How to Use Assignments in Your Course

Introduction

Assignments in Canvas can be used to challenge students' understanding and help assess competency by using a variety of media. The Assignments page shows students all of the Assignments that will be expected of them and how many points each is worth. Assignments can be assigned to everyone in the course or differentiated by section or user.

Tutorial

302 - Assignments Overview (Instructors) from the Instructure Canvas Community

Some things to know about Assignments include:

  • Graded Assignments add columns to the Canvas Gradebook
  • All about the Settings: Edit the assignment settings to meet your needs
    • You can use the "On Paper" or "No Submission" to enter grades for classroom work
    • You can have students submit work online, such as by typing directly in Canvas or uploading a file from their desktop or Google Drive
    • If you have students submit essays online, you can have that work checked by Turnitin
  • Populates Calendar/sends Notifications: If you enter a due date for the assignment, this due date will automatically show up in the Syllabus, Calendar and on the "To-Do" list on the Home Page

You can also do the following when creating Assignments:

  • Restrict file types in online submissions
  • Easily accept multimedia assignments  
  • Add a rubric for clear student expectations and easy grading 
  • Easily duplicate Assignments from the selector in Module view
  • Engage students in expectations with Peer Review