Building a Well-Designed, Accessible Course in Canvas

Current Status

Not Enrolled

Price

Free

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How this course works

You can read the pages in any order, and you do not have to mark a page complete to move to the next one. To earn your certificate, click Mark Complete on each lesson and topic as you finish it, then take the final quiz and score 85% or higher. When every page is complete and the quiz is passed, your certificate unlocks and you can download it anytime from the course page.

A practical, research-based path from an empty Canvas shell to a well-designed, accessible course you can reuse every term.

What you’ll be able to do by the end

This course models the practice it teaches, so it starts with its own outcomes. By the end, you will be able to:

  • Plan a course from measurable learning outcomes using backward design.
  • Set up your Canvas course shell, navigation, and availability so students get in exactly when you intend.
  • Build accessible content with structured pages and units, organized to match how you teach.
  • Create assignments, tests, and rubrics that align to your outcomes.
  • Set up your gradebook with an intentional grading scheme before grades post.
  • Set up course communication, including scheduled announcements and automated alerts.
  • Prepare the course for students and reuse it across terms.

Course Content

Lesson 1: Design before you build 3 Topics
Lesson 2: Set up your Canvas course 3 Topics
Lesson 3: Structure your content 3 Topics
Lesson 4: Assessments that align 3 Topics
Lesson 5: Set up your gradebook 2 Topics
Lesson 6: Accessibility by construction 4 Topics
Lesson 7: Set up course communication 3 Topics
Lesson 8: Maintain across terms 3 Topics
Canvas course: Final competency quiz