Canvas Tip: Announcements Three Ways!

Scheduled Announcements

Did you know you that when you create an announcement that you can use the delay post option and schedule it to be shared with students at a later date? Take advantage of this feature when creating your course calendar and schedule announcements for future dates to remind student of critical dates, such as projects and exams.  Also, take a look at the college events page to identify and promote events happening on campus that may be beneficial to your course. Be sure you are celebrating course accomplishments, too, like the completion of a large project or exam.

Panopto + Announcements

Did you know that you can easily create a video announcement in Canvas using Panopto? The CTL has a laptop/webcam available as well as a standalone microphone for your use. To add video to an announcement simply click the more tools icon on the toolbar (it looks like a blue ‘V’) and choose Panopto videos and create or upload your video.  As a reminder, whenever you add video to your course you want to make sure that it is accessible.  Check out our Accessible Video Self-Guided Tutorial on the CTL website for more details.

Also, whenever you create an announcement with media it is a good habit to include text, too. Even a simple greeting, brief statement, and signature helps humanize the digital resources you share in your course. This also provides students with additional information if they receive notifications about their course on their cell phone but cannot view the media without going to the course itself.

Announcements on the Home Page

Did you know that you can display your announcements on the home page of your course? Go to your course settings, scroll to the bottom and choose more options, check the option to show recent announcements on the course home page, and set how many you would like displayed. Check out the How do I show recent announcements in the Course Home Page? guide for more details.