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Create & Customize Canvas Assignments - Knowledgebase / Teaching Learning and Research / Canvas / Assessments and Grading / Assignments - OIT Service Center

Create & Customize Canvas Assignments

Canvas allows you to create assignments for your students and customize the settings to meet your grading approach for your course.  Within the grading settings of a Canvas Assignment,  you can select the grading settings for each assignment based on the assignment’s type, objectives, and expectations.  You may also choose to use points, percentages, or complete/incomplete to track progress and provide feedback to students about their work. 

Create Canvas Assignments

Assignments include quizzes, graded discussions, and online submissions.

To create an assignment:

  1. Log in to Canvas at canvas.brown.edu and select your course from the Global Navigation menu on the left.
  2. Click Assignments in the Course Navigation menu.
  3. Click + Assignment to add an assignment shell. You can now select from various options to design the assignment.
  4. Enter the name of the assignment in the Assignment Name box.
  5. Enter a description of the assignment in the box below if relevant.

While you are building in Canvas, you will  be able to:  

6. Set the point value

7. Select the assignment group

8. Select how grade will display to students

9. Indicate how students will submit

10. Allow a moderator to review multiple independent grades for selected submissions




11.  If applicable, select This is a Group Assignment, Require Peer Reviews, or Allow a moderator to review multiple independent grades for selected submissions.
12. Enter a due date in the Due box.
13. Click Save to save the assignment but keep it hidden from students until you publish it later. Click Save & Publish to save the assignment and make it visible to students immediately.
14. To Publish an assignment, click the assignment in the Assignments page, then click Publish at the top of the page, or, publish the assignment on the Assignments page by clicking the Publish icon to the right of the assignment's name.

Your new assignment will appear on the Assignments page under the assignment group you selected.  Any Assignments you create automatically show up in the Calendar, Syllabus page and Gradebook.  

Note: Only graded assignments, graded discussions, graded quizzes, and graded surveys that have been published display in the Gradebook automatically.


Note: Canvas can notify you when students submit assignments or comment on submissions. You can set how often and where notifications from Canvas are sent (e.g., personal email, mobile phone, etc.).

For more information on how to create and manage assignments, please see the following links:

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