make an assignment in canvas

Getting Started with Canvas Assignments

• Last modification date Updated On June 8, 2023
• Categories: Assignments , Canvas , Uncategorized
• Categories: assessment , Getting Started , Grading

Canvas  Assignments  are a way for instructors to provide students opportunities to practice using the knowledge and skills they have gained or to assess student performance related to such knowledge and skills. (Creating an Assignment is the  only  way to create a new column in the Gradebook.)

In Canvas there are four basic  Submission Types  for assignments. The submission types include:

• No Submission : For assignments for which you are not collecting any content from the students.
• Text Entry : For students to enter text directly into a text box on Canvas.
• Website URL : For students to enter a URL (usually to a blog, video, podcast, etc.).
• Media Recordings : For students to upload or record media for submission.
• File Uploads : For students to upload files for submission ( Restrict Upload File Types  will allow you to limit which types of files may be submitted).
• On Paper : For assignments students will submit in person.
• External Tool : For assignments which students will submit through a third-party tool (such as Turnitin, Panopto Video Quiz, and PlayPosit).

Managing an Assignment

Managing assignment groups.

When getting started with Assignments, learn to

• Create an assignment shell with the Canvas guide  How do I create an assignment? 

If you select  Peer Reviews Appear Anonymously , annotation tools in  SpeedGrader  will become unavailable.

If you change the  Assign To  area from  Everyone  to select students after submissions have already begun, and do not have a second set of Assign To dates, submissions from unassigned students will disappear.

• Published assignments are visible as existing outside of availability dates, but students cannot see the details.
• If looking to update the due and/or availability dates on multiple assignments, see   How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?
• If choosing the option to make an assignment a  Group Assignment : If only assigning to specific groups, make sure to click the  X  on the  Everyone Else  choice under  Assign to .

Media Recording  Assignments are not recommended due to technical reasons. Instead, have students submit media by embedding it in a  Text Entry  assignment through Panopto .

Clearly express expectations and criteria for grading by using a  Rubric .

Be cautious limiting submission attempts, as students often make mistakes loading documents and need multiple attempts to ensure you have the correct submission.

• Delete an assignment with the Canvas guide  How do I delete an assignment?
• This duplication process will not work for Quizzes.
• Attach a rubric to an assignment for grading or to communicate expectations to students with the Canvas guide  How do I add a rubric to an assignment?

Accessibility Tips

• Use descriptive text for links, instead of long URLs or ‘click here’. 
• Make instructions brief and to-the-point. Avoid long paragraphs and sentences.
• Consider allowing multiple submission types to accommodate technical limitations students may face.

Assignment Groups  are a way to categorize different graded items in Canvas. For example, you may have journals, blogs, and essays which your students create in your course. Assignment Groups allow you to label and group different types of assignments separately in order to better organize and for ease when applying weighting (see  How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups? ). When getting started with Assignment Groups, learn to

• Add and delete assignment groups with the Canvas guide  How do I add an assignment group in a course?
• Move or reorder an assignment group with the Canvas guide  How do I move or reorder an assignment group?
• Make rules governing grading expectations within assignment groups with the Canvas guide  How do I create rules for an assignment group?

Additional Resources

• CTI Resource: What is the Assignments Index Page?
• How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?
• How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups?
• Canvas Student Guide

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About assignments in Canvas

Watch a video overview of Canvas assignments

Why do I have to re-create my assignments in Canvas?

If you already have assignments created in Word or Google docs, Catalyst tools, or posted online, you might wonder, “What’s the point is of recreating them in Canvas?” Not only does Canvas make it easy to create assignments with lots of options (selective release, group assignments, peer review, submission type) it also adds convenience for you and your students.

What are Assignment Groups?

Like Catalyst Gradebook, Canvas prefers for you to create assignment groups for organization. The groups you create control how the gradebook is structured and you can choose to weight final grades based on those groups. By default you begin with a group called Assignments. You can choose to keep all of your assignments in this one group, or create as many new ones as you like.

Where do I create assignments?

You can create assignments in the Assignments area of Canvas or in the Calendar. Your Assignments page will show the work you have assigned. In student view, the Assignments page will show all assigned work and the point value of each (if you set point values when setting up an assignment). Any graded activity (such as a discussion, quiz, essay or project) can be an assignment.

When you create an assignment in your Canvas course it is automatically added to the assignment list on the Syllabus page, the course calendar, and your gradebook. If you change the due date for an assignment, Canvas updates it course-wide. If you alter the assignment you can have Canvas notify your students.

What can I do with assignments?

Assignments can be used to:

• Set up online submissions that can be quickly graded in the SpeedGrader™
• Grade online submissions work submitted on paper
• Set up peer review
• Grade Discussions, either among the whole class or student groups
• Open Quizzes for a limited amount of time
• Create ungraded activities that align with course outcomes

Assignments and Grading

Having your assignments in Canvas and automatically linked to the gradebook means you can take advantage of SpeedGrader and rubrics to make the grading process faster and more efficient. Canvas communication tools allow you to provide your students with text or multimedia feedback on all assignments.

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Use Assignments with Canvas

Google Assignments and Canvas expanded Google Docs Editors and Google Drive to be compatible with Canvas for file submissions. With Assignments, you can distribute and grade student work, analyze student submissions for plagiarism detection, and use Google Docs and Drive with Canvas. 

Features and benefits of Assignments

When admins enable Google Assignments in Canvas settings, you can use its features and benefits.

• Grade in Google’s grading interface or in SpeedGrader™.
• File attachments to an assignment so each student gets their own copy to edit and submit.
• Detect missed citation checks and possible plagiarism with the originality reports feature.
• Students can submit Drive files to Canvas assignments, which instructors can grade in SpeedGrader™.
• Embed Drive files with the Canvas rich text editor.
• Add Drive files to Canvas Modules.

Assignments also provides improvements from Google Apps LTI:

• Officially supported by Google and covered by the Google Workspace for Education Terms of Service.
• Provides an option for admins to require students to use their school-issued Google accounts.
• Uses Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) 1.3 for stronger security.
• Create a new Canvas assignment.

Students can submit Drive files that you can grade with SpeedGrader™.

For teachers

Allow students to submit drive files with canvas assignments.

• After you create a new Canvas assignment, next to "Submission Type", select Online .
• Under "Online Entry Options", select File Uploads.

Important: You must select File Uploads or the submission will fail.

For students

Turn in assignments.

• Ensure you're signed into your school account. 
• Next to "File Upload", click  Google Drive.
• To open a Google Drive window, click Select file.
• Select the Drive file.

• Sign in to Canvas.
• Open the course.

• Sign in to your Google Account.
• Click Allow .
• Select the Google Drive file.
• Click Submit.

Open all   |   Close all

From October 2023, Instructure will no longer support the Google Apps LTI. This means:

• No new installs will be allowed.
• No further development will be made on it.
• No customer support will be available.

Google and Instructure makes sure that Google Assignments LTI 1.3 has the Google Apps LTI functions, and includes:

• Improved security
• Flexibility
• Integrations 

Current Google Apps LTI users won’t lose access but should transition over to Google Assignments LTI 1.3.

To use the latest Assignments features, you can install and migrate to Google Assignments LTI 1.3.

No. Currently, you can’t embed a form or select one as a file type for quizzes. To use Forms for quizzes, create a form and share the link with your students. Learn how to create a Google Form.

• Any submitted work for the Google Apps LTI Cloud assignment that you want to migrate will reset. 
• If you want to keep your previous submissions, make a copy of the Canvas assignment .
• Find the Canvas assignment you want to migrate to Google Assignments LTI 1.3.

• Click Find .
• If you can’t find this option, request your Canvas administrator to turn on Google Assignments LTI 1.3 .
• Link your Google Workspace for Education account.
• Click Continue .
• Attach the Drive worksheet files.
• Choose your grading tool, then make sure the due date and points are updated.
• Click Create .

Related topics

• Set up Assignments in Canvas
• Set up Assignments in Schoology or another LMS
• Set up Assignments in Blackboard
• Set up Assignments in D2L/Brightspace
• Set up Assignments in Moodle
• Set up Assignments in Sakai

Google, Google Workspace, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.

Need more help?

Try these next steps:.

Creating an assignment

• Log into Canvas as a teacher.

If the course is not displayed in the My courses list, select All courses , and use the checkboxes to add the course to the list.

• Select the + Assignment button.

• Group assignment • Peer reviews • Moderated grading • Points • Assignment group • Display grade as

Students can now submit group work to the Canvas Plagiarism Framework; each student in a group will receive an individual similarity score.

• Under Online entry options , select the File Uploads or Text entry check box.

The integration name is chosen by your administrator when first configuring Turnitin with Canvas . In the illustration above the chosen name is 'Turnitin Beta'. If you are unsure on what option to choose, contact your Canvas administrator.

• Submission indexing options
• Similarity Report exclusion options
• Changing Similarity Report availability options
• Choose a Similarity Report generation option that best suits your needs. Immediately - A Similarity Report will be generated at the time of submission. Immediately and on due date - A Similarity Report will be generated at the time of submission and on the assignments due date. We recommend this option as it allows for a collusion check within your class.

• (optional) Select the course you would like to assign the assignment to. This ensures that your assignment will only be available to students in this particular course.
• Amend the assignment's dates.

As Canvas may not immediately notify Turnitin that an assignment has been created, we advise waiting 90 seconds between creating the assignment and making the first submission. This will allow Canvas to notify us that the assignment has been created.

If you continue to encounter an issue with the Similarity Report failing to generate, you can select Resubmit to Turnitin from SpeedGrader, which forces the Similarity Report to generate.

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How to assign extra credit in canvas, extra credit overview, create a new assignment, add extra points to an existing assignment, fudge points, adding extra credit to the rubric.

Assigning extra credit may take some getting use to because there is no place within the assignments settings that you check to make the assignment worth extra credit. Yet, because of this, Canvas gives a lot of flexibility in how extra credit can be given to students.

Ways to Add Extra Credit

• Create A New Assignment Using Assignment with No Submission
• Using a Rubric

For specific information on how to add extra credit using the above methods, see the following Canvas Instructor Guide: How do I give my students extra credit?

*Note – You can add extra credit manually by downloading/exporting your Gradebook to Excel. This will be down in the Grade Override Column and to be completed at the end of the course, when entering final grades.

Keeping that in mind, the biggest determinant of how you set up your extra credit in Canvas is whether you are using a points-based gradebook or a weighted gradebook. A Points-Based Gradebook allows for the most flexibility in offering extra credit. The tabs above include ways to add extra credit for Point-Based Gradebooks.

Note: Adding extra credit to a Percentage-Based Gradebook does not work that well in Canvas. In general the best way to add extra credit to a percentage based gradebook is to NOT ADD EXTRA CREDIT UNTIL AFTER ALL OTHER COURSE GRADES ARE ENTERED INTO THE GRADEBOOK (including the final exam). Extra credit WILL NOT calculate correctly until ALL OTHER COURSE GRADES ARE ENTERED. This is because by adding the extra credit the gradebook is going over the normal 100%. You can add extra credit by adding an Assignment Group (category) for “extra credit” and make it worth the percent you would like the overall course grade to be raised if students get the full amount of extra credit.

Navigate to your course Assignments Page, and add a new assignment worth zero points. Make sure that the submission type is either “no submission” or “paper submission,” and click Save & Publish to create a column for this extra credit “assignment” in your Gradebook. If you are using a point structure and do not have weighted assignment groups, follow these steps.

• Click Assignments in the course navigation
• Click +Assignment
• Type the Assignment Name (for example, Extra Credit)
• Type 0 for Points
• Choose No Submission for the Submission Type
• Click Update Assignment
• Click Publish

After students complete the work, manually add points in the Gradebook.

• Click Grades in the course navigation
• Navigate to the new assignment (Extra Credit)
• Type the points for those students receiving extra credit

Adding extra points to an Assignment you’ve already created you will need to manually enter the extra points in the Gradebook.

In this example, the assignment is worth 40 points. Adding 5 extra points will bring the assignment total for this student to 45 points. The added points will increase total points calculated in the Gradebook’s final grade.

You can use Fudge Points to add extra points to a quiz. Fudge points allow you to manually add or remove points from a student’s overall quiz score.

• Click Quizzes in Course Navigation
• Click on the quiz you want to add extra points to
• Click SpeedGrader
• In the Student drop-down menu, select the name of the student that you want to give extra points to
• Enter the number of points you want to add to the overall quiz score in the Fudge Points field at the bottom. The Final Score shows the final score this student will receive.
• Click Update Scores to save the change to the student’s quiz score.

*Note – Fudge Points can only be added to Quizzes.

If you use a rubric to grade an assignment, you could make an additional criterion to the rubric for extra credit. Make sure the rubric is worth more points than the assignment so when you give students extra points it doesn’t affect the actual assignment points. For additional information on creating a rubric, please check out the Canvas Guides

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by Tessa May Webb | Apr 9, 2024 | Canvas , Canvas Features/Functions , How-tos , Instructional design

Tired of your students not being able to find assignments or submission links in Canvas? Using the same format since you started teaching? Here are some suggestions on how you can make your Canvas courses more streamlined, efficient, and interesting, to make life easier for both you and your students. 

Content Overview

What are modules.

• How can I organize my modules?

How can I control student access?

• What content should I display in a module?
• What are pages?

How can I use pages?

Combining modules with pages, beginning of the quarter checklist, choose your home page, notifications.

• Create a tour
• Accessibility

Organize your Canvas course

Depending on your subject and the type of content and reading material required, different options could be better suited to structuring your Canvas course site. Consider if your course and teaching style is better suited to being organized in modules, pages, or a mixture of both, and how to best store your files for students to access. 

Modules serve to structure course materials in a sequential pathway outlining the tasks students are expected to complete throughout the course.

How can I organize my modules? 

Most instructors typically choose between structuring their course content either on a weekly basis or around thematic units. Once you’ve determined your preferred module setup, consider the order in which the content within the modules appears. 

• Consider using text headers to divide up content, for example separating readings from presentation slides for each session. 
• Try putting action words next to each item, for example, Review, Read, Watch, or Complete, to make navigation easier. 
• Utilize pages as the start of a module to provide a more in-depth overview for students of upcoming work and content- this option will be detailed later in the post. 

Modules can be set to open automatically at a specific date , or all be open from the start of the course. You are also able to set prerequisite requirements that students must complete before viewing the following module. 

What content should I display in a module? 

Save specific instructions for once a student has clicked on the assignment, reading, or file. Keep the content high-level, because you are limited to adding only text in the titles of each object or in text headers. To avoid excess clutter in each module, consider utilizing pages . 

An example of how weekly modules can be laid out. 

What are pages? 

Pages in a course or group can be used as a platform to convey information and text, videos, and links to files. Plus, you can connect pages together through hyperlinks to make it easier to find related content. You can create a landing page for each week or unit of a course and link to everything students need from that page. As with modules, pages can be set to be published at a specific time . 

Incorporating files such as PDFs, Word documents, or PowerPoint presentations directly into your course pages enables students to preview the content without needing to download them separately. By creating pages that consolidate related files, images, and links in a single location, you can effectively prevent modules from becoming overly lengthy and cluttered. It is also possible to record a quick welcome video for your students directly on a page. This streamlined approach enhances accessibility and organization for students navigating through course materials.

Integrating both modules and pages in tandem can optimize the organization of your course content. For instance, you can begin each module with a “Module Overview” page, which outlines the objectives and provides an overview of the lecture materials or activities at the outset. This approach effectively communicates to students the expectations for the module, offering a clear understanding of what each “class session,” unit, or chapter entails. By employing this strategy, students can navigate through the module with a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered and the tasks expected of them.

Pages can act as an introduction to the content to come; when a student selects the Next button, it will take them to the next item in the module. 

You can select the Recent Activity Dashboard, Pages Front Page, Course Modules, Assignment List, or Syllabus as the homepage for your course . Consider which page you want students to use as their primary check-in point throughout the semester and ensure that it is set as the homepage. Otherwise, it will automatically redirect to the syllabus. Check out this previous ATS post for more information on creating custom pages. 

Make sure your syllabus is easy for students to access and refer to. You can do one or both of the following on the syllabus page :

• Insert the syllabus file or a link to your syllabus 
• Copy and paste the syllabus text onto the page

Doing one or both facilitates easy access and limits students from needing to download it repeatedly. It also means the syllabus will be visible for prospective students browsing through course offerings.

The syllabus page generates a “Course Summary” below the text you add to the page, which shows all items with a due date, as well as events . This feature can be toggled on or off depending on your preference.

Syllabus pages can provide links to modules and other content and resources.

At the beginning of the semester, it’s important to inform students about which forms of notification they should have enabled. These notifications can be adjusted on a course-by-course basis. For instance, if you’re encouraging the use of a discussion board, remind students to “subscribe” to the board to receive consistent updates, and remember to do the same yourself . This ensures that you and your students stay informed about important course discussions and activities. Additionally, you may want to suggest enabling notifications for announcements, assignment deadlines, and other critical updates to facilitate effective communication throughout the semester.

Ensure that students know how to subscribe so they do not miss any updates. 

It’s advisable to assign due dates to all Canvas assignments, discussions, and quizzes. This practice ensures that these items are automatically added to students’ Course Summary lists and calendars within Canvas. By combining due dates with organizing these activities within the appropriate module, students can easily view their upcoming tasks for the week or unit at a glance. This approach promotes better time management and helps students stay on track with their coursework. It will also mean that the assignments will appear under the Course Summary section of your syllabus page.

Adding due dates to assignments will ensure they are displayed on students’ calendars. 

The assignments will also be displayed under the course summary in the syllabus section if this option is selected. 

Create a tour 

Creating a Canvas tour video at the start of the semester and posting it as an announcement is a fantastic way to familiarize students with the platform and its various features. In the video, you can showcase tools that you’ve integrated and provide a guided tour of where all your course materials will be kept.

Always consider accessibility by utilizing the following resources: 

• Use immersive reader 
• Making your canvas site more accessible 
• Center for digital accessibility 
• Link Validator 

The most crucial aspect of your course design is to ensure consistency and accessibility for your students. Their focus should be on the learning content itself, not on struggling to navigate through complex structures. Keep the user experience simple and intuitive to facilitate their engagement with the material.

Further Resources

For additional inspiration and support, consider exploring the Canvas Community online , reaching out to Academic Technology Solutions (ATS) or stopping by during office hours . 

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