through this Canvas resource is highly recommended for all faculty new to the platform.
- Follow this link to access a library of video tutorials for Canvas for faculty and students. (Student videos can be helpful to see what your student will see based on different configurations in Canvas and can serve as support for questions they might have.)
Troubleshooting & Help
For faculty tech support/trouble shooting, please refer to Instructure’s 24/7 phone [+1-833-890-4166] and real-time chat support available to via the Help tab when logged into Canvas.
Additional resources include:
You can also contact DLINQ with questions and/or request a one-on-one consultation with a member of the DLINQ staff.
Need help?
For technical support for Canvas, search the ITS Knowledge Base or submit a help ticket here.
For pedagogical support for Canvas, schedule a consultation with a DLINQ team member.
This tool is available in Canvas.
