Canvas is Virginia Tech's learning management system (LMS). Instructors use Canvas to manage teaching materials like assignments, quizzes, feedback, and student grades. 

• Official courses are automatically created in instructors' Canvas accounts.
• Enrolled students are automatically added.
• Instructors can reuse teaching materials by importing them to a new course site.
• Canvas provides 24-7 support by phone (833-639-7621) and chat (click Support on any Canvas screen).

The Canvas Instructor Guide and the Canvas Student Guide have full instructions on using Canvas. These instructions are specific to Virginia Tech. To see other Canvas topics, please see:

• Using Canvas at Virginia Tech (for Instructors)
• Using Canvas at Virginia Tech (for Students)

Contents

• Learning to Use Canvas
• Canvas Topics
• Canvas Updates
• Canvas Release Notes
• Feature Idea Conversations
• Getting Help

Learning to Use Canvas

• Go to the Professional Development Network website and enroll in a Canvas workshop.
• Explore the Canvas Instructor Guide.
• Read this article. Click on each Canvas topic below to learn how to navigate and use Canvas. 

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Canvas Topics

Click on each topic to learn more about how to use Canvas. To see more topics, please see the Canvas Guides.

• Logging into Canvas
• Using Your Account
• Setting up Canvas Course Sites
  
  • Cross-listing Course Sites
  • Adding/Removing People from Course Sites
• Creating Teaching Materials
• Teaching with Canvas
• Creating Quizzes
  
  • Granting Student Accommodations with Quizzes
• Grading in Canvas
• Using Canvas as a Departmental Administrator
• Applying Best Practices for Canvas Course Design
• Requesting and Using External Tools (LTI Tools)
  • Canvas LTI Tools - List of Publisher Tools
  • Canvas LTI Tools - List of Collaboration Tools
  • Canvas LTI Tools - List of Multimedia Tools
  • Canvas LTI Tools - List of Assessment Tools
  • Canvas LTI Tools - List of Accessibility Tools
  • Canvas LTI Tools - List of Other Tools

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Canvas Updates

• Canvas is updated by Instructure every month.
• Canvas is updated over the weekend.
• Canvas is not taken offline when updates occur.
• Instructure has published a schedule for Canvas Updates.

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Canvas Release Notes

• About Canvas Release Notes
• List of Canvas Release Notes

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Feature Idea Conversations 

Idea conversations allow you to initiate or contribute to conversations about desired enhancements to Canvas functionality.

See About Idea Conversations. 

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Getting Help

For instructions on resolving common issues with Canvas, see:

• Troubleshooting Canvas (for Instructors)
• Troubleshooting Canvas (For Students)
• Recommended Browser Privacy and Security Settings for Canvas

Instructure, the creators of Canvas, provide 24-7 Canvas support, including live chat and a support hotline.

To get Canvas help, click Support on any Canvas screen and choose from help options:

• Search the Canvas Guides: Search Canvas documentation. 
• Chat with Canvas Support: Open a chat window in Canvas (or call the phone number). 
• Contact Virginia Tech 4Help: Submit an incident on 4Help or call 540-231-4357.
• Browse Virginia Tech Resources: See other Canvas Knowledge Base articles.
• Report a Problem: Submit a Canvas support case by filling out a short form.
• Ask the Community: Go to Canvas user community resources. 
• Submit a Feature Idea: Search a list of current feature idea conversations. Add to an existing conversation or start your own!

In Canvas, use the new Help Docs button located near the Support button that will provide quick access to a knowledge base located inside Canvas.

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