Canvas To Do List, Canvas Calendar, & Notification Preferences for Instructors & TAs

Modified on Thu, Jun 27 at 2:11 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

To-Do List
Tips for Helping Students with the To Do List
Canvas Calendar
Notification Preferences in Canvas

To-Do List

For instructors, the To-Do List will show which assignments are ready to be graded. The To-Do List will not show ungraded assignments, such as ungraded quizzes or assignments that do not require a submission in Canvas.

Please note: Instructors will not see New Quizzes listed in their To-Do Lists. If your course uses New Quizzes, please regularly check student submissions for New Quizzes on the Moderate page.

The blue number in a circle next to the assignment will tell you how many items have been submitted and are ready to be graded.

Clicking on the name of the assignment will open up the submission for grading in SpeedGrader. Instructors can also hit the X mark next to the assignment name to ignore the assignment and remove the assignment from the To Do List.

Please note: A removed item cannot be re-added to the To-Do List. The item will re-appear on the To Do List only if there are new submissions.

Instructors also have a Coming Up section underneath the To Do List that shows events and assignments that will happen in the next seven days. This section will show all assignments regardless if they will need to be submitted by students or not.

For more information about the To Do List, please consult: How do I use the To Do list and sidebar in the Dashboard as an instructor?

Tips for Helping Students with the To-Do List

Please remind students they should not rely entirely on the To Do List to know what assignments need to be completed for a given class or week. Many online courses use Modules to organize weekly assignments and activities, so students should regularly look at the "Modules" tab in their courses.
When possible, it is recommended that you add due dates to Canvas assignments so these items appear on students' To Do Lists.

Canvas Calendar

The Canvas Calendar will show all of your current courses that have Canvas sites. There are a few different views that you can set for your Calendar. For information, please consult How do I use the Calendar as an instructor?

Please note: The Calendar automatically syncs with other features in Canvas, such as Assignments, Syllabus, and Grades, so if you create, change, or delete the due date of an Assignment on the Calendar, it will show up in all the others and vice versa.

Notification Preferences in Canvas

Please set up your notification preferences to make sure you are aware of important student actions (e.g., assignment submissions) or communications from students (e.g., a Canvas message). For more information, please consult: How do I manage my Canvas notification settings as an instructor?

Also, please make sure to add and confirm your contact methods in Canvas. For more information, please consult: How do I add contact methods to receive Canvas notifications as an instructor?

Please note: Unregistered contact methods will appear in notification settings but will not receive notifications until you confirm the registration.