5 Canvas Hacks for World Language Teachers

¡Hola profes!  As teachers, I think most of us have a love/hate relationship with technology.  Sometimes it doesn’t work the way we want or need it to, and it can cause unnecessary distractions for students at times.  But when it works well, it can really save us time, sanity, and energy!

One of my favorite digital tools that I use every single day to help make my classes run more smoothly is my learning management system, Canvas.  I have been using Canvas since 2015 and so I understand that there can be a learning curve to it at first.  If you also use Canvas, I wanted to share 5 ways that Canvas makes my life (and my students’ lives!) easier.

#1: Embedding Quizlets

Did you know that you can embed your Quizlet links right into a Canvas page, and so your students will never have to leave Canvas to access your study sets?  So, so convenient!  My students love this feature and say it is really beneficial for helping them study.  Check out my video tutorial below to see how easy it is!  

#2: Using External Tools like EdPuzzle, Nearpod, and Flip

Many sites like EdPuzzle, Nearpod, and Flip (formerly Flipgrid) are compatible with Canvas, and you can have your students work on lessons or activities from these platforms right on Canvas!  Follow these steps:

1. Go to “Settings,” then “Apps,” and search for the platform you’d like to add (Nearpod, EdPuzzle, etc.).  Click “Add App.”
2. You may be asked to enter a “Consumer Key” and “Shared Secret.”  (Note: You might bypass this step if your school or district has already enabled certain platforms and has connected them to Canvas for you.)  If asked for the “Consumer Key” and “Shared Secret,” you will find those on the platform website under your account.  Copy and paste them into the boxes on Canvas. 
3. Once the app has been enabled, create a new assignment.
4. Under “Submission Type,” select the platform that you want to use.  
5. You may see a pop-up to select a particular lesson from the outside platform.  Click on it to link it to your Canvas assignment.
6. Change the other settings (points value, due date, etc.), publish the assignment, and you’re all set!

Below you will find a video tutorial to walk you through these steps!

#3: Recording Students Speaking in Spanish

Canvas makes it super easy to record your students!  Here’s how:

1. Create an assignment.  Name is whatever you like and add the description and other parameters.
2. Under “Submission Type,” select “Media Recording.” 
3. When you are ready to record your students, have them log in to Canvas and open the assignment.
4. Students should click on, “Start Assignment.”  From there, students should click, “Record / Upload Media.”  The “Record” tab should be the default, but if it isn’t, students can click on that tab at the top of the window.  Students can select their microphone input and can turn the webcam on and off, as you prefer.
5. When everyone is ready, have students press the “Start” button on the “Record / Upload Media” window.  Keep in mind that recording does not start right away; there is a 3-second countdown.
6. From your computer, play the recording of your questions/simulated conversation prompts loud enough so that everyone in the room can hear it clearly.
7. After the recording is over and students have answered the questions/responded to the prompts, have students hit the “Finish” button to stop.
8. Have students submit their recordings, and they will be saved to your LMS for you to listen to whenever you are ready!

Here’s a quick video demo to walk you through it:

#4: Creating Randomized Assessments with Question Banks

Canvas has the ability to create randomized quizzes for every student!  You can use question banks to create a pool of questions for Canvas to randomly choose from, or you can simply use question banks to randomize the order in which students see the questions.  

It can take some time up-front to create your question banks, but Canvas will save them, and then you can use them for years to come!  

Here’s how to use Question Banks:

1. Create a new quiz (I still prefer to use Classic Quizzes).
2. Enter the quiz details (due date, access code requirements, etc.) and then switch to the “Questions” tab. 
3. Click on the “ + Question Group” tab.  
4. Give your question group a name you will easily recognize and tell Canvas how many questions they should pull from this question bank during the quiz.  (Note: If you only want to randomize the order in which students see the questions, the number you type should be the same as the number of questions you create for the group.)  Assign a point value for each question.
5. Hit the + sign on the right side of the taskbar to add a question to the question bank.  Repeat this step until you have the desired number of questions!

You can also pull from multiple question banks in one quiz!  Just repeat the steps above as needed!

Check out this video tutorial to see these steps in action:

#5: Collecting Google Apps Assignments in One Place

If you give assignments using Google Apps – Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc. – it can be messy trying to collect those assignments from students.  Your Google Drive can become so cluttered and it can be difficult to find what you’re looking for at any given time.  

Rather than having students share their Google-based assignments with you, assign them on Canvas and have students upload their finished assignments there too, keeping all submissions in one place for convenient access!

Here’s what I like to do:

1. First, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve enabled the Google Drive app in your Canvas course.  Go to “Settings,” then “Apps,” and search for “Google Apps.”  Click “Add App.”  
2. Create a new assignment.  Add specifics and details (due date, points value, etc.) as you see fit!  
3. Within the assignment description, insert a force-copy link to the assignment you want students to complete.  A force-copy link will ensure that each student makes a copy of the assignment and will not alter your original.  To make a force-copy link, copy the assignment’s URL.  When you paste it, delete everything after and including the word “edit,” and type “copy” in its place.  Here is a video tutorial if you need one!  
4. When choosing the submission type for the assignment, select “File Upload.”  
5. When your students go into the assignment, have copied the Google Apps assignment, and are ready to submit on Canvas, have them click on “Start Assignment.”  Since you have enabled Google Apps, students should see “Google Drive” as an option.  Have them sign into their accounts and select the appropriate file from their Drives.  Then, they are ready to submit and you will be able to collect all of their submissions in one place!  

Here’s a video tutorial to walk you through it:

I hope this was helpful, profes!  Do you have any other questions about what you can do with Canvas?  Leave me a comment and let me know or send me an email and I’m happy to help you out!  Have a wonderful week!