eClass and Canvas Support
Knowledgebase:
eClass Overview for New Instructors
Last modified on 14 August 2025 04:56 PM
NOTICE: Please be advised that the content of this article may only be relevant for users concluding the final stages of course work on eClass or for users on the eClass External system. The eClass Learning Management System is currently in a read-only state that prohibits new courses, enrollments, and users from being added to the site. Credit courses and co-curricular courses at the UofA are now being delivered on Canvas, and full articles on how to use Canvas can be found here.

eClass is the University of Alberta's centrally supported learning management system (LMS), available for all U of A Faculty and Staff. As an instructor, eClass allows you to organize your course materials for online display and deliver interactive learning activities to your students.

If you require further assistance creating a coherent organization of course objectives, resources, assignments, and assessments please contact the Centre for Teaching & Learning at ctl@ualberta.ca.

eClass Features

eClass offers a wide variety of interactive features to deliver online learning.

Content Delivery Communication Assessment Reports
  • Post static content such as files, links, and web pages
  • Build content with navigation such as books or tab displays
  • Create interactive learning objects via lessons or SCORM packages
  • Use the built in HTML editor to customize your content
  • Topics, course formats, and blocks let you tailor your content structure to a specific style of delivery or learning objective
  • Post forums to have ongoing discussions with your students. Include  subscriptions to push emails out to your students
  • Poll your participants with feedback activities
  • Create wikis and databases to empower your students to participate collaboratively
  • Host a fully synchronous online lecture or meeting space with Zoom or Google Meet.
  • Create assignments for students to submit text, files, or forum posts. Grade with direct marking, rubrics, or marking workflows
  • Build quizzes with a wide selection of question types including multiple choice, calculations, matching, short answer, true/false, and essay.
  • Create workshops or group peer assessments to allow your students to review their peers.
  • Apply gamification principles using badges and gamification blocks.
  • Provide grades and feedback for secure student review via the eClass Gradebook
  • Review course logs to track granular student interactions with your course content, filterable by user, time, content item, and actions
  • Generate an activity report to show the overall numbers of views for each activity and resource in your course
  • Create an activity completion report to display a full table of student progress in meeting activity completion requirements

Getting Started

If you are new to eClass, the knowledgebase on this site is full of instructional tutorials and videos covering the diverse range of possibilities in eClass. It contains resources for new students as well as for instructors to help develop course materials that work best on eClass.

If you can't find what you're looking for here, you can also try eClass 101, a self-paced training course within eClass to both see how a course can look and to find more in-depth information on all the various activities and resources available. If you would like additional information from the student perspective, you can also review the Using eClass for Students course.

In addition to the resources above, we have also gathered a list of resources describing some of the common processes that new instructors may need to perform in eClass:

  1. How to request/create a course on eClass
  2. How to log in to eClass and access your courses
  3. How to add content to eClass (and how to access course construction resources available on campus)
  4. How to add additional users to eClass
  5. Controlling student access to your course
  6. Setting up your Gradebook

Remember, if you have a question or need to perform a task that is not covered in the resources posted in this article, please use the search box at the top of the page to enter your issue and find any relevant support materials. The IST eClass support team is also available to help you with any advanced questions or if you'd prefer to receive in-person assistance - contact us at eclass@ualberta.ca or by phone at 780-492-9372.

 

(25 vote(s))
Helpful
Not helpful
-->