Canvas
Katy ISD Elementary Instructional Technology
Teacher Information
Teachers, if you need to share any information from this site with parents, please copy and paste the instructions into an email instead of sending this page. Parents may not have access to all the links.
Canvas Help Guides
Canvas is our district Learning Management System. It is a robust system that allows you to build a complete online learning classroom. It allows you to have discussions, post a myriad of resources, interact with students, and even have assignments and quizzes.
KISD Elem Tech Canvas Page & Training Resources
Parent Tech Help on Katy ISD Website (includes Canvas link)
Canvas Login for Students
Click here for instructions on how students can sign-in to Canvas. These instructions are also available in Spanish.
Publish Canvas Courses
You MUST PUBLISH your OWN course with students WHEN YOU ARE READY by clicking the Publish button on the home screen. If “Publish” is gray and NOT green, then it is NOT published! If you don’t publish this course, students won’t see it.
You do NOT need to publish the blueprint/master course.
In the image on the right, the course is NOT published. Click the gray Publish button to publish your course. When it turns green, it is published.
Blueprint Canvas Courses
If your team is using a Blueprint course, keep the following in mind:
Anything that you want to share with the entire team should be added to the Blueprint course.
Do not add Zoom meeting links, Quizizz links, and other teacher-specific activities to the master. These can be added directly to your student Canvas courses so that you can access the reports.
Exception: Nearpod lessons can be added as an external tool submission in an Assignment.
Anything you want students to see must be PUBLISHED. Modules MUST be PUBLISHED for students to see anything within the module. See image on the right.
If you change anything within the master course, click the blue bar on the right side of the screen, then click Sync. Student courses will NOT get updates unless you click Sync! See images below.
You may want to discuss items you are adding and if you want to add them as published or unpublished in the Blueprint. Teachers can go to their course with kids and publish or unpublish any items so they can determine if they want or don’t want their own students to see them.
NOTE: IF you edit something that came from the Blueprint IN YOUR OWN COURSE (let’s say you change the wording of a discussion that came from the Blueprint or change a question on a quiz that came from the Blueprint), then you break the link for that item from the Blueprint to your course. Meaning any further changes made to that item in the Blueprint won’t sync to that item in your course. Everything else in your course will still sync. Just that particular item won’t sync anymore.
Canvas External Tools
The following external tools are available to use within Google Assignments. Watch the videos to learn how.
Google Drive (for students to edit your templates in Docs, Sheets, and Slides)
Canvas iCamp Presentations
For tutorial videos, visit the Canvas section of the Elementary Instructional Technology website.
Bitmoji Classrooms
Bitmoji classrooms are all the rage on Facebook, but is it best practice for use with students? Before you start creating your own, consider the following Bitmoji classroom pitfalls that may make your Canvas course inaccessible to students.
Because hyperlinks within a Bitmoji classroom can cause several problems with students accessing them, consider making a Bitmoji banner for the top of your Canvas course instead. Your banner would not have interactive elements such as hyperlinks, making it accessible to students despite their device and use of adaptive technology, but your Canvas course will still look great! Check out the example below. To learn how to create your own, watch this video.
If you will be using a Bitmoji or virtual classroom that contains hyperlinks, you must include the links directly on the Canvas page below your embedded classroom so that all students will be able to access the link.
Using Buttons & Links with Immersive Reader
If you have students who will be using Immersive Reader on Canvas Pages in order to have the text read aloud or to translate the text their their (or their parents') native language, please read this section and watch the video.
Even if you use Alt Text when embedding your button image, the Immersive Reader tool will pick up and read the entire hyperlink that is attached to a button. In this video, you will see what that looks like on the student's end, and you will learn how to make a table with hyperlinked text under the decorative button. This way, Immersive Reader will only read the and translate the text, and not the URLs.
Using buttons & links with Immersive Reader.mp4Color Blindness Simulation
When you are creating images, buttons, presentations, etc, keep your students with colorblindness in mind. This video shows how images may appear to students and parents with colorblindness. With improper color contract, the text may be completely inaccessible for others to read.
Color Blind Simulation.mp4FAQ
My students can't see my course on their dashboard.
Your course is not published. Click here to learn how to publish your student course.
My students can't see the assignment/page/quiz/discussion I posted.
Your assignment/page is not published. Click here to learn how to publish.
My assignment is published, but my students still can't see it.
Make sure you publish the module that the assignment is in. Click here to learn how.
How can I import content from one course to another?
Go to the course where you want to add the content to.
In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.
Click the Import Course Content link.
In the Content Type drop-down menu, select Copy a Canvas Course.
Select the course that already has the content.
In the Content section, click the Select specific content radio button.
Click the Import button.
In the Current Jobs section, click the Select Content button.
Check off the content to you want to copy into this course.
Click the Select Content button.
How do I rename my Canvas course?
In the course, click on Settings.
Click the Course Details tab at the top of the page.
Edit the course name and code by typing in the name and course code fields.
Click the Update Course Details button at the bottom of the page.
Click here for instructions with screenshots.
Crosslisting: How can I combine both of my math classes into 1 Canvas course?
This is called cross-listing. Click here to learn more.
You should only cross-list "in-person" sections together. Do not cross-list KVA and in-person sections together. Do not cross-list two KVA sections together.
NOTE: IF you have a math Blueprint course and a separate science Blueprint course connected to your student courses, you can NOT crosslist your math and science Canvas courses together. You can, however, crosslist your math courses together, and you can crosslist your science courses together.
How can I message students through Canvas?
As a teacher, you can send messages to individual students or entire classes. The message will show up in the student's Canvas Inbox.
Students can NOT message each other.
For instructions on how to message students, click here.
How do I know when my students access Canvas (participation).
This video explain how to access student participation reports in Canvas.
How do I authorize Canvas to use my Google Drive?
Click here for instructions on accessing your Google Drive resources through Canvas.
I copy and pasted images into my Canvas page, but they aren't showing up.
Canvas does not support images to be copy and pasted into pages, quizzes, discussions, or assignments. To learn how to upload images to Canvas, click here.
How do I export Canvas grades to TAC?
Click here to learn how.
How can I change my Canvas Gradebook View?
Click here to learn more.
How can I link to a Google Drive file within a Canvas module?
Click here for a tutorial video.
How can I embed a Google Doc on a Canvas page?
In the Google doc: File – Publish to the Web
Embed tab – Publish button – Ok
Copy the embed code
In Canvas: Edit the page
Go to the HTML editor
Paste the embed code
After embedded=true” add: width="100%" height="600"
EXAMPLE: <iframe src="https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSebPmynbEsWfX4yRY01fVJGvYaf7a7ZzgPVONlk4XIPKvqTwUBdX48FRjGU7WyQY1ZyCPpjQh4Y/pub?embedded=true" width="100%" height="600"></iframe>
Save the page
How can I turn my Canvas page into a PDF?
Click here to watch a tutorial video.
Canvas Troubleshooting
Restart the computer
If on a Mac (Apple Computer): Update Mac OS (Mac Operating System)
Use the Chrome Browser (install the Chrome Browser if you don’t have it)
Update the Chrome browser (in Chrome settings)
Clear the cache for Chrome browser (attached) - https://help.katyisd.org/help/google-chrome---clearing-the-cachebrowser-history
If using Safari on a Mac, be sure Safari version is up to date or install and use the Chrome browser
Canvas Supported Web Browsers:
Desktop Browsers
· Chrome 79 and 80
· Firefox 73 and 74
· Edge 79 and 80
· Respondus Lockdown Browser
· Safari 12 and 13
Mobile Browsers
· Latest version of Safari (iOS) and Chrome (Android)—view