The Canvas Calendar

The Calendar in Canvas is a global feature and the link to the calendar will display in the global menu. This allows all Canvas users to quickly see the events and assignment due dates for ALL the events and assignments in ALL courses. Additionally, all Canvas users have their own private calendar as well. When instructors create assignments with due dates the assignments will display in course calendar on the students’ calendars.

Making Adjustments to the Course List

To make best use of the Canvas calendar it is important to adjust the course list so the favorite courses will display at the top of the list of calendars in the Canvas calendar. To adjust the course list review the steps below.

1. Point the mouse over Courses in the global menu until the course list displays. In the course list click Customize.
2. The customize window will appear to the right of the course list. Check the boxes next to the courses that are to be favorites. Uncheck the boxes next to courses that should not be part of the favorite list.
3. Click the X to close the customize menu.

Navigating the Calendar

Click Calendar in the global menu. The calendar will display. Review the numbered items below.

1. Calendar Navigation – Options for navigating the calendar.
2. Calendar Views – The calendar can be viewed by week, month, agenda, or scheduler. The scheduler allows instructors to create appointment time slots that students can sign up for directly on the calendar.
3. New entry - Click the plus icon or click on any day to create a new event or assignment. Instructors can also drag and drop any event or assignment to a new day. Each entry will display on the calendar with the outline color of the color assigned to the course.
4. Mini-Calendar – The mini-calendar can also be used to navigate the calendar.
5. Calendar Filter –Courses list with a distinct color box by the course title. Course favorites will appear at the top of the list. Click a color box to hide the course events. When a course’s events and assignments are hidden the color displays in gray. Click again to display the events again.
6. Show undated events – Allows instructors to click and drag undated assignments to the calendar.
7. Calendar Feed – The calendar feed is XML file that allows Canvas users to pull events into another calendar such as their Outlook calendar or Gmail calendar.

The Difference between Assignment and Event Entries

In a Canvas course, instructors can have several activities that students will complete or participate in as of the course. Canvas allows instructors to create events and assignments for a course directly on the calendar. Only assignments are created from Calendar. Discussions and Quizzes are created from their list pages. It is important to understand the differences between events and assignments before creating assignments and events from the calendar.

Creating an Event Shell

Click Calendar in the global menu to display the calendar. Click a day to create a new event. The Edit Event dialog box will appear.

1. Make sure that the Event tab is selected.
2. Create a title for the event.
3. The date box displays the date selected. If the incorrect date was chosen, make the correction by clicking the calendar icon and choosing a different date.
4. If desired, in the from and to boxes type in time of day the event will occur.
5. The drop down menu next to Calendar will default to the personal calendar. Be sure to select the desired course calendar from the Calendar drop down menu. The selected course’s color code will display at the top of the Edit Event dialog box.
6. Under the drop down is a link titled more options (see next page for more details) or click Submit when done.

Important!

Be careful when creating events or assignments from the calendar. Be sure to select the correct course calendar when creating new events. If an event is accidently created on the wrong course calendar or your personal calendar, students will not see the event and the event will need to be recreated on the correct course calendar. Events will always have an event icon when viewing the calendar.

Editing Event Details

When the more options link is clicked, the event page will display in edit mode. Review the numbered items below.

1. Add or update the event title.
2. Use the rich content editor to add text, links and other media to the event page. Use the right sidebar options to link to content in Canvas course, courses files or embed images.
3. Edit date if desired.
4. Edit start and end time if desired.
5. Delete event from the calendar or cancel editing the event.
6. Click Update Event.

Tips

The colors for each course calendar are set differently for each person’s calendar. The color the instructor sees may be a different color on the students’ calendars.

A quick way to see one course’s events and assignments is to view the course syllabus page. All course events and assignments are on the syllabus page.

When a course is copied by default all course events will be copied as well. Instructors to selective pick content when copying a course. Be sure to check the option next to Select specific content on the course copy screen. This will allow instructors to deselect the calendar items that should not be imported.

Creating an Assignment Shell

Click Calendar in the Global menu and click on the desired due day for the new assignment. The Edit Event dialog box will appear.

1. Make sure that the Assignment tab is selected.
2. Create the title for the assignment.
3. The Due box will display the date and time selected. Adjustments can be made by clicking the calendar icon and choosing a different date and/or time. Note: Assignment due dates can be updated on the calendar by clicking and dragging the assignment to a new day; however, if the assignment has Available From and Until dates set, these will not be updated to reflect the new due date. Edit the assignment settings to change the Available From and Until
4. Select the desired course calendar drop down menu. The drop down menu next to Calendar will default to display unhidden courses. If course desired is not listed in the menu, make sure the course is not hidden on the calendar. The selected course’s color code will display at the top of the Edit Event dialog box.
5. Select the desired assignment group the assignment should be listed in on the Assignment page.
6. Click More Options to display the assignment page in edit mode or click Submit to create the assignment shell.

Important!

Creating assignments on the calendar allows instructors to quickly create assignment shells. By default the assignment shells will be setup as No Submission. Be sure to edit each assignment and choose the desired settings. Quizzes or discussions CANNOT be created from the Calendar.

Viewing & Editing Calendar Entries

As assignment content is created in the course, the calendar entries each type assignment content will display with a different icon. (1) Events will display a calendar icon. (2) Assignments (completed offline or online submission) will display with an A+ document icon. (3) Quizzes will display with circle icon with a Q. (4) Discussions will display with thought bubble icon.

Calendar entries can be edited by clicking on an entry in monthly view. A small pop-up window will appear. (1) Click to view the assignment or event page in non-edit mode. (2) Click on the course title to display the course home page. (3) Click Edit will display the assignment or event page in edit mode. (4) Click Delete to remove the assignment or event from the course calendar. (5) Click the X in upper right of pop-up window to dismiss the pop-up window. Note: When creating events your personal calendar is the default option. If events are your personal calendar, these events will need to be recreated on the correct course calendar. Events cannot be moved to another course calendar once the entry has been created.

Additional Support & Resources

The Instructure website has plenty of great resources to help Instructors learn how to use Canvas. Instructors can also interact with the Canvas community as well as submit feature requests and get help with any technical issues.

Instructure Canvas

http://help.instructure.com/home

Parts of this information have been adapted from Canvas Guides by Lakeland College and Instructure.