Administering Tests and Quizzes

As you prepare for the upcoming semester, keep in mind that even if you’re teaching 100% in-person, some of your students may not be able to attend. We’ve provided information on several topics around assessment that we thought you may be interested in. Use the tabs below to toggle between topics.

Quick Links to Sections on this Page

Low vs. High Stake and Alternative Assessments

Traditional “Scantron” Exam format

How to make, modify, and edit quizzes in Canvas – Guide

If you plan on putting assessments online, apart from the technical steps required, there is a planning element as well. Will you do a few exams? Multiple smaller assessments? A mix of both? As you think about this, consider the items below.

  • Regardless of the number of assessments you have, feedback for both correct and incorrect answers is the most beneficial to student learning
  • Students learn more from doing information recall than just studying – a quiz can be more effective than just studying
  • Students learn more through repeated assessment in comparison to one assessment
  • Student long-term recall is lower when assessment immediately follows the presentation of information
    Brame & BIel, 2015     Roediger & Butler

How does one apply these ideas?

Alternative Assessment

In alternative assessment, students are responsible for creating their own response to an assignment or examination. They can be useful in measuring student application of learning, as an alternative to traditional assessment, and in “one-off” student assessment situations. Alternative assessments can be used at any point in the class, or they can be used as a final assessment. There are many types of alternative assessments including essay responses, oral presentations, portfolios of compiled work, short answer questions and demonstrations of a concept/strategy.

Ten specific examples of alternative assessments, provided by Rutgers Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology (presentation), are below along with some options categorized by “bandwidth,” in this case referring to internet/computer bandwidth or impact.

Alternative Assessment Examples +1 – Low Bandwidth +1 – High Bandwidth
Series of quizzes: offer a low-stakes opportunity for students to demonstrate mastery of material, and give you ongoing information about student understanding. Frequent quizzing has also been shown to reinforce student understanding. Canvas can randomize questions in quizzes, making cheating more difficult. Canvas Quizzes are probably the easiest way to incorporate resilient low-stakes assessments. If meeting in person and desirable, paper quizzes could be distributed.
Student-developed quiz questions: writing quiz questions both builds and demonstrates students’ understanding of the material. This assignment can be structured as a collaborative group activity. Make use of Canvas’s Group tool, allowing students a collaborative space and discussion area to work together. Other collaborative options include shared documents (Google Docs, etc.), or team-selected platforms. Group meetings using Microsoft Teams, Collaborate Ultra, or other synchronous meeting software.
Open-book, take-home assessments: many disciplines already have a tradition of take-home exams, typically involving more conceptual or applied questions that students cannot quickly look up in a textbook. Make use of the online submission option in Canvas “Assignments” to allow remote students an opportunity to submit their work digitally.
Professional presentations or demonstrations: students can create audiovisual presentations using a variety of media, PowerPoint, Prezi, and other tools. Example Rubric Students not able to present in person can do attach their presentations in file format to Assignments or Discussions in Canvas, or link to their cloud-hosted presentation (e.g. Prezi). Students could convert a PowerPoint with audio to a video and share that, record themselves presenting with Kaltura My Media, or do a live presentation in Collaborate Ultra or Teams.
Annotated anthology or bibliography: this project gives students choice in selecting works while assessing their higher-order abilities to evaluate sources, compare multiple perspectives, and provide rationales for their choices. Example Rubric Student share their digital annotated bibliographies using Zotero, a shared document (e.g. Google Doc or Word Online), through Discussions, or as an Assignment.
Fact sheet: students create a one-page fact sheet on a topic. Students must select relevant facts and explain them clearly and concisely. Example Rubric Student share their fact sheets using a shared document (e.g. Google Doc or Word Online), through Discussions, or as an Assignment.
Peer– and self-review activity: these allow for personal reflection on learning and peer-to-peer instruction, both of which reinforce and deepen understanding. Students do need instruction in the task of providing constructive feedback. Targeted rubrics laying out expectations for student work are very helpful. Example Rubric Make use of Canvas’s Peer-grading features in Assignments and Discussions . Provide a Canvas-integrated rubric to your students to help in assessment. Encourage the use of the feedback capabilities.

Consider Assignments for self-reflection activities.

 Video recorded messages add a human touch to reflection and feedback. Canvas Assignments and Discussions allow students to leave “Media Comments” for their peers. VoiceThread is another option.
E-Portfolio: a student-selected portfolio of work from the semester. Students compile their best or representative work from the semester, writing a critical introduction to the portfolio and a brief introduction to each piece. Example Rubric Canvas has a built-in portfolio tool. Some departments may subscribe to their own, as well.

Student documentation 

Canvas overview 

 Incorporating elements of digital storytelling can add a personal touch to portfolios.
Non-Traditional Paper or Project: creative assignments work best when they have some “real-world” relevance and offer students some choice in delivery format. Examples: students submitting their op-ed piece on a topic, writing a memo or briefing to Assignments. Examples: students hosting a “webinar” for the class, create a brief documentary or podcast, create a “news report” in VoiceThread or Discussions.
Group Project: group projects require students to demonstrate mastery of subject matter and develop their ability to communicate and work collaboratively. It is crucial to make your assessment criteria and grading scheme clear, and to ensure that there are clear, explicit expectations for each team member. Assessment,  Example Rubric Some collaboration tools include Canvas Groups (including group workspaces and discussions), shared documents for collaboration (Word Online, Google Docs), Slack, MS Teams High bandwidth tools might include synchronous meetings (Teams, Collaborate Ultra), asynchronous video or audio messages with VoiceThread

Recognizing Disruptions

Recognizing Disruption

There’s a natural inclination to expect students to be able to participate in class, regardless of the “modality” or method in which students engage with the course. When teaching and learning in an online environment in previous years, this meant having a reliable internet connection, access to a computer, and the ability to install and run whatever software was required for the class. With the flexibility required during COVID-19, this is no longer a safe assumption.

Although the Spring semester, and the quick-pivot to online instruction, is behind us, COVID-19 is still with us and so are alternative attendance scenarios. There are some steps you can take before your course begins to be better situated to accommodate disrupted students.

  1. Consider having your “online core” learning resources, activities, and assessments in place. This way you’ll be prepared when a student cannot attend in the expected learning environment, and they won’t feel internal pressure to attend when it’s difficult or they are unable to.
  2. Take advantage of the flexibility within Canvas when possible. This could mean not having “end dates” on assignments that normally would have a deadline. By not having an “end date,” it allows students to hand in work later without needing special accommodations. Including a “due date” will still put the assignment on their calendars and to-do lists. Another example would be for group work in Canvas. You could create groups for students that plan on attending in-person and those that do not, and allow them to self-enroll in those groups instead of you assigning them. More specific examples and help implementing them are listed below.
  3. Familiarize yourself with support resources available to your students if you’re not already aware of them. Many instructors are familiar with the tutoring help The Learning Center provides, but some are not aware that The Learning Center provides access to e-tutoring through a partnership with Brainfuse. If you’re unfamiliar with the Incomplete grades process, you may also want to familiarize yourself with its requirements and process. There’s a bureaucratic element, described in the Catalog.There is also a separate technical element required in Canvas. To grant extended access to a student or your entire class in Canvas, see the links below.

How can we accommodate students, and what other resources are available? Consider the following table.

Scenario Accommodation or Resource
Connecting students to tutoring The Learning Center
Connecting students to CARES resources Emergency Funding 
Connecting students with Counseling and Health Counseling and Health 
Giving “Incomplete” access to a course in Canvas Extend Student Access
Modifying a course “end date” in Canvas for an entire class See Course Dates section
Extending Assignment or Assessment deadlines in Canvas FSU guide 
Granting extra time on Quizzes in Canvas Tufts guide
Granting another attempt on a Quiz in Canvas Add Extra Attempt

Exam Security Concerns

Exam Security Concerns

The following document was created by the Canvas Community to help instructors better understand quiz settings and how they can be used to enhance quiz security. In many cases locking down a quiz as much as possible (ex: not allowing students to review what they got wrong on a quiz) can hinder student learning, so be sure to think through the positives, negatives, and the goals of the quiz before securing it. There is no way (in class or online) to guarantee that students aren’t cheating, but to maximize quiz security there are various ways you can apply your quiz settings and availability.

Below are is a list of quiz settings and information on how they can be used to maximize your quiz security. For more information on this topic see the following CanvasLIVE webinar – Feel Secure about Your Relationship with Quizzes

Question Groups – Create question groups to randomize quiz questions. The larger the number of questions in the question group (compared to the number randomly being picked for the quiz) the more secure the quiz. If there are a limited number of quiz questions and all of them are needed for the quiz then question groups can still be used to randomize the order of the questions. By using question groups it is unlikely that students will get the same questions or the same questions in the same order.

Question Groups in Canvas

Shuffle Answers – This is a checkbox option under quiz settings and will randomize the order of the question’s answer choices. By using “shuffle answers” students may get the same quiz question(s), but their answer options probably won’t be in the same order. **If your quiz question has an answer like “all of the above/below” or “answer A & C” do not use the “shuffle answer” setting.**

The shuffle answers checkbox

Time limit – This is a checkbox option under quiz settings and limits the amount of time students have to take a quiz. When deciding on a time limit try to estimate the average time a student should need to answer each question – taking into account different types of quiz questions. If quizzes are given in a non-proctored environment the time limit can be used to cut down on the amount of time students have to look up question answers and/or share the questions with other students. If a student needs extended test time this can be added per individual student under the Moderate Quiz settings.

The time limit option

Allow Multiple Attempts – This is a checkbox setting that allows students to have multiple attempts to take a quiz. From the multiple attempts Instructors can decide which quiz score to keep: Highest, Latest, or Average. If the number of allowed attempts is left blank, then students will have unlimited attempts that would only be stopped by the “Until” date/time. In general unless there is a large question bank of questions and/or your goal is mastery of the content, multiple quiz attempts does not create a secure quiz environment.

Multiple attempts options

Let Students See Their Quiz Responses – This is a checkbox option under quiz settings and after a student submits a quiz allows them to see (1) the quiz questions & answer options, (2) the answer options the student selected, (3) if they got a question incorrect or partially incorrect, and (4) ALL question feedback. This information will be shown regardless of the due & until dates and even if the correct answers are NOT made available (via the “Let Students see the Correct Answers” setting). For enhanced quiz security leave this box unchecked altogether or leave it unchecked until after the “Due’ and ‘Until’ date(s).

The following options only appear if the “Let Students See Their Quiz Responses” box checked:

The options an instructor can set regarding what students can see

Only After Their Last Attempt – This checkbox option only shows up if the quiz is set to allow multiple attempts with a specific number of attempts; this option does not show up if there are unlimited attempts. If this box is checked students will NOT be able to see any quiz results other than the score they got on each quiz attempt until they take the quiz for the last time (as designated by the number of allowed attempts). After they take the quiz for the last time the student will then be able to see (1) the quiz questions & answer options, (2) the answer options the student selected, (3) if they got a question incorrect or partially incorrect, and (4) ALL question feedback. If you are using multiple attempts, this is the best setting to use to keep the quiz secure. Yet, this information can’t be controlled by a date/time, so a student could use all their attempts, get the question information, and then share the information before the due/until date(s).

Only Once After Each Attempt – This checkbox option  allows students to see (1) the quiz questions & answer options, (2) the answer options the student selected, (3) if they got a question incorrect or partially incorrect, and (4) ALL question feedback, but only ONCE after they have submitted a quiz. In a proctored environment this is a useful setting because students will get to see feedback from the quiz, but it is only visible immediately after submitting the quiz. If the student goes back to the quiz they will see their score for the quiz, but none of the other quiz information (1-4 above) will be visible.

Let Students see the Correct Answers – This checkbox option allows students to see the correct answers to quiz questions. If this box is checked students will have access to (1) the quiz questions & answer options, (2) the answer options the student selected, (3) which answer option was correct, and (4) all question feedback. For enhanced quiz security the best option is to leave this box unchecked (along with the “Let Students See their Quiz Responses” option) until after the “Due” and “Until” dates and then also limit how long the students can view the correct answers.

Only After Their Last Attempt – this checkbox option under “Let Students see the Correct Answers” only shows up if the quiz is set to allow multiple attempts with a specific number of attempts; this option does not show up if there are unlimited attempts. If this box is checked students will NOT be able to see which answer options were correct until after their last attempt (as designated by the number of allowed attempts). After they take the quiz for the last time the student will be able to access (1) the quiz questions & answer options, (2) the answer options the student selected, (3) which answer option was correct, and (4) all question feedback for as long as designated. For enhanced quiz security the best option is to leave this box unchecked (along with the “Let Students See their Quiz Responses” option) until after the “Due” and “Until” dates and then also limit how long the students can view the correct answers. Note: This setting also overrides the “Show Correct Answers at” date. If you want correct answers to be released or hidden on a certain date/time or do NOT check this box.

Show/Hide Correct Answers at – this option allows students to see the correct answers to quiz questions starting at the designated “show” time and hidden again at the designated “hide” time. The show and hide options can be used independently of each other or together to create a window of when correct answers are visible to students. If one or both dates are provided students will have access to (1) the quiz questions & answer options, (2) the answer options the student selected, (3) which answer option was correct, and (4) all question feedback – during the time frame designated by the show/hide dates/times. For enhanced quiz security the best option is not use this until after the “Due” and “Until” dates and then also limit how long the students can view the correct answers. Note: If you want to use the show/hide correct answers option then do NOT check the “only after their last attempt” box directly above it, it will override your date settings and make quiz answers visible to students after their last attempt.

Show One Question At a Time – This is a checkbox option under quiz settings and allows students to only see one quiz question at a time. It is recommended to use this feature in conjunction with the “Lock Questions after Answering” option. Used together, it requires the student to answer each individual question before moving on and prevents students from going back and changing their answer. **Students do NOT like getting one question at a time and especially if they are prevented from going back and changing their answers, so make sure you really want to use this option before implementing.**

The option to show one question at a time

Require an access code – This is a checkbox option under quiz settings and prevents students from taking the quiz without the correct code. This feature can be used to make sure students are taking the quiz at a specific time or in a certain location; this works especially well for students who need to take a test in the Testing Center or with a proctor. This setting can also be used if students have started taking an untimed quiz in class (or a proctored environment) and don’t finish it in one class period and need to come back to class to finish it. The Instructor can add (or change) the access code after the quiz has started and it will completely lock the students out of the quiz until the student enters in the new access code.

The option to set an access code

Filter IP Addresses – This is a checkbox option under quiz settings that can be used to make sure students are taking the quiz in a specific location. This works especially well for students who need to take a quiz in the Testing Center or with a proctor in a secure environment. **To use this option you will need to talk to your Canvas Admins so they can coordinate things.**

Quiz Availability

In general to maximize quiz security it is best to have a quiz open the least amount of time as possible. Below is information on the quiz availability options and how they can be used to enhance quiz security.

quiz availability options

Assign to – In courses with multiple sections this feature allows instructors to designate the availability settings by course section or individual student(s). In general, unless you have students in different sections taking the quiz at different days/times, this would be left as “Everyone” (which is the default). This feature can’t be used with students who need testing accommodations or who are in different groups. For students who need different availability than the rest of the class it is recommended to manually unlock the quiz using the Moderate Quiz settings in conjunction with an Access Code.

Due – This is the day and time that the quiz is due. This does not stop students from taking a quiz, but quizzes submitted after the Due date will be marked as late in Speedgrader and in the Gradebook. Recommended practices for quiz security are to not allow students to take a quiz after the Due date; this can be done by making the Due date and Until date the same. If students are allowed to take quizzes after the “Due” date, then leave the “Until” date blank or set to the furthest day/time late submissions are allowed.

Available From – This is the day and time the quiz becomes available to students. Students will not be able to access the quiz before this day and time unless the quiz has been manually unlocked; manually unlocked is available under the Moderate Quiz settings. In general if a student or students are taking the quiz early the time will need to be set to when the first group of students is taking the quiz. This is also when it’s a good idea to use the “Require an Access Code” option to keep the rest of the students out of the quiz until they should have access to it. **If a quiz is not published (has a gray cloud instead of green) then students WILL NOT be able to access or even see the quiz, even after the “Available From” date.**

Until – This is the day/time that the students will no longer be able to take the quiz. If the Until day/time is set beyond the “Due” date” students will still be able to take the quiz until the “Until” date, but it will show up as “late” in SpeedGrader and the gradebook. If a student is in taking a quiz Canvas will auto-submit the quiz at the “Until” date/time regardless of whether the student is in taking the quiz or not. If there is no “Until” date set then the quiz will not auto-submit until the end of the course. For enhanced security instructors should set the “Until” date to be the same as the “Due” date because it prevents students from taking the quiz after it is due. Yet, this can also cut students off in the middle of taking the quiz because the “Until” date will automatically submit the quiz.

Important Message: Quiz availability (dates/times) have NOTHING to do with whether a student can view their quiz results. The ONLY way to stop students from viewing their quiz results is to have the “Let Students See their Quiz Responses” and “Show which answers were correct” boxes UNCHECKED. If you want students to initially see their quiz results, these boxes can be checked and set to close once you no longer want students to view the quiz results.

Preventing Students from Viewing Quiz Scores

The only way to prevent students from viewing their quiz score at the end of a quiz is to hide the quiz scores before the students take the quiz. Please note though, hiding an assignment will override your other quiz settings related to quiz feedback. Here’s where you can hide grades for a quiz or set up a grades posting policy.

hide grades

Students will not see any quiz feedback including their responses to questions or the correct answers. Instead students will only get this message (see image below).

What students see for a muted quiz

Once the quiz is hidden, students will be able to see/access quiz feedback based on the the quiz settings.

For more information on how to mute or unmute quizzes see the following guides – How do I mute or unmute an assignment in SpeedGrader? & How do I mute or unmute an assignment in the Gradebook?

An Online Core

What is an online core?

An online core is the center around which your course pivots between the face-to-face and distance environment. Even if you are teaching fully online, you are likely bringing a face-to-face course to the online environment. The purpose of the online core is enable all your learners to achieve full course citizenship regardless of how they are able to participate. There are three elements to the core: communication, content, and assessments.

Communication refers to the ways in which your learners will connect with you and with their fellow students.

Content is the “what” your class is trying to teach. It includes the ideas, skills, and knowledge your course is trying to convey to learners. Content also implies a medium: readings, videos, podcasts, etc.

Assessments refer to the summative – high-stakes, graded – and formative – lower stakes, informal – ways that you will know that students have achieved their learning outcomes.

At the core of the online core

Equivalence is central to the online core. With a course’s essential statement and objectives/learning outcomes in mind, all students should have an equivalent experience. For example, watching a lecture online that other students experienced face-to-face is an equivalent experience if you also build in a way for the online students to ask questions, get clarification, and interact with activities that the face-to-face students experienced, such as a think-pair-share. A core is about building citizenship in your class for all students. While not all students will access your course in the same way, they should have the ability to participate fully. Having multiple means for representing key course concepts means that students who aren’t able to attend or have poor internet connectivity will be able to have at least one way to access course content that is workable for them. From an instructor’s point of view, having multiple means to access content shifts the relationship with the student. Where before the student unable to attend may have seemed like an obstacle to surmount or a problem to solve, now they have become a full member of the class.

This seems really overwhelming… how can I make this manageable?

It is true that adding multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement to all course elements is a daunting (and probably foolish) task. Rather than tackling everything in your course, we recommend that you adopt a “plus-1” approach. Coined by Thomas Tobin and Kirsten Behling, the plus-1 approach encourages instructors to think of the “pinch points” or elements that will disproportionately inhibit the experience of learners in a course. Then add another means of representation, expression, or engagement to shore up those pinch points.

During this continued time of COVID and related precautions, we encourage you to adapt the plus-1 approach to think about all the learning environments your course will serve (face-to-face, mask-to-mask, online, synchronous online, etc.) and look for places where universal design can alleviate the sting of your pinch points.

For example, what would happen if students could not attend a synchronous online session? Perhaps you could add in a way for students to download and watch your video (multiple means of representation) and participate in the class discussion through Canvas (engagement).

How do I add a “plus-1” element?

One way to answer this question is to go to the National Center for Universal Design website which has examples for how to meet the benchmarks for representation, expression, and engagement. These can be useful in brainstorming ways that will work in your class to add universal design elements.

Another way to answer this question is to ask your colleagues and CATL for recommendations.

Types of cores

Not all cores will be the same. At one end of the spectrum will be courses where a face-to-face element is central to the experience of the class. First-year experience classes try to introduce students to the campus itself. Lab courses rely on manipulating specialized equipment. Ensembles build their sound on the blending of voices or instruments. The core for these courses will consider how to make the best use of the physically distant face-to-face environment; how to do as much work online to maximize the face-to-face time; and how to pivot online should we experience another shutdown like last Spring.

At the other end of the spectrum are those classes which do not necessarily require face-to-face interaction. For these classes, it will be important to move the course’s center of gravity to the online environment.

Many courses will fall somewhere in the middle between these two poles. Regardless of the listing in the schedule of classes, building your content, communication, and assessments online will give you maximum flexibility to deal with whatever comes our way this fall.

Think-Pair-Share

What is it?

Think-Pair-Share is a technique where the instructor poses a question to the whole class and asks students “think” on their own for a short period of time. Then the instructor asks students to “pair” up with a partner or in a small group for another brief window to share what they were thinking on their own. Finally, the instructor brings everyone back together and asks for a reporter from the pair or small group to “share” what their group discussed. See another guide from Kent State.

When to use it?

Think-Pair-Share is an effective strategy to help students grapple with difficult material in a low-stakes activity. It is also particularly useful when students may be introverted or have a difficult time speaking in front of large groups.

Modalities Examples:

  • In person, Hybrid, or Blended: Use the method above to implement this strategy for days when you meet with your students in person.
  • Interactive Video: Instructors might wish to try using chat features of a web meeting tool during the synchronous meeting time to implement a “Think-Pair-Share” activity. This will ensure parity between groups–especially if some locations have only one student.
  • Virtual Classroom: Instructors might ask students to do this activity in small groups using Microsoft Teams or Zoom breakout rooms for the “Pair” portion, and then much like the “in-person” method, request that a representative from the small group share out with all present during the web meeting (via chat, audio, or audio & video).
  • In-person with streaming capabilities: An instructor might wish to use the in-person method for the synchronous, in-person meeting, and then also use the online method (below) for students who are attending remotely.
  • Online: An instructor might use Canvas discussion groups with restricted topics to randomly or strategically assign pairs of students or small groups to discuss what they were thinking on their own, then have another discussion board that is open to the whole class, to which a student from each pair or small group could report out. Instructors might wish to require the multiple due dates for each stage (e.g. “Think” on Monday after some assigned readings/lecture material; “Pair” due on Tuesday at 11:59 PM; “Share” due on Friday at 11:59).

Muddiest Point

What is it?

The “muddiest point” activity is meant to be a quick exercise where an instructor asks students to jot down the most confusing or difficult to understand part of a lesson, lecture, reading, or other instructional material for a given amount of time. It can be anonymous or identified, and is scalable for synchronous and asynchronous modalities.

This activity does a few things: provides the instructor with a snapshot of understanding and comprehension or misdirection where they might wish to clarify the muddiest point if they’re seeing it crop up in multiples. It can also be an opportunity for students to perform a metacognitive exercise to assess their own understanding of instructional materials.

When to use it?

The “muddiest point” activity can be useful when students are encountering new material and instructors are looking for a formative exercise to assess for understanding, analysis, or evaluation.

Modalities Examples

  • In-person, Hybrid, or Blended: At the beginning of class, an instructor can ask students to write down on a sheet of paper one thing they learned from the new material, and one thing about which they are still unsure. The instructor can tell the students the sheet will be collected at the end of class, but they can add to or alter the responses as the class time unfolds. At the end of class, the instructor should ask students to hand in their sheet of paper, and the instructor can review them after class. At the start of the next class or using a Canvas announcement/email/other messaging tool, the instructor can provide a summary and response to some of the muddiest points if a pattern arises.
  • Interactive Video: An instructor might ask students to submit an ungraded Canvas survey the night before each class meeting with their “muddiest point” and after the instructor has reviewed the responses they might provide a summary and response via a Canvas announcement/email/other messaging tool. If the instructor is able to review the questions before the next class they could begin with clarifying those questions. This is a good option if the instructor has time to review responses before the next class meeting and allows students to pose questions to the instructor without the pressure of other students knowing what their questions are; however, if the instructor isn’t able to review the questions before class they could provide that summary and responses to questions using a Canvas announcement/email/other messaging tool.
  • Virtual Classroom: If an instructor wishes for student questions to remain anonymous, at the start of the meeting time they might ask students to send them a message via the chat with their “muddiest point” articulated. If an instructor would like for students to see each other’s questions, they might ask students to respond with their “muddiest point” using the chat feature in Teams or Zoom. An instructor could also tell students that if they have the same question as someone else they can “like” that student’s chat message. In the moment, or at the start of the next class, or using a Canvas announcement/email/other messaging tool, an instructor could provide a summary and response to some of the muddiest points.
  • In-person with streaming capabilities: An instructor might ask students to submit an ungraded Canvas survey the night before each class meeting with their “muddiest point” regardless of whether they are attending the in-person meeting to create equitable opportunities for in-person and remote students. After the instructor has reviewed the responses they might provide a summary and response via a Canvas announcement/email/other messaging tool. If the instructor is able to review the questions before the next class, they could begin with clarifying those questions in-person, but also ensure the response is available to those who are attending remotely via some other communication like a Canvas announcement/email/other messaging tool.
  • Online: An instructor might ask students to respond to a Canvas discussion, similar to “Raise Your Hand,” but associated with a week, unit, module, or chapter. This may allow other students to respond to questions and gives the instructor a place to directly reply to questions that may require more nuance than a summary “announcement.” Alternatively, an instructor could post a link to a collaborative document for that week, unit, module, or chapter and ask students to post their “muddiest points” there.

Managing Course Pacing and Student Access (Canvas)

As you’re organizing your course content, you should also consider how you would like students to move through your course in terms of pacing. Generally speaking, online courses are built to be more adaptable than face-to-face classes in order to accommodate students’ work and class schedules, as well as other commitments like childcare. That being said, there is also research that supports creating a structure for student pacing in an online environment using the conditional release of content (Fisher, L., Brinthaupt, T. M., Gardner, J., & Raffo, D., 2015). Choosing the right pacing style is a balancing act between what will foster the best student learning for your content area, while also delivering on the promise of self-paced learning and the added flexibility that students have come to expect from online courses.

Module access

By default, all published content is visible to students from the start of the class. While this is good for transparency with your students, it also means that students can work on assignments out of order or work ahead. If this is not your intention, one option to manage student pacing is a conditional release, in which each module will automatically unlock when a student fulfills certain conditions. This is accomplished in Canvas by adding prerequisites and/or requirements to each module. These conditions can vary from simple and broad (view all items in Module 2) to assessment-based and highly specific (complete ‘Lab Safety Quiz’ with a score of at least 8 out of 10). The conditional release allows students to work at their own pace, while also encouraging (or requiring) students to demonstrate mastery of an area before moving along.

A different way to manage student pacing is to lock modules based on date, or scheduled release. This could be helpful if there is timely content that needs to be delivered before a student can move along to the next unit, like a synchronous class session or feedback on an assignment. For this method, each module becomes available to students at the same time.

Additionally, content can also be manually released if the instructor chooses to manually publish each module when they feel the class is ready to move along.

Lastly, there is open visibility, in which instructional content is visible for the entirety of the course (though instructors can still manage students’ ability to submit to assignments, discussions, and quizzes if they have availability dates set, detailed further down the page).

The table below compares some of the upsides and drawbacks of conditional release, scheduled release, manual release, and open visibility of course content.

Pacing Style Description Pros Cons
Conditional

Release

 Each module becomes available to a student once they meet the predetermined conditions.
  • Students can work at their own pace.
  • Allows students to focus on one unit at a time.
  • Students are required to either engage with all content (at a minimum) or demonstrate mastery in an area before moving along.
  • Heavily reliant on auto-graded assessments.
  • Could cause additional stress if a student falls behind and is unable to move along/stuck.
  • Limited/no collaborative opportunities.
  • Limited/no class discussions.
Scheduled

Release

 Each module becomes available to all students at a certain date and time.
  • All students move through content in the course at the same pace.
  • Allows students to focus on one unit at a time.
  • Less flexible for students.
Manual

Release

 Each module is available to all students once an instructor manually publishes it.
  • All students move through content in the course at the same pace.
  • Allows students to focus on one unit at a time.
  • Allows the instructor to decide when to move along based on the gauged understanding and needs of the class as a whole.
  • Less flexible for students.
  • Requires instructors to remember to publish each module manually.
Open

Visibility

 All modules are available to all students for the entirety of the course.
  • Students can work at their own pace.
  • Instructors can still choose to manually publish certain materials and restrict access to submit to assignments, discussions, and quizzes with open/close dates.
  • Allows for the greatest degree of transparency (students know exactly what to expect in terms of future assignments, etc.).
  • Students may rush through content without fully engaging with all the materials.
  • Students may get overwhelmed by the amount of material, especially if they fall behind.

Assignment and Assessment Access

If you are using an open visibility model for your course, you can still control students’ access to things like assignments and quizzes if you so chose. When deciding on how long students should have access to an assignment or other assessment, consider allowing a window of at least a few days so students can properly plan when to complete their assignments and assessments.

The first option for limiting student access is to simply leave select materials unpublished until you would like students to be able to see them, similar to the Manual Release method for module delivery. When an item is unpublished, it is completely invisible and inaccessible to students. This method requires you to be proactive in your communication with your students, as students are not automatically notified when you publish an item in Canvas. Note that if you unpublish an activity that students have already submitted for a grade, the activity will be excluded from students’ grade calculations until you re-publish the item.

If you would like the process for managing student access to be more automated, the other option is to add availability (open/close) dates to activities in Canvas. Discussions, assignments, and quizzes all can have availability dates. Pages can have “to-do” dates. Unlike unpublished Canvas items, closed activities are still partially visible to students. This Canvas guide details the differences between due dates and availability dates, and the table below provides a brief overview of what students can see and do before an activity opens, when it is open, and after it closes.

Canvas Activity Before opening While open After closing
Discussions Students can view the discussion prompt, any attached rubrics, and the due date. Students can post responses and reply to their peers’ posts. Students can no longer post to the discussion board but can read all the posts that were made while the discussion was open.
Assignments Students can view the assignment description, any attached rubrics, and the due date. Students can submit their work and comments. Students can no longer submit their work but can still view their submissions and make comments.
Quizzes Students can view the quiz description and the due date. Students can open, take, and submit their quiz. Students can no longer take the quiz but may be able to see their responses, depending on the quiz settings.

Adding “to-do” dates to Pages in Canvas allows you to set a read-by or engage-with-by type of reminder to students. This will appear in their Canvas calendars and also their course to-do list. The to-do date in Pages does not restrict student access after the set date. To add a to-do date to a Page, edit it, scroll to the bottom, and check the box “Add to student to-do.”

The option to add a page to the student "to do" list