Canvas can be accessed at https://canvas.ualberta.ca. Users can also check their browser compatibility and other details on Accessing Canvas Courses. 

You will need into the system with your CCID and password. If you don't see your course there, it may not yet have been opened for student access. Students can also view their upcoming courses (courses that they are enrolled in but which have not yet opened for students by going to the left nav, clicking Courses, then All courses, then viewing their Future Enrollments. By default Canvas courses are scheduled to open on the first scheduled day of in-person classes but your instructor may change this date.

Using the Canvas Dashboard

On your Dashboard, your active courses will appear as tiles:

You can modify a course tile to change its colour. You can also give your course a nickname to make it easier to find. Your nickname will affect only your view of the tile:

On the right side of your screen, you will see a link to your current calendar items and your To Do list:

You can also change your Dashboard to display your courses as a list or by recent activity. You can also remove the colour overlay from your course tiles.

Global Navigation

On the left side of the page, you will find the global navigation bar that appears even while you are inside courses:

From here, you can navigate back to your Dashboard, the list of all Courses, your Canvas Calendar, message Inbox, and a link to important Resources you may require. Tools like the Calendar and Inbox contain items from all your courses.

To navigate quickly between courses, you can click on the Courses link and select different courses to access without going back to the Dashboard.

Navigating Within Courses

Once you click on a tile to open a course, you will have an additional course navigation menu to the right of the global navigation menu:

Items in this menu will depend upon your instructor's preferences.

Use the Modules link to find visible assignments, quizzes, exams, course pages, and discussions. Your instructor may choose to make other links available (e.g., Assignments) where you will find other activities to complete. Click on any module item ot open it.

If your instructor has used the U of A's custom-designed template for their course, you will also find some buttons linking to other parts of the course:

Submitting Assignments in Canvas

Canvas assignment submissions allow file uploads or online text submissions depending on the configuration. Students should note that assignments are not completely submitted until the button at the bottom right is clicked:

Warning: students sometimes encounter errors when accessing assignments if they have left the Canvas assignment page open in a tab for several days so that it becomes stale/inactive. This can be resolved by refreshing the browser page. 

Getting Support for Canvas

If you need assistance with any aspect of your course, please contact IST Canvas Support at eclass@ualberta.ca or by phone at +1 780 492 9372.

It is also recommended that students who have questions while using Canvas should first search for help using the Support callout at the bottom left of the page:

This button opens a page overlay that provides context-sensitive information based on the user's current location in Canvas and tailored to their specific role. Users can browse the suggested topics or search the support center for specific topics which pulls in knowledge articles from both the eClass and Canvas support portals. For U of A specific materials, users can select the U of A category:

This document outlines the steps students need to follow to launch a monitored exam session using Smart Exam Monitor (SEM). This 3rd party tool is a mechanism to provide proctoring for online exams at-a-distance when students cannot complete exams in person. SEM has been approved for use at the U of A by the CISO who has created an Information and Privacy statement regarding remote exam proctoring for any interested students to review.

To ensure the integrity of the exam-taking environment, the tool monitors (and records) the computer screen, the webcam, and the microphone during exams. SEM requires the following for use:

Basic Requirements

- Operating System: macOS, Windows, ChromeOS

- Browser: Chrome

- Webcam

- Microphone

- Internet connection

- System task bar set to display on the bottom

The tool is accessed through Canvas or eClass and runs in a browser window (no software installation is required.) Users are required to validate and grant permission to their webcam, microphone, and grant permission for screen recording. See below for detailed setup instructions. In general instructors will always provide a practice session before a 'real' midterm or final and students should ensure they take this opportunity to test that their device functions normally on SEM in advance of any high stakes exams. Students who do encounter issues should check the troubleshooting tips here and contact eClass Support if the problems persist.

General Exam Taking Guidelines

When taking exams, the online testing environment should mimic the ‘in class’ testing environment and should conform to the conditions listed below. Please note: if any of the guidelines below conflict with a student's approved academic accommodations, they should notify their instructor immediately.

Testing Environment

• Sit at a clean desk or clean table (not on a bed or couch).

• Lighting in the room must be bright enough to be considered "daylight" quality. Do not sit with your back to a source of natural light (overhead lighting is preferred.) Your face must be clearly visible in the displayed webcam preview and you should complete your exam with your face in roughly the same position in the centre of your webcam.

• Be sure the desk or table is cleared of all other materials. This means the removal of all books, papers, notebooks, calculators, etc. unless specifically permitted in posted guidelines for that particular exam.
  
  
• Second monitors should be disconnected. If two monitors are connected, the attempt will be flagged.

• No writing should visible on the desk or on the walls.

• Close all other programs and/or windows on the testing computer prior to logging into the proctored test environment.

• Do not have a radio or television playing in the background.

• Do not talk to anyone else -- no communication with others by any means is permitted.

• No one except the test-taker is permitted to enter the room during testing.

• Ensure that your webcam captures a view of your entire face, and upper body, as best you can.

Behaviour

• Dress as if in a public setting.

• You must not leave the room during the testing period at any time, unless specifically permitted in posted guidelines for that particular examination. You must not take the computer into another room to finish testing (exam must be completed in the same room the “Exam Environment View” is completed in.)

• No use of headsets, earbuds, earphones (or any similar audio devices) is permitted.

• Do not use a phone for any reason. The only exception is to contact eClass Support or your instructor in the event of a technical issue.

• You are required to properly establish identity following the procedures outlined in the SEM pre-exam setup.

• You are responsible for self-testing the functionality of the system in advance of all SEM exams in your courses so that any troubleshooting that is required can be accomplished. A practice exam will be provided by the course to validate SEM functionality. In the event one is not provided, students may also self-enroll into a test practice course here.

Policy Violation Consequences

• If you are flagged for cheating, you will be contacted directly by your instructor and subject to sanction based on the University of Alberta’s Academic Integrity Policy and the Code of Student Behaviour.

Getting Help During Exams

• Contact your instructor first if you are encountering issues to advise them of the difficulty and allow for any adjustments they can provide.

• Contact eClass Support at 780-492-9372 or by email at eclass@ualberta.ca for any technical issues.

Smart Exam Monitor Setup Instructions

Please note: Google Chrome is the required browser to use the Smart Exam Monitor. Students should ensure they clear their browser cache and restart their machine before launching SEM sessions 

Students can also view a short video walkthrough of the setup process.

SEM exam sessions are accessed through an external tool link in Canvas or eClass:

Students should select the exam required:

Before beginning a session, students must give the program permissions to access the screen and webcam on their device. The program first requires users to agree to the terms of use:

Next you are required to give permission to share your screen. Users must select ‘Your entire screen’ and click Share:

Please note: If the Share button remains greyed out on this step, it may mean that the full screen option has not been selected. Users must click on the full screen preview to allow 'Share' to be selected.

Next, SEM requires media permissions to use the webcam and microphone - users must select Allow (this step is remembered by your browser and may not be required if you have already taken exams using SEM):

If screen sharing and webcam are functioning correctly students will see live previews of what SEM records during exams: the screen share on the left and the web camera on the right and can confirm by clicking I can see my screen and camera video: 

Students who are having issues with providing the correct screen, webcam, and microphone permissions to SEM should consult Granting Device Permissions for Remote Monitoring Applications.

Once the permissions and basic functionality and the screen and webcam feeds are visible, SEM will then begin the exam check by recording the screen and checking it. Users will need to select and Share the screen again twice and wait 30 seconds while the software takes a recording:

The SEM program will next complete a test recording using the microphone.

Students need to say the phrase “Penguins live in Antarctica”:

Last, students must use their webcam to confirm their identity and the integrity of their testing environment. There are 3 steps for this validation:

 1. The webcam will record a picture of your photo ID - center your OneCard in the left hand window and click Confirm ID. If you have a U of A Virtual OneCard, this validation step will work fine if you hold your mobile device up to your webcam with the Virtual OneCard displayed.

Note: If your picture ID check fails (for example an expired OneCard as in the example above or if your OneCard is lost and you have used another form of photo ID), you will be given an option to proceed with existing photo ID saved. You will be allowed to complete your exam and your instructor will receive a flag to validate your ID manually.

2. You will next need to take a photo identifying yourself. This will be matched against your OneCard photo.

Note: If your Face Match check fails (for example if it is too dissimilar from your Photo ID screenshot), you will be given an option to proceed with the existing face photo saved. You should click proceed as you are still allowed to complete your exam and your instructor will receive a flag to validate your photo manually.

3. Last you will have 20 seconds to record your surroundings. You should make sure to capture the surface you are working on and the area immediately behind the monitor. Once you have a recording, it will be previewed back to you. You should confirm your full test-taking environment is recorded and then click Confirm and upload (this may take up to a minute to upload):

Once the setup is complete, you will see a preview of the webcam and screen recordings on the left-hand side. If it is before the specified start time, there will be a countdown timer in the center of the page until the exam launch time is reached.

Students are responsible for ensuring that their screen recording is complete and accurate. If users accidentally click Stop sharing, they will receive a notification from SEM that screen sharing is stopped and they can click on the button at the bottom right of the SEM Launch page to re-launch screen sharing:

After the exam start time is reached, you will see instructions for completing the exam. At this point, the exam instructions you receive will depend on the specific mechanism your instructor has chosen for quiz delivery and you should follow the instructions provided to you. 

Important note: Some exam delivery options may require you to navigate to specific tools, resources, or applications to complete your exam (as specified by your instructor) and SEM will allow this, however, you must not close the Smart Exam Monitor browser tab, click Finish exam, or click 'Stop sharing'. This will be flagged for your instructor and may invalidate your exam submission.

- For basic quizzes, there will be a Launch button to begin the exam and a password may be provided with the option to copy it to your clipboard. You can then paste the password on the Quiz Attempt Start page:

- For ExamLock quizzes, the session code should be provided and you will need to launch the Examlock application and enter the code.

- Some quizzes will launch a new window to enable full-screen mode for the duration of an exam. Exams configured this way will launch a new browser tab that must be maximized to continue. Instructions are provided for maximizing the window for the operating system you are using either Mac:

or Windows: 

If students have configured their browsers to force pop-ups into full-screen tabs, the step above may not be required.

Note for Windows users: Your taskbar MUST be located at the bottom of the screen for the maximized window to work. If it is located at the top or to the left or right, right-click on the taskbar and click on Taskbar settings, and then set 'Taskbar location on screen' to Bottom.

Once maximized, the window will automatically launch the quiz. If there is a password required for the quiz, you should take note of it (or copy it) to launch the quiz. Navigating away from the full screen exam window will be flagged as an academic integrity violation.

- Students can add more time to the recording of SEM if they need to by clicking on the + next to the amount of recording time left. This adds time in 10-minute increments, click the + sign as often as needed to get enough recording time. Note: This only extends the duration of the recording and NOT the duration of the exam. 

Once you have completed the exam and completed the submission in Canvas, eClass (or ExamLock), navigate back to the SEM browser tab and click Finish Exam at the top right:

Accessing the Dashboard

When you first log into Canvas, the Dashboard is the first thing you will see with courses displayed by default in a Card view. If you navigate away from the Dashboard, you can return at any time by clicking the Dashboard link in the left navigation menu:

On the right side of the Dashboard page, there is the To Do list and list of upcoming events and a link to view your personal Canvas Calendar:

Note: The bottom of the To Do list has a button to access assigned grades.

Course cards will contain buttons to access recent notifications of announcements, assignments, discussions and course page changes:

Support Callout Blocking Your View? Low-resolution screens will show the Support Callout floating on top of the Global Navigation buttons on the left. If deemed obstructive, you can minimize the Global Navigation buttons by clicking on the icon at the bottom. From this: To this:

Customizing course cards

Both students and instructors can customize the theme colour of a course card. Both can also give the course a nickname to make the course easier to identify, and these changes will only be seen by the student or instructor making the changes:

If you wish to have a clearer view of your course thumbnail image, you can click to disable the Color Overlay via the top right three dots dropdown menu:

Note: Instructors can change the course thumbnail image in the main course Settings under Course Details.

Moving and sorting course cards

Course cards can be moved and sorted in two ways. The first is from the three dots menu for the card:

You can also drag and drop course cards:

Changing the Dashboard view

The three dots menu near the top right of the Dashboard allows you to change from Card view to List view or Recent Activity:

In List view, the Dashboard displays courses sorted by date order of the various activities inside each course. Users can also view grades, notifications, and whether activities have been graded or missed, and whether there are replies to comments on an activity.

Note: List View is only available for users who are enrolled as a student in at least one course.

In Recent Activity view, you will see a list of the courses with recent events. You can expand the Show More dropdown to get a list of specific activities:

Customizing displayed courses on the Dashboard

The Dashboard displays a maximum of twenty courses. New enrollments will no longer appear afterward and would require the following.

You can customize your course list by accessing Courses from the left-nav and clicking on All Courses.

Click on a star to add it to Favorites, which will update your list to display only Favorited courses.

Courses not Favorited, can still be accessed from the All Courses list.

Submitting Assignments

The screen students see when accessing assignments guides them in when and what to submit:

(Note the screenshot above is from a desktop browser but the mobile app view displays the same information in a slightly different look.)

(1) Available/Due dates:
Take note of that the Due Date could be different from the "Available until" date, so even if you can still upload a submission, your assignment could be marked overdue if it's past the due date.
(2) Attempts Allowed:
If unlimited attempts are allowed, you'll be able to resubmit new attempts until the "available until" date. Take careful note of this, because if attempts are limited, there is no way for your instructor to remove the attempt or reopen the assignment once you've submitted
(3) Submission Type:
File uploads will probably be most common, but instructors may also allow text input, where you can type or paste directly into a text editor. If you're uploading (or recording) a video or audio file, you should choose "Canvas Studio"
(4) Upload area:
You can drag a file from your computer here, just make sure that it matches the specified file types, if any.
(5) Submit Assignment button: Do not miss this: It will always be in the bottom-right corner of the page. Your assignment will not be submitted to your instructor or TA unless this is clicked. 

Notes about file submissions

• Unfortunately, there is no way to preview your submission as it will appear to your instructor or TA until after you have submitted it. Please take care to ensure that you're uploading the correct file from your computer.
• Students uploading photos from a Mac should always upload a copy from the finder, rather than dragging a photo from the photos app, as the app has been observed resizing photos to an unreadable size.
• HEIC files are not supported, make sure they're converted to jpg or another format before submitting. 

Viewing Grades and feedback

Once you've made a submission, you'll see your assignment submission on the same page you uploaded it. As soon as the grade is released, you'll be able to see the grade, feedback, and any annotations made by the grader on this page.

This article will demonstrate how students can find and communicate with their group members in Canvas. It is important for students to note that their group communications can be monitored by instructors and eClass administrators and that the standard student code of conduct applies.

Finding your group memberships

On your course's home page, you'll see a list of course groups that you belong to on the right side:

You can also see all your groups across all your courses under the Groups link in the Canvas global left nav menu.

Group Self-signup

If your instructor allows you to self-select your group for a group assignment, click on the People tab in the left course navigation menu. When group self-signup is active, you should see a button to Join a group: 

Your instructor may have limited the number of groups or students allowed in each group. If you cannot join a group, select another.

Your instructor also has the option to set the group to select a group leader, either as the first member to join the group or to be selected randomly.

Once you join a group, the group will appear in your Groups folder:

Group Home Page

Clicking the group name will take you to the group home page, which is a separate page within the course, only visible to your group (and instructors/TAs).

The group home page has the following sections:

• Announcements is a forum to post or reply to messages for your entire group
• Pages allows you to construct pages to host content, similar to a Wiki
• People will show you a list of the group members
• Discussions are another forum space for specific group discussions. These can be linked to the to-do list in the dashboard of the student posting the discussion
• Files is a place to upload and store any files 
• Collaborations allows students to create and manage Google docs. A google doc created here will reside in the creator's Google Drive account and other group members will be able to access it from within Canvas here

Note that all communications in the group's home page are visible to instructors and Canvas administrators and subject to the University's Student Conduct Policy. Direct messages may also be monitored in case of a reported conduct breach.

Sending a message to group members

Group discussions should occur within your course page's "discussions" section. However, if you want to direct-message a group member, you can easily do so from the Canvas inbox (in the left-side navigation menu). When composing a new message, you can select your group from the "Course" dropdown and then choose from a list of group members in the "To" field:

Submitting a group assignment

For general instructions to submit an assignment, see the following article in the Canvas student guide: How do I submit an online assignment?

As with eClass, only one group member needs to submit an assignment, once they do so the submission will appear on the assignment page for all group members. Take note - If multiple attempts are allowed, group members can overwrite submissions made by other members. If only one attempt is allowed, other members may be unable to resubmit the assignment. Be sure to coordinate with your group members when making submissions. 

Creating a Collaboration

Students may wish to share a document with other group members that all members can author or edit. Collaborations are shared Google resources that automatically take care of the Google sharing permissions.

To create a document, click Collaborations in your Group's left navigation menu, then click the +Collaborations button at the top right of the page.

You will have several options for the document type you want to create, including Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Forms, Drawings, and Sites:

Note: Ownership of the document will be with the creator of the Collaboration and stored on their Google Drive using the name specified in the Collaboration.

Give your Collaboration a title and a description.

You cannot choose members of the Collaboration; all group members will be permitted to access the document.

To edit the name or description of the Collaboration, click the pencil icon. To open the document, click the title hyperlink:

Accessing STACK Assignments

The recommended browser for using STACK assignments is Google chrome (some users have reported problems when accessing STACK using Safari.)

STACK assignments look like any other assignment in Canvas. They are often proceeded by guidance for students on how to enter the required algebraic syntax required for some answers. This information can also be found in the STACK documentation for student answer input.

To complete an assessment, students need to click the link in the Canvas page: 

If it is your first time accessing a STACK assessment in ANY of your courses, you may be asked to create an account. This process should occur automatically but sometimes does not. If you do already have an account, this screen will not appear at all and you can proceed directly to begin your assessment (see below.) If this DOES occur, click the Create an account for me button in the right half of the screen:

Once you do this, you will see an alert that your account is created. Once you click Continue, you should never see this message again and will be able to begin the assignment by clicking Attempt quiz:

Taking STACK Assessments

The STACK assessment engine shows the questions in the center panel with a quiz navigation panel at the top right. You may need to scroll down the page to see all the questions:

Once you have completed your work, you can click finish attempt either at the very bottom of the quiz:

Or at the bottom of the navigation panel:

There will then be an opportunity to review that all questions are answered before completing the submission by clicking Submit all and finish:

Depending on your instructor's configuration, STACK assessments may need to be launched in new browser tabs or windows but the quiz-taking functionality is the same:

Reviewing Attempts and Grades

Immediately after you submit, you may see your score directly in the STACK assessment, depending on the configuration. Note however that you will not see your score posted in your Canvas gradebook immediately nor see a submission notification on the canvas assignment: 

There is a sync process that sends grades from the STACK assessment server that must run before an assignment is marked as Submitted. The timing of this process depends on server load and can take up to an hour but once the grade synchronization is complete, the assignment will show as submitted and the score will appear at the top right:

Your Canvas instructor may additionally post the grades at a later date, for example if there needs to be manual marking, any review of the questions, or especially if is a higher stakes exam or assignment and the grade release needs to wait until all students have completed it. In this case the assignment will show as submitted but the grades will not be displayed, instead showing N/A in the assignment and a closed eyeball in the gradebook:

For most homework assignments, when you re-access the STACK quiz after submitting, you will see your assessment score(s), the option to re-try the quiz (if allowed), review the attempts (if allowed), and the score posted to Canvas:

Troubleshooting/Known Issues

• If you are ever having issues accessing an assessment and encounter a STACK-specific login screen (like below), you will need to quit that browser page, return to Canvas, and re-launch the assessment. Ensure you are not clicking 'Use my existing account' - if you have an existing account, you will be automatically authenticated:
  
  
• When reviewing attempts, the View Submission link is a canvas feature that does not apply to STACK assessments.
  
  
• The STACK integration will display a false Highest grade score of Zero whenever a quiz allows multiple attempts. This can be ignored as the actual scores on the attempts are what get sent to Canvas. We are working with the vendor to resolve this known issue.
  
  
• Some users have reported problems when using Safari or Firefox to access STACK assignments - switching to Chrome resolved the problem.
  
  
• If students launch their STACK assignment but then let the session go stale, they will sometimes encounter errors when returning to the assignment. These can be resolved by closing the browser tab, returning to Canvas, refreshing the page, and then re-launching the STACK assignment.
  
  
• When completing STACK assignment quizzes, students should ensure that they keep a single browser session open at a time as this can sometimes result in empty submissions.

General Online Exam Tips

Quizzes in Canvas

While Canvas has two types of quizzes, New Quizzes and Classic Quizzes, the U of A is predominantly using New Quizzes, so if students see Canvas community or vendor support resources that appear different from what they are seeing, that may be the cause. This guide focuses on New Quizzes, but there is some material on Classic quizzes below.

Compared to quizzes in eClass, one great advantage in Canvas is that test takers do not have to worry about answers being saved only when they change pages or deliberately click a button to save them. Answers are saved automatically in Canvas quizzes as they are entered.

Typically, you will find a link to your quizzes under Canvas Modules, but this will vary from course to course:

Click on the quiz name to get started, e.g., New Quiz KB.

If you are required to write a quiz using Respondus Lockdown Browser, that should be indicated in the title of the quiz and the software should install and launch the first time you launch a quiz. Additional information is available in Using Lockdown Browser and Monitor (for Students).

If your exam is being proctored using Smart Exam Monitor, you must load the monitoring session first in a new Google Chrome browser window as instructed:

Once your monitoring is set up, the quiz link and password will be released to you. Additional instructions for using Smart Exam Monitor are available at Using Smart Exam Monitor (SEM) - Students.

Taking a Quiz

As mentioned above, a New quiz is usually accessed under Modules. When first accessing a quiz, if your instructor has set an 'Available from' time on a quiz before which the quiz is not accessible, students will see the quiz time range and when it is locked until:

After the launch time has passed, students will see their time limit (if one exists), the quiz due date (if one exists), and the box to enter an access code or quiz password (if one exists):

If your access code is entered correctly, you may Begin the quiz:

If your instructor has not added access code, simply click Begin.

Unless your instructor has restricted your ability to navigate freely in the quiz, you can navigate between questions with the Next and Previous buttons:

or by clicking a question number from the left side navigation menu:

The left-side menu can expanded to display the first few words of the question. You can access questions by clicking on the question name. You can also 'pin' a question you are unsure about to make it easier to return to later. Click the 'pin' icon to fill in the icon:

Your instructor may also allow using a built-in standard or scientific calculator in your quiz. The icon to open the calculator is located at the top of the quiz page to the right of the timer countdown:

Text and essay answers

For any question type requiring text entry, you will have access to the Canvas Rich Content Editor with its variety of editing and formatting tools. If your instructor has set word limits, you will see the word count and word limit displayed at the bottom right of the editor window:

Note that if your instructor has set word limits, you will be allowed to exceed them - your answer will be flagged as exceeding the limit but you will not lose any part of your answer and your instructor will decide what penalty to apply.

Important Quiz Notes

Quiz Close Timing: If there is a specific closing time set on your quiz, such as if it is an exam being taken in a specific time window (eg. 9:00 - 11:AM, this will NOT be visible on the quiz launch page so you should be aware of any limits in advance. Within the quiz itself, the countdown timer WILL show the ACTUAL time you have remaining, ending at the cut off time. This means that if you launch a 1-hour time limited quiz LESS than an hour before the close time, the close time will be applied and you will not have the full hour to complete the exam.

Accessing Quizzes from the gradebook: clicking a link to a quiz from the gradebook in a course tries to show students the 'results view' of a quiz (where they would normally review an attempt.) This can be confusing as there are messages saying that 'No preview is available' and that 'Grades are unavailable because the instructor is working on them.' To launch the quiz from the quiz results page, click the quiz name in the top bread crumbs:

French Numerical Answer Entry: If you are using French or another language that uses a comma as the decimal separator as the default language on your computer, then when you enter in a decimal with trailing zeros (i.e. 99.00) as the answer for a Numerical question, it will erase the trailing zeros (i.e. "99" instead of "99.00"). To avoid this, you can use a comma as your decimal separator instead of a period (i.e. 99,00).

Taking a Classic quiz

When you start a Classic quiz, you will see the following information about the quiz:

• When it is due
• How many points the quiz is worth
• How many questions are included
• When the quiz becomes available
• How much time you have to complete the quiz

Note: The number of points will not necessarily be the weight included in the final grade your instructor has assigned to the quiz.

When you are ready to start, click Take the quiz:

If your instructor has set an access code or password for the quiz, submit it here. Otherwise, this page will be skipped:

Once you have started, you will be presented with any instructions your instructor has included for the quiz overall, and you will see your first question:

Unless your instructor has restricted your ability to navigate freely in the quiz, you can navigate between questions with the Next and Previous buttons

You can also skip to questions by clicking on the question name at the top right of the quiz page:

If your instructor has not restricted your ability to navigate freely, you can also flag a question you are unsure about to make it easier to come back to later:

Once you are ready, you can click to Submit quiz:

You will receive a warning that once submitted, you cannot change your answers.

Customizing Notification Settings

Users can specify how or whether to receive messages from Canvas under Notifications:

Notifications for a wide of range of Canvas actions can be set to either Notify Immediately, Daily Summary, Weekly Summary, or Notifications Off by clicking the icon in the column below your email address:

The dropdown above the table allows users to set notifications for their entire account:

or for specific courses:

Important note: Students should NEVER disable the notification option for Announcements for their account or courses because this is the main method that instructors use to communicate important course information.

Customizing Your Profile

Under the Profile link, users can access their profile and view optional fields they can set for their account: Name Pronunciation, additional Contact methods,  Biography, or external Links

These fields can be edited by clicking Edit profile at the top right. You are also able to add a profile picture by hovering over the grey avatar near the top left of the page and clicking the edit icon:

Changing Account Settings

Under the Settings item, users can view the important details of their account. Most of the fields are pulled directly from Bear Tracks and are not editable in the system. If users need to make changes to any of these fields, for example a name change, that should be done in Bear Tracks and the change will automatically be reflected in Canvas.

Note that the name displayed in Canvas maps to the preferred name/last name fields set in a user's Bear Tracks account; if no preferred name is set, the first name is used. Users making affirmed name changes must also set their preferred name to match for that to display in Canvas.

Some settings can be changed (by clicking Edit Settings) from the center right of the page:

• Pronouns: users can select their personal pronouns.
• Language: users can choose to convert the interface language.
• Time Zone: users living in different locations can convert due dates to their local time.

Choosing Feature Options

At the bottom of the Settings page, users can enable a number of features specific to their account by toggling the sliders:

Some features of note are:

• Automatically show closed captions - toggles text captions when viewing media.
• Disable Celebration Animations - turns off the automatic confetti displays that occur for when assignments are submitted on time and for instructors who trigger a clean link validation run.
• High Contrast UI - enables an alternate Canvas visual interface that increase the color contrast of text, buttons, and other elements so they are more distinct and easier to identify.
• Microsoft Immersive Reader - enables a customizeable text-to-speech reading tool by default for pages, assignments, and course home pages. (This feature is also enabled site wide.)

All the general guidelines for taking exams online still apply to this version of the software, and users can still get help by contacting eClass support at 780-492-9372 or eclass@ualberta.ca.

System Requirements:

- a Windows, Mac, or Chrome device running the Chrome web browser (Unlike for SEM V1, Microsoft Edge is not compatible with SEM Version 2  recommended.)
- a built-in or external webcam

Accessing SEM and Configuring Permissions:

SEM version 2 is accessed through Canvas as a link on your course page:

The first time you run Smart Exam Monitor, you'll be prompted to validate your device:

Chrome will likely prompt you to allow camera and microphone access, be sure to click "allow" when these pop up:

When the screen-sharing prompt comes up, be sure to share your entire screen:

If the validator reports that popups are blocked, you'll need to unblock them by clicking the icon on the right side of the URL bar, then selecting "always allow":

If any of the permissions still have an 'x' beside them, you'll need to fix them from chrome://settings/content (select settings for sem2.uofa.edufide.com) and run the validator again:

otherwise, you should see this prompt to return to the home page:

You'll now be prompted to install the SEM app:

That this is a Chrome progressive web web app, which will be installed in your system's Chrome profile. The app will take an insignificant amount of disk space and can be removed any time by typing chrome://apps in chrome's URL bar.

Additional guidlelines and information are available in the vendor-supplied guide Taking an exam using Smart Exam Monitor V2.

Launching SEM Exams

Once your device is validated and you select the SEM link in your course, you will see the SEM dashboard with any available exams. Click the "Take exam" button in the popup window:

Follow the prompts to share your screen and camera, being sure to share your 'entire screen' as you did in the validation step. You'll likely be prompted to make a 20 second recording of your surroundings (you may need to scroll down to find the "record area" button:

At the 'screen' step, find the "confirm screen share" button below the preview of your screen:

Continue to follow prompts to take clear photos of your face and ID (preferably UofA OneCard). Once you've completed the steps, you can launch the exam from this window:

The window that opens will prompt you to maximize it, and once you do so, it will redirect you to the Canvas quiz page, where you can paste the password and click Submit Once the Attempt Quiz to launch the exam. You can paste the password from the clipboard when prompted:

When your exam is completed, click the "Stop recording" button or close the SEM window. 

Known Issues

• When first launching the SEM app and initializing the screen sharing, an erroneous alert saying No person detected in camera is displayed. This can be safely ignored by clicking OK on the alert, then clicking Check for person in camera to proceed.
  
  .
• During the exam, there will be an alert at the top of the application showing the eClass url and quiz title. Do not close the alert or you will need to re-launch your SEM session and re-access the quiz.
  
  
  
  
• Some users have run into problems having the SEM app maximizing correctly when the app is zoomed in or out. This is indicated by a magnifying glass icon near the top right of the header bar. Resetting the magnifying glass resolves this problem.
  
  

Students can access and install a mobile app for Canvas from the Google Play Store for Android devices and the Apple Store for Apple iOS devices.

The app lets you view your course and activities, bookmark pages, attempt quizzes, participate in discussions, and submit assignments. The app also includes access to Canvas Studio if you need to submit a video or screen capture.

Note: The mobile app has some limitations, such as the QR code login. You may view the known limitations here.

Two versions of the Canvas mobile app are available, one for students and one for instructors. Be sure to download the student version with the red icon:

The application allows access to the following features on its home page:

• Your Course Dashboard
• Your Canvas Calendar
• Your To Do list
• Course Notifications
• You Canvas Inbox

Tap on any tile to open a course or use the buttons at the bottom for other features.

To toggle between a course list and course tiles in the Dashboard, click the square icon at the top right:

To change a tile colour or nickname a course, so you can locate it more easily, tap the 3 dots on a course then tap an option:

You can use the 'All Courses' link' to get a quick list of all of your available courses in Canvas:

Open a course by tapping on it. If you tap on a star so that it is filled in, it becomes a favourite course, and all other courses are hidden from your Dashboard.

To access more advanced options and settings, click on the top left icon:

The app menu allows access to Files, Bookmarks, Canvas Studio, general app settings and more:

To add a bookmark, open any  course activity and click the three dots

and select 'Add Bookmark.'

The Settings link in the top left app menu opens options for the App Theme, your Profile Settings, and Notifications:

Limitations of Using the Mobile App

• Some external tool apps (may not function correctly when launched from the app).
  
  
• If you use the QR code to log in as below, be aware that your login will expire, and your session will end after 10 minutes.

You can log into Canvas by scanning a QR code from your user Account page:

When you click the link, you will receive the following security warnings:

• Sharing a QR code can give others immediate access to your account through the Canvas mobile applications.
• Please make sure no one is able to capture the image on your screen from your surroundings or from a screen sharing service.
• Click "Proceed" to continue.
• Click "Cancel" if you donʼt want the code displayed.

With the QR code, you will see a notice that "This code expires after 10 minutes."

It is not the QR code but the user session that expires after 10 minutes:

For longer sessions, log into the app directly with your CCID and password.

System and Browser Requirements

Canvas provides a support article outlining its system and browser requirements. The page also includes a built-in check that shows if your browser is supported and up to date:

Logging in

Starting from most ualberta.ca pages, you can find the link to Canvas in the menu located within the 3-dots found on the upper-right on the header.

UAlberta Single Sign-On

If prompted, log in with your UAlberta CCID credentials.

New in May 2026: students who have opted in to Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) for students may also see their Duo mobile authentication screen when accessing Canvas courses:

Canvas Dashboard

The dashboard should be the first screen you see after logging in and display the published courses available to you at the top.

*Note: If you do not have a CCID or require any changes to your UAlberta account and other central services such as Bear Tracks or Gmail, please contact IST Helpdesk at 780-492-8000 or through the U of A Service Portal available on the Staff Service Centre and the Student Service Centre webpages. You can also visit their website at http://ist.ualberta.ca/.

For detailed information on Canvas' overall accessibility standards, including the recommended screen readers, please see the Canvas community support portal guide. 

User-based Preferences

Canvas offers two accessibility-focussed options that users can enable for their Canvas experience, both available as toggles at the bottom of the Account callout available from the global left-nav. :

High Contrast UI: this option enhances the colour contrast of text, buttons, and other elements to make them easier to distinguish.

Dyslexia Friendly Font: this option replaces its the Canvas default font with OpenDyslexic, an open source font designed for improved readability for those with common dyslexia symptoms. For more information see Canvas' blog post announcing this feature.

Microsoft Immersive Reader

The built-in Microsoft Immersive Reader, enabled by default for all users in Canvas, launches a full screen overlay for any compatible content that provides a an enhanced reading view. Users will see large font text and can launch a voiceover that highlights text as it proceeds and can customize the reader to meet their reading style or language.

If the Immersive Reader is available for a particular piece of content, there will be an Immersive Reader button near the top right:

Launching the reader will display the content in full screen view. The voice over can be launched from the button at the bottom center, and all the customization options are available at the top right:

Additional Notes:

• The Immersive reader currently functions with the following content types in Canvas: Pages, Course home pages, and Assignment descriptions 
• The Immersive Reader is not compatible with Files, Quizzes (both Classic and New), Discussions, content embedded via the RCE-editor, or any external tools.
• The option to disable the Reader for individual users who do not want or require it for their account under Account > Settings > Feature options does not function at this time.
• The Canvas Community has full documentation on the Immersive Reader

Sensus Access Accessibility File Converter

New in August 2025, students can now convert any compatible content in Canvas into a range of accessibility formats directly through the module view in courses. The available formats include audio books, Braille, digital large-print, e-books and other accessible formats. The Sensus Access Accessibility File conversion tool automatically determines the available output formats available based on the specific type of canvas content: pages, files, discussions, and assignments. Students can select whichever type and format they need and prefer.

Students launch the tool by clicking the ‘S’ icon next to a particular item of content in their course page:

On their first launch of the tool, users will need to authorize the Sensus Access application to access their canvas data and should then see a confirmation that the app can authenticate before re-launching the file conversion: 

Once authorized, clicking Sensus Access will open a dialog displaying the various output options available for the specific piece of content selected in the Conversion type dropdown:

Students can then open the Conversion parameters area to select their preferred Target format: 

Depending on the format selected, students will have different output variations they can select:

Once the options are selected, students can just to download the file or have it emailed to them:

When selecting email, the file will be delivered directly to the user's CCID UAlberta email address associated with ther account in Canvas:

Important note: when requesting conversions for Canvas pages, since that content type can contain embedded media, students will first see a dropdown to Select a document to convert where they will need to select whether to request conversion of the page content itself or any of the embedded media or files:

Canvas Calendar Overview (Video):

Video Source: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Video-Guide/Calendar-Overview-Instructors/ta-p/382929

Calendar Basics

For topics including how to access the calendar along with various points of interest, please see the following guide:

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Basics-Guide/How-do-I-use-the-Calendar/ta-p/617613

Editing Events and Assignments

Editing Basics

For topics concerning how to edit the calendar along with associated assignments, please see the following guide:

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Basics-Guide/How-do-I-edit-or-delete-an-event-or-assignment-in-the-Calendar/ta-p/617605#edit_event

Tip: As noted in the article, deleting a Calendar entry also deletes the associated content elsewhere in Canvas (i.e. in an associated course)

Drag-and-drop

Canvas as the unique ability to allow users to modify their event timings by way of drag-and-drop functionality in the Calendar. Performing this operation on assignments with due dates will automatically adjust their respective activity date and time settings accordingly.

Users wanting to drag-and-drop items into a different month may do so by adjusting the mini calendar (top-right), and then drag from the main calendar on screen into the mini calendar.

The following guide illustrates what this looks like:

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Basics-Guide/How-do-I-edit-or-delete-an-event-or-assignment-in-the-Calendar/ta-p/617605#drag_and_drop_event_or_assignment

Calendar Filtering

Users can manage calendar events easier by filtering events by course where additions and updates can be made to those in active view.

For a guide on filtering by course, please see:

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Basics-Guide/How-do-I-filter-the-Calendar-view-by-course/ta-p/617609

Appointment Groups

As an alternative to using the Google Calendar for creating appointment slots, users can use the Canvas Calendar to create Appointment Groups.

• Adding Appointment Groups
• Viewing and Editing Appointment Groups

More guides on Canvas Calendar:

• https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Basics-Guide/tkb-p/basics#Calendar

As the U of A transitions from the existing eClass environment to Canvas, many students may need to use both sites to access all of their courses. This article outlines how to link your Canvas courses to your eClass dashboard and to import your Canvas calendar into eClass. 

Note that within each LMS, both dashboards have links to the other site.
 

Linking a Canvas course

1. Find your course on your Canvas dashboard, and right click >> copy link address to copy the URL to the clipboard (when you hover over the link it will be in the format https://canvas.ualberta.ca/courses/####):
   
   
   
   
2. On your eClass dashboard, enable 'edit mode' at the top right of the page, then click the "Add a block" button right above the course overview. Add a "Text" block:
   
   
   
   
   
3. Find the newly created text block at the bottom of the page. You can use the arrows icon to drag it up the page and position it below your eClass course list. Click the gear wheel and select "Configure block":
   
   
   
4. Type the course name (to match the style of the eClass links set the text size to "Heading (small)"). Select the text, click the 'link' button on the toolbar and paste your canvas course link:
    
   
5. If desired, you can reposition your new Canvas link block to the top of your dashboard. When you disable edit mode to return to the normal view, you will see the new block:
   
   
   

Adding your Canvas calendar to the eClass calendar

1. In Canvas, select "Calendar" from the left-side navigation menu. On the Calendar page, click the "Calendar Feed" button and copy the feed URL to the clipboard:
   
   
   
   
2. In eClass, find the Calendar block in the block drawer on the right-side of the page, click "Import or export calendars," then the "import calendar button:
   
    
3. Give the imported calendar a relevant name like "Canvas Calendar" and paste in the URL you copied in the first step. You can set the update interval to hourly if you want the most up-to-date view in your eClass calendar (don't set it to never!). Be sure to leave the type of event as "User." Click the Import calendar button, then return to your dashboard:  
   

Note, the timeline block on the dashboard can only show due dates, etc. for eClass events. You may find it more useful to add the "upcoming events" block (enable edit mode, click + add a block, select upcoming events). You can then delete the timeline block or move it elsewhere on the page. 

This service is similar to the former Mahara integration for eClass and will be offered going forward as an alternative to the other option available at the U of A, creating ePortfolios in Google Sites.

Accessing Canvas Portfolios

Portfolios are accessed inside Canvas through user's Account menus:

Instructor Guides

At this time, additional information for instructors can be found in the vendor-supplied usage guides:

Accessing Portfolios - For Teachers

Creating Evaluation Portfolios

Creating Showcase Portfolios

Student Guides

At this time, additional information for students can be found in the vendor-supplied usage guides:

AccessingPortfolios - For Students

Creating Showcase Portfolios For Students

Exporting and Sharing Portfolios

Known Issues / Usage Notes

- This new Canvas functionality is different from a previous Canvas iteration called 'ePortfolios' so users searching the web for documentation will need to note that distinction.

- On a user's first launch of the Portfolio tool, they will need to authorize the tool:

Taking Exams in Computer Labs (no webcams)

If students have Respondus LockDown browser exams that do not require webcam monitoring, these can be taken in most of the on-campus computer labs. These rooms -- if not otherwise booked for a class -- can be accessed by anyone with a OneCard and require CCID for authentication to the machines. All the computer in these spaces (with the exceptions listed below), have the Respondus application installed and available by searching for Respondus from the start menu.

The following lab rooms do not have Respondus so cannot be used:

• CCIS L1-150 (linux lab)
• CCIS L1-150 (linux lab)
• ETLC 5-013 (linux lab)
• ED S 155A (Mac lab)
• ED S 155B (Mac lab)

Taking Exams in Study Rooms (webcams allowed)

For students who need to take Respondus Lockdown browser exams that require webcam monitoring, these can be taken in the bookable Cameron Library study rooms. These are private spaces that contain U of A provisioned computers with Respondus already installed. These computers may already have a USB webcam attached but since these are unsecured rooms, students must bring their own external webcams.

Students can reserve these rooms using the library's Cameron Library Study Room booking service.

Using MFA

New in May 2026: students who have opted in to MFA for students may also see their Duo mobile authentication screen when trying to access Canvas and will need to complete that process prior to gaining access to their exams:

If you are using a public computer: Always choose, "No, other people use this device".

IgniteAI Search for Courses is an AI-powered search tool designed to help students, and other participants, find specific content within a course more effectively than a standard keyword search. Using semantic algorithms, it understands the context and intent behind queries. For example, if you search for "midterm prep," it may surface results for "study guides" or "practice exams" even if the word "midterm" is not in the title. IgniteAI will search across content and activities including Assignments, Announcements, Discussions, Pages, etc.

Instructor Setup Guide

To being using IgniteAI Search for Courses, go to your course Settings > Feature Options (tab) , and then look for the IgniteAI Search for Courses tool and ensure that it has a green checkmark.

You may need to refresh your page for it to update and display the IgniteAI Search tool in the course navigation where it can be manually positioned in the menu like the other items in the Navigation settings.

Using IgniteAI Search for Courses

After first clicking on IgniteAi Search, there will be an initialization screen. 

After initialization, you may begin searching and using the built-in filters.

For further details, please consult What is IgniteAI Search for Courses?