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  • Using Canvas
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   Using Canvas

  • Help with your gradebook
  • Add a teaching assistant
  • Plagiarism checking on assignments

more Canvas resources ...

  Using Media

  • Install Kaltura Capture
  • Share media in Canvas
  • Upload media

more Media resources ...

  Using Student Response

  • Poll Everywhere Overview
  • Poll Everywhere FAQ

more Student Response resources...

New to OSU or Teaching?

  • Get Started Guides for Tools
  • Center for Teaching and Learning
  • Employee Training in Bridge

Training Opportunities

  • Learn@OregonState Webinars
  • Canvas Academy
  • Faculty Development Resources

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Other Tools in Canvas

  • Publisher Tools
  • Gradescope
  • Turnitin

other tool resources ...

News + Updates

  Summer 2025 Updates - see what's new in Canvas, Perusall, Poll Everywhere, and more

 

Calendar of Events

...more Calendar events

Issues, Outages and Updates

  • Current and Past Issues
    • Canvas Status
    • Kaltura Status
  • Canvas Changes and Updates
  • Top Hat Changes and Updates
  • Kaltura Changes and Updates

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a media (audio or video) assignment in Canvas?

To create and successfully manage a media assignment in Canvas, use the following two documents. The first document is used by faculty to create the assignment, the second document should be added as a link in the assignment so students have the information they need to complete the assignment.

  • Kaltura Instructor Guide: Create a media assignment in Canvas
  • Kaltura Student Guide: Instructions for creating and submitting media to a Canvas assignment
How do I create a media (audio or video) assignment in Canvas?
Can I adjust the due date on an assignment for one or a subset of students?

Yes, Canvas refers to this as creating a differentiated assignment and these assignments allow an instructor to provide an alternative due date for one or more student or assign a graded activity in Canvas to a subset of students, e.g. a graduate student-only assignment.

Read more about adjusting the due dates on a Canvas assignment for a subset of students.

Can I adjust the due date on an assignment for one or a subset of students?
Top Hat: How do instructors see their course from the students' view?

Instructors can see how changes you make to your course affect the student view by creating a Test Student account.  Read instructions in this article on the Top Hat website for creating a Test Student account or watch this recorded webinar to walk through the steps

Note: you can avoid the student paywall--just send an email to support@tophat.com from your ONID email address and request an 'access key' to use for setting up a Test Student account.

Top Hat: How do instructors see their course from the students' view?
Is my Canvas course ready?

Before you publish your Canvas course site, read the article Canvas Course Checklist on oregonstate.teamdynamix.com to make sure your site is ready to go.

If you are not sure what a Canvas course could look like, check out the example Canvas course templates below, and learn how to import the templates.

  • OSU basic course template
  • OSU hybrid course template
Is my Canvas course ready?
Top Hat: How do I give different versions of a formula question to each student?

For courses that require students to calculate numerical responses using formulas, Top Hat's Formula Question, exclusive to Pages and Test, allows instructors to offer a different number for students to use for calculating the formula so that no one gets the same question! Check out this Top Hat support article for instructions on setting up a Formula Question.

Top Hat: How do I give different versions of a formula question to each student?
Top Hat: If students experience connectivity issues, is there something I can do to help?

Here are some tips that may help students with connection issues: 

  • Advice students to connect to OSU Secure WIFI before answering Top Hat questions. 
  • Advice students to keep their browsers up-to-date and check to make sure their systems meet the Top Hat system requirements
  • Encourage students to report connection issues to Top Hat 
Top Hat: If students experience connectivity issues, is there something I can do to help?
Can I copy (import) content from one Canvas course into another?

Yes, you can copy content from any course in which you have 'edit' permissions to any other course in which you have 'edit' permissions.

Read more about copying content from one Canvas course into another.

Can I copy (import) content from one Canvas course into another?
Top Hat: How can an instructor preview Top Hat questions as a student?

Instructors can use the preview question feature to confirm a question is formatted correctly. Please read details in the article: Educator: Previewing questions. 

Top Hat: How can an instructor preview Top Hat questions as a student?
How can I change which email I receive my Canvas notifications?

Each Canvas user at Oregon State has their ONID email address set as their default Canvas email address. Your ONID email address is created from your ONID username, i.e. ONIDusername@oregonstate.edu. The ONID email address cannot be removed from Canvas, however it is possible to add other email addresses to Canvas and turn off or adjust settings to prevent or minimize Canvas notifications to your ONID email address. If you are a faculty or staff employee at Oregon State, we highly recommend that you add your employee email address (e.g. firstname.lastname@oregonstate.edu) to Canvas.

Adding Alternative Email Addresses to Canvas

  1. Click the Account button in the top left corner of the main Canvas menu
  2. Click Settings from the fly-out menu that appears
  3. Click + Email Address in the menu on the right side of the account settings page
  4. Enter your alternative email address into the Email Address field
  5. Click Register Email. A pop-out notification should appear directing you to check your alternative email inbox.
  6. Open your alternative email inbox and locate the confirmation email from notifications@instructure.com
  7. Open the email and click the link within the email with the text "Click here to confirm this registration"
  8. Return to your Canvas account settings page and verify that your email address text color has changed from orange to black - this indicates your email address has been confirmed

Adjusting Which Email Receives Canvas Notifications

  1. Click the Account button in the top left corner of the main Canvas menu
  2. Click Notifications from the fly-out menu that appears
  3. Adjust the frequency of notifications being sent to each confirmed email address in your Canvas account
    • Turn notifications off for any email address that you do not want to receive notifications.
    • Review additional information on Canvas notifications
How can I change which email I receive my Canvas notifications?
Top Hat: What is the best way for students to create their account?

Creating an account through the Top Hat course menu item in Canvas is the preferred method for students to create and access their Top Hat account. If your instructor is using Top Hat and does not have a Top Hat menu item in their Canvas course, let us know at classroom.response@oregonstate.edu and we can reach out to the faculty member.

  1. Navigate to the OSU Beaver Store to purchase your Top Hat subscription code and choose a 1-term or 1-year subscription. 
  2. Go to one of your Canvas courses that is using Top Hat, click on Top Hat in the course menu on the left.
  3. Click on Sign up to create a Top Hat account. Make sure to use your OSU ONID email when creating your Top Hat account. 
  4. Agree with the Terms and Conditions and click Next to proceed.
  5. Click Continue to and enter the subscription code you purchased previously at the OSU Beaver Store (see step #1 above).
  6. Complete the purchase and click on Go to my Lobby to see any Top Hat course(s) in which you are a student.

NOTE:  It is very important that students register their Top Hat account using their OSU ONID email address. Creating a Top Hat account using a non-ONID email will prevent student Top Hat scores from synchronizing with their grades in Canvas. Using the steps above will automatically link your Top Hat account to your ONID email address, as long as you have not changed your default email in Canvas. If you used a non-ONID email address for your Top Hat account, use these instructions to change your Top Hat account setting.

Top Hat: What is the best way for students to create their account?
What type of support do students have?

All OSU Canvas users may access Canvas tech support 24 x 7 x 365 by clicking the Help button in the left-side gray navigation menu. Support is available via phone (844-329-3084 toll free), live chat, and email form through the Help button. Additionally, students can browse the Canvas Student Guides for help documents.

What type of support do students have?
Top Hat: Is it possible to prevent students from responding to questions outside of class?

It is possible to determine if a student is physically located within the classroom for attendance purposes with Top Hat, but it is not possible to completely prevent students from responding to questions asked in class with Top Hat.  However, Top Hat does have two features that will help to minimize students' ability to respond remotely.

Method 1: Secure Attendance

Top Hat offers a feature called Secure Attendance which enables a faculty member to determine who is physically located in the classroom when using the Attendance feature of Top Hat. Faculty have the option of using geolocation only or geolocation and proximity to determine student attendance. Secure Attendance does NOT prevent students from responding remotely to questions asked in class.

Method 2: Minimize Remote Responses to Questions

To minimize the ability of students to respond remotely to questions asked in the classroom, faculty can enable the option to prevent students from seeing question details on their mobile devices. To enable this feature:

  • From within Top Hat, click your name in the top right corner.
  • Select Course Settings 
  • Select Advanced Options
  • Check the box next to the option "Students cannot view the details of a presented question, they can only see the response options (students will need to see the question projected on a screen)"
  • Click Save Changes
Top Hat: Is it possible to prevent students from responding to questions outside of class?
Can a Canvas visitor be added to an OSU Canvas Studio site?

Yes, a Canvas visitor (non-OSU individual) can be added to OSU Canvas Studio sites. They cannot be added to Canvas courses managed by the Registrar's Office.

Read the article Add a non-OSU individual to a Canvas Studio site on oregonstate.teamdynamix.com

Can a Canvas visitor be added to an OSU Canvas Studio site?
Top Hat: How can an instructor add a student as a TA in their Top Hat course?

OSU students can be added as TAs to a course using the same email (ONID) address. Please read Top Hat's support article here for more details.

Top Hat: How can an instructor add a student as a TA in their Top Hat course?
Can I request a new feature or tool in Canvas?

Yes, you can submit a feature request in the Canvas Community. It’s a good idea to check the Canvas Community to see if any other users have requested the same or similar feature. You may also contact the Learn@OregonState team if you have questions about the process or would like to submit a request for a third-party integration or would like to know more about our evaluation process for integration requests.

Can I request a new feature or tool in Canvas?

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