MIT Canvas Landing Page

On this page:

Overview

Canvas is a modern, easy-to-use Learning Management System (LMS) that brings instructors, students, and course content together in one place. It is cloud-based, so you can access all of your courses in real-time from anywhere, on any internet-connected device.

The modular architecture of Canvas allows for the ability to tap into a rich ecosystem of tools. MIT's Canvas includes several integrated services you can access using [MIT Touchstone Authentication] or your Infinite Connection Account including:

• Zoom - hold virtual classes or chat
• Piazza - an online gathering place where students can ask, answer, and explore 24x7, under the guidance of instructors
• Gradescope - administer and grade all of your assignments and exams, online or in-class
• Panopto - video recording and editing application

Requirements

• What are the browser and computer requirements for Canvas?

How to Login

Visit: https://canvas.mit.edu/

• MIT Students, Faculty and Staff - use MIT Kerberos with [Touchstone Authentication]
• Alumni - use Infinite Connection beginning on July 1, of your graduation year
• All other users (e.g. Guests) - contact your TA or Instructor for them to sponsor an MIT Guest Account on your behalf

Having trouble logging into Canvas? Contact the IS&T Service Desk 24x7 via phone call to 617-253-1101 or via email to servicedesk@mit.edu.

How to Use

• MIT Canvas Resources for Instructors
• Canvas's comprehensive how-to guides
• Once logged into Canvas with your MIT credentials, comprehensive training is also available in many forms including live webinars, recorded webinars, self-paced courses and more. Click on the "Help" button in the left-hand navigation bar, and select "Canvas Training" (you can also find the how-to guides there).
  
  
  
  
• Scheduling a Zoom Meeting from within Canvas
• Section Management in Canvas
• Roles and Permissions in Canvas
• How to Submit Canvas Grades to OGS at the End of the Term

FAQ's

For Faculty/Course Instructors

• How do I opt-in to teach my course using Canvas?
  Canvas courses are created before the next semester (should you choose to use them), and will display as tiles on lead faculty dashboards immediately upon login. They will also be listed under "Courses" on the left-hand sidebar once you login to Canvas. To start, your course is just a shell with a basic course template; no actual course content or membership has been populated, integrations enabled, and the course will not be visible (outside of your view) until it is published. If you are logging into Canvas, and do not see your course on either the dashboard or in the "Courses" tab, please email canvas-support@mit.edu.

• Can I migrate my course content from a previous Stellar course?
  Yes, and the team that is working to launch Canvas available to the MIT community is here to help. A number of students were hired to serve as Learning Technologists to support each academic department at MIT. These Learning Technologists are available to work with you personally to ensure that your course content is imported and displaying correctly. They will also ensure that all integrations are in place for your course site ahead of the start of the semester. You will receive an email from the point person in your department who is collecting requests to opt in to Canvas, and who will help to coordinate the work of these Learning Technologists to ensure that all course instructors receive the help that they desire. If you are not familiar with who the point person for your department is, please email canvas-support@mit.edu.

• What is a 'Temporary Sandbox'? Do I need it, and how do I sign up for one?
  Temporary sandboxes give instructors a temporary site to test any features of Canvas without causing harm to their actual course site. Temporary sandboxes may be useful in deciding whether or not Canvas is a learning management system that you would like to leverage for your course content. Temporary sandboxes are available upon request by either reaching out to your department's point person who is collecting requests from instructors who wish to opt in to using Canvas, or via email to canvas-support@mit.edu.

• Can I request a Canvas course outside of the current semester?
  The team that has been working to launch Canvas to the MIT community has been working tirelessly to make Canvas available for all academic courses that wish to utilize this learning management system, will be initiating a process for the creation of course sites for future semesters. All requests can be submitted via email to canvas-support@mit.edu.

• When will course membership populate?
  Course membership will begin to populate along in the registration cycle once the data is available in the system, usually within a week of registration changes (add/drop). If you believe your membership should already be populated and it is not, please contact canvas-support@mit.edu.

Pre-Registered students are converted to student status or removed from the course starting on Registration day and the conversion or removals should be complete within one week.

For Students

• Can I obtain access to prior-semester course content, and if so, for how long?
  If you no longer have access to a past course, please contact that course's instructor or the relevant department for guidance.

General Questions

• When should I reach out to Canvas directly for support?
  For all requests to create a brand new course, please email canvas-support@mit.edu. All other questions can be addressed by the Canvas 24x7 support team: see the "Have Questions or Need Help" section below.

• How should I log in if I'm an alum and an active faculty, staff or student?
  If you are a matriculating student or active faculty or staff, then please use your MIT Kerberos credentials by selecting MIT Student, Faculty, and Staff from the Canvas login choices

• Can I request a non-academic course?
  Yes. People wishing to explore using Canvas for non-course sites can request temporary sandbox sites. These temporary sandboxes will be in place during the semester, and content in them can easily be migrated in Canvas to more permanent locations when those become available. Temporary sandbox for non-academic courses can be requested via email to canvas-support@mit.edu.

See Also

• MIT Canvas Status Page
• Learning and Course Management systems at MIT
• Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) Beta
• Remote Access & Collaboration Tools Landing Page
• How long will I be able to access a Canvas site?

Have Questions or Still Need Help?

• Review our FAQ's above for a list of frequently asked questions related specifically to MIT's Canvas instance.

• If you need any further support for any items that cannot be addressed via the Canvas Guides linked above, all members of the MIT community can create a support ticket through the Help menu in Canvas which includes: “Report a problem”, phone number, live chat or email support@instructure.com. Be sure to include the following information to help expedite resolution of your ticket:
  
  
  • Detailed summary of the problem
  • When did this issue begin?
  • Who is affected? If students, include the name of student(s) to aid in troubleshooting if possible.
  • URL links to where you can see the problem
  • URL link to Course
  • Troubleshooting done (examples: Clear Cache and cookies, did you try an Incognito browser, have you tested on different browsers and/or devices?)
  • Please include a screencast or screenshot of the problem, if applicable.

• Having trouble logging into Canvas? Contact the IS&T Service Desk 24x7 via phone call to 617-253-1101 or via email to servicedesk@mit.edu.

Additional escalation information for Help Staff can be found here: [hd:Canvas Recon].