Cidi Labs Design Tools: Building a Syllabus Page

Table of Contents

1. Create a course syllabus
2. Diving into Design Tools
3. Managing syllabus blocks
4. Create a grading scheme
5. Choosing a Syllabus Theme

Creating a course syllabus

To begin crafting a Syllabus page for your Canvas course:

1. Access the course that you wish to create a syllabus page for by clicking on the Dashboard icon in the Global Navigation Menu, or by clicking on the Courses icon in the Global Navigation Menu and then click the All Courses link.
   
2. Click the Syllabus link located in your Course Navigation links.
   
3. Click the Edit icon located on the upper-right of the Syllabus page.
   
4. Launch Design Tools by clicking the rocket ship icon in the upper-right corner (this icon appears any where you can click edit and use the rich content editor).
   Quick tip: You may also use the keyboard shortcut: Alt + Shift + D 
   

Cidi Labs Design Tools should now be opened and located on the right-hand side of the page.

Diving into Design Tools

When creating a syllabus page, you do not have to reinvent the wheel: There is currently a built-in syllabus template that you can easily insert your course information into.

Adding the pre-built Syllabus template to your course page

1. Click the Create/Edit Syllabus Content dropdown item in Design Tools. Then, click the Copy Existing Content dropdown item.
   
2. Under Institution Template Pages, select the Syllabus template that matches your needs (Tallahassee, Panama City, Summer 2020, etc.).
   

At this point, it is recommended that you have a copy of your syllabus available to use a reference, as you simply have to Copy/Paste the plain-text information of your syllabus into its appropriate section. Be sure to remove Microsoft Word formatting as Canvas does not format text in the same way Microsoft Word does. Use one of the following keyboard shortcuts when pasting your text into Canvas:
Windows: Ctrl + Shift + V
Mac: Command + Shift + V

Adding or rearranging Syllabus blocks

1. Click the Add/Rearrange Syllabus Blocks dropdown menu.
   
2. Move the syllabus block by clicking and dragging the item.
   
3. Remove the syllabus block by clicking the red X to the right of the syllabus block.

Managing syllabus blocks

Canvas allows instructors to add custom syllabus blocks in case they are not satisfied with the current default blocks. You can also switch out syllabus blocks as needed for Summer 2020 institutional policies and Honorlock exam proctoring information.

Creating a custom Syllabus content block

1. Click the +Add Blocks icon.
2. Type in a title for your content block under where it says Create New Content Block and click the green + icon.
   

Adding an icon to your custom syllabus block

1. Click on the grey box to the left of the syllabus block you created (if you hover your cursor over the box, it should say Change Icon).
   
2. Select the most relevant icon out of the hundreds of icons that are currently available.
   

Create a grading scheme

A custom grading scheme can be added into your course Syllabus page. However, it must first be enabled in your course Settings. For more informaton on grading schemes in Canvas see How to set up your course Grading Scheme.

Choosing a Syllabus Theme

Changing the theme of your syllabus will allow you to change the colors and look of your syllabus page. By default, our Institutional Syllabus theme is set to "Flat Sections 1."

Changing your Syllabus theme

1. Select the Choose a Theme dropdown.
   
2. Hover your mouse over one of the available Institutional Themes and click the theme that you wish to apply to your syllabus page.
   

After following these steps, you should have a course syllabus that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also easy for students to navigate through and see what is expected of them in your course.