• Working with Modules to organize Weeks or Topics.
  • Linking the Home Page to the Modules.


Working with Modules to organize Weeks or Topics.

0:00

Now that the homepage of the course is set up our next step is to set up all the weeks or topics which Canvas calls "modules."


From the homepage click "modules". 


We're going to add some modules for our students. Click "+Module" to make a new module. Now the first one is going to be called Course Orientation and Resources. Click "Add module."


We need another module called "Week 1". So click +Module. The topic for this course is geology and "Plate Tectonics" is going to be the week 1 topic.


I’m going to add more modules. Week 2, volcanoes etc... And I'll pause and come back when I’m done. I finished adding all the modules for this eight-week course.  


I will, of course, have to add items underneath Course Orientation and Resources, a welcome message, a syllabus and other things. And under "Week 1: Plate Tectonics" I'll have lots of information. I'll have a week overview, Content Pages,  maybe PowerPoint files, a Quiz, an Assignment and other things. But for now I'm just trying to hook up the big structure of the course so that all the weeks, all the modules, exist. And here you can see week 2, and week 3 on down to the end.


Linking the Home Page to the Modules.

1:25

I'm going to go back to the home page to link up the home page to all of those modules. First I need to make this “Start Here: Course Orientation” button link to the module named Course Orientation and Resources. I click “Edit”. Then click the Start Here button to select it. Then click the down arrow next to the Links icon, and click Course Links.


I want to link a module not a Page or Assignment, so click the arrow to open Modules. Then click the Course Orientation and Resources module.


Next I want to put links to all the weeks. I’ll close that window and scroll down.  I’ll grab these dots to make the window bigger. I select and delete the placeholder weeks. Delete all this stuff.  I  leave that first bullet. With the cursor at the first bullet, click the Link icon, and then click Course Links. Come down to the Modules area, click the arrow if need be, and click Week 1. That puts the Week 1 link into the home page. Then, with the cursor next to the week 1 link, press Enter to get to a new bullet. Then click Week 2 and come back and press Enter. Continue like this for all the weeks. And close that window.


Lastly, I'll click Save.


Conclusion

3:13

Here we have it: a home page now with links to all the modules. If the student clicks on one of them, like week 2, it jumps them to the module view and puts that week right at the top of the page. That's it. Now we have the bones of the course set up: the big structure, the home page and the links to the modules. Next we'll add some content.