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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

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  • Poll Everywhere FAQ

more Student Response resources...

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Other Tools in Canvas

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other tool resources ...

News + Updates

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

 

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  • Current and Past Issues
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Frequently Asked Questions

What are merged and crosslisted course sites in Canvas?

When a course is listed under two different names, e.g. listed as both an undergraduate version and a graduate version OR listed under different designators, it is a crosslisted course. In other words, if the two versions of the course are taught at the same time and place, they should be crosslisted. In order for a course to be technically crosslisted, the crosslist designation must be set in Banner by the Registrar's Office. Once the courses are crosslisted in Banner, a crosslisted course site will appear in Canvas. The crosslisted course will have the same Canvas course code as one of the original sections with the exception of the addition of an "X" to the front of the section number.

If you are teaching or co-teaching multiple sections of the same course, you can use the Course Merge tool in Canvas to create a single merged Canvas course with the multiple sections contained within the course. The tool can be used to merge multiple Ecampus sections together, or to merge multiple on-campus sections together. Ecampus sections cannot be merged with on-campus sections.

What are merged and crosslisted course sites in Canvas?
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?
Why did OSU select Canvas?

From 2012-2014 OSU investigated our options and needs for instructional innovation and technology. Over the course of our campus-wide inquiry, Canvas was preferred by students and instructors alike as the system and technology partner that is in the best position to help us meet our goals. Learn more about the decision for Canvas at OSU.

Why did OSU select Canvas?
Top Hat: Can I sync Top Hat grades to Canvas?

Before you can sync grades from Top Hat to Canvas, you must first pair your Top Hat course with your Canvas course.

Pair Top Hat Course with Canvas Course

If you are using a combined, crosslisted, or merged Canvas course, please connect with our Classroom Response team before pairing Top Hat with Canvas.

  1. In Top Hat, open the course you want to pair with Canvas
  2. Click on your name in the upper right corner of the screen
  3. Select Course Settings from the menu that appears
  4. Click the LMS Setup & Sync tab
  5. Click the blue Enable LMS Sync button
  6. Click the Authorize Top Hat with your LMS button
    • You may be prompted to log in to Canvas. Use your ONID credentials to login.
  7. Select the appropriate Canvas course from the list of courses
  8. Click Next
  9. You will be prompted to select the appropriate Canvas course section(s) to pair with the Top Hat course.
    • At this time, we generally recommend that only one Canvas section be paired with a Top Hat course. Please connect with our Classroom Response team to talk about the impacts of selecting one vs. more sections in a combined, crosslisted, or merged Canvas course. We can help you determine the best approach for your specific course(s).
  10. Click Connect. You should see a LMS Sync Configured success screen once the courses are paired.

Review the full pairing instructions with images in Top Hat's support documentation.

Sync Top Hat Grades to Canvas

  1. In Top Hat, open the course in which you want to sync grades
  2. Click on your name in the upper right corner of the screen
  3. Select Course Settings from the menu that appears
  4. Click the LMS Setup & Sync tab
  5. Select whether you want a General Sync or a Roster Sync
    • A general sync allows you to sync folders, i.e. folder grade totals, and the roster
  6. Review sync options by clicking Edit to the right of the various options listed in the bottom box.
    • Grade Export Options:
      • Course: Export an aggregated Top Hat 'course' grade - will create one Canvas assignment
      • All top-level folders: Export top-level folder subtotals - will create a Canvas assignment for each top-level folder
      • Specified (top-level) folders only: Export selected (top-level) folder subtotals - will create a Canvas assignment for each selected folder
    • Attendance Options: Select whether to include or exclude Attendance in the sync
    • Points or Percentage Options: Select whether to send scores to Canvas as points or percentages
    • Roster Options: Select whether to keep or remove students who are no longer enrolled in the Canvas course
    • Grade Availability Options: Select whether Canvas assignments should be muted (grades unavailable to students) or unmuted (grades available) upon sync
  7. Click Run LMS sync
    • If "Course" or "All top-level folders" was selected for Grade Export Options, the sync will begin immediately
    • If "Specified folders only" was selected for Grade Export Options, you will be prompted to select the folder(s) to sync prior to the sync beginning.
Top Hat: Can I sync Top Hat grades to Canvas?
What options are available for sharing my Kaltura media with others?

You have several options for sharing your media with others. Which one(s) you choose will depend on what restrictions you want on who can view the media. Start learning about the different options by reviewing our documentation on sharing your Kaltura videos with others. Alternatively, you may be looking for instructions to share or transfer ownership or permissions of your media.

What options are available for sharing my Kaltura media with others?
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?
What is Accessibility Check?

Accessibility Check (also called UDOIT) is a tool for faculty to quickly identify and fix common accessibility issues in their Canvas course content.  This tool is not visible to students in Canvas. A few of the accessibility issues that the tool will detect include missing alternative text for images, poor color contrast, and missing descriptive link text.

Read the article Accessibility Check in Canvas on oregonstate.teamdynamix.com

What is Accessibility Check?
Is Turnitin compliant with FERPA?

Yes. Data is kept secure at all times and is only used for purposes of assisting the instructor in assessing the assignment. Students always maintain ownership of any work submitted to Turnitin.

Is Turnitin compliant with FERPA?
Top Hat: How do I create an account?

Please follow these steps to create an instructor account:

  1. Navigate to https://tophat.com and click register
  2. Click Educator 
  3. Enter your ONID email address, and click Next Step
  4. Click Log in with school account
  5. You will be redirected to OSU's login portal where you should enter your ONID credentials
  6. You will be redirected back to Top Hat where you will be prompted to create your Top Hat account
  7. Agree with the Terms and Conditions and click Next
Top Hat: How do I create an account?
Can I request my own Canvas studio site?

Yes, any person with ONID credentials can request a studio site.

Read the article Request a Canvas studio site on oregonstate.teamdynamix.com

Can I request my own Canvas studio site?
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 students access a Canvas site to finish an Incomplete?

Yes, if instructors give an Incomplete, the instructor may request to have the course re-opened for the instructor and the student so they can access quizzes, assignments, etc. Please review the full documentation for details.

Can students access a Canvas site to finish an Incomplete?
Can I download my videos? Can I allow others to download my videos?

Yes and yes. Check out our articles below for instructions:

  • Download your own media files from MediaSpace or Canvas
  • Allow others to download your media files
Can I download my videos? Can I allow others to download my videos?
Is there some self-paced Canvas training available?

Consider signing up for the Canvas Academy for self-paced Canvas training. A Canvas Academy participant can expect to learn how to use the core features of Canvas, have access to a Canvas expert, and pick up several useful tips and tricks along the way. Sign up for the Canvas Academy by contacting the OSU LPS team.

Is there some self-paced Canvas training available?
Do I need to inform students that Turnitin is being used in my class

Yes, any course using this software should include a statement in the syllabus. You may use or adapt the following:

“Your instructor may ask you to submit one or more of your writing assignments to the Turnitin plagiarism prevention service via Canvas (do not submit directly to the Turnitin website). Your assignment content will be checked against Internet sources, academic journal articles, and the papers of other OSU students, for common or borrowed content.  Turnitin generates a report that highlights any potentially unoriginal text in your paper. Papers that you submit through Turnitin for this class or any class will be added to the OSU Turnitin database and may be checked against other OSU paper submissions.  You will retain all rights to your written work."

Do I need to inform students that Turnitin is being used in my class

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