Questions about teaching online? Get support from UBC’s Learning Technology Hub:
Mon-Fri | 9:00-4:30 — LIVE virtual support for instructors »
Below are step-by-step instructions for creating your online course in UBC’s main learning platform, Canvas, and other setup considerations for getting started with teaching online.
Create Your Online Course | Other Important Considerations
Create Your Online Course
Canvas provides a convenient and secure way to communicate and exchange materials with your students online. All UBC courses have matching courses in Canvas automatically created, with the enrolled students added, even if you have never used Canvas.
To use your Canvas course, you will first need to make it visible for students to find.
Set up a Canvas course
- Log in to Canvas from canvas.ubc.ca using your UBC CWL (Campus-Wide Login) name and password. This will open your Canvas Dashboard.
- On your Dashboard, you will find all the courses you are teaching. Click any course to open it.
- Once inside a course, you can start adding content, creating assignments and assessments, and setting up discussions and communications. UBC’s Canvas instructor guide provides an overview of your options in Canvas.
- When you are ready, make the course available to students by clicking Publish, located on the course home page, in the right-hand sidebar under “Course Status”.
- If your course starts before the general term start date, publishing will not make the course visible to students. To give students early access, you will also need to manually update your course start date.
Tip #1:
Keep accessibility in mind as you transition online. Read the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology’s quick accessibility tips »
Tip #2:
You can make your course content available to download » for offline viewing, which improves access for students with a limited Internet connection.
Learn more in Canvas’s instructor documentation »
Find your way around Canvas
This short, 6-minute video gives a good overview of using Canvas as an instructor:
More information on using Canvas
- See UBC’s Canvas instructor guide and Canvas student guide.
- Read UBC-specific answers to Canvas instructor FAQs and Canvas student FAQs.
Other Important Considerations
If you normally use a desk phone for UBC’s multi-factor authentication, set up an alternate device or method.
In preparing yourself well for fully remote teaching, ensure you have access to the following equipment at home:
- Laptop, desktop computer, or mobile device you can use to teach
- Microphone and headset
- Webcam
- Reliable Internet connection
- Quiet room you could use to run live sessions or record
Read UBC IT’s Guide to Working Off Campus for other useful considerations.
Visit the main Library website for the latest updates about UBC Library’s services.
Learn more
- UBC’s Canvas instructor guide » & Canvas student guide »
- UBC’s Collaborate Ultra instructor guide » & Collaborate Ultra student guide »
- UBC’s Microsoft Teams instructor guide » & Microsoft Teams student guide »
- UBC’s Proctorio instructor guide » & Proctorio student guide »
- UBC’s Zoom instructor guide » & Zoom student guide »
- UBC’s alternatives to in-person exams guide » & exam accommodations guide »
Contact the Learning Technology Hub for hands-on assistance:
604 827 4775 | lt.hub@ubc.ca | LIVE Online Support (Mon-Fri 9:00-4:30)