Frequently Asked Questions

Edit all text-related content through the Rich Text Editor by clicking the Edit button on the top right corner of each canvas page.

Find step-by-step guidance for editing Canvas pages here.

Changing the images of your tiles is a great way to improve the aesthetic language of your site.

To achieve this, enter the ‘Edit’ view, click on the image you wish to replace, and select the arrow next to the ‘Images’ button. From here, you have the option to upload an image or select an image that has already been uploaded.

Alternatively, if you click directly on the ‘Images’ button and navigate to the ‘Unsplash’ tab, there is a repository of images that are freely available to use. Enter a keyword, select an image and press the ‘Submit’ button. Note, updating images using Unsplash may remove any existing links on the tile, so these links will have to be updated.

Find step-by-step guidance here.

Edit all links through the Rich Text Editor by clicking the 'Edit' button on the top right corner of each Canvas page.

To link a page or other content to a tile, the link must be added to the image contained in the tile. To achieve this, enter the ‘Edit’ view, click on the appropriate image, select the arrow next to the ‘Links’ button. Choose either ‘External Links’ and enter a URL, or ‘Subject Links’ and select the appropriate page.

Links to pages are created by linking web URLs that contain the page title in the address. Every time the page title is changed, the URL of that page will also change.

Existing links and buttons will not automatically update and must be manually re-linked to the new page URL.

The most likely reason that the link of a tile is broken is that the title of the page to which the link goes has been changed. When a page title is changed, all the links to that page are no longer functional and must be updated manually.

Refer to FAQ question 'WARNING: Changing page titles for more information.

For details on how to update links, please view the following guide:

• Linking pages via Image Tiles
• Linking content via Image Tiles

A. My button keeps reverting back to an underlined text hyperlink.

A button is a text hyperlink with some additional HTML that changes its appearance. When a button’s link is updated, the HTML of that button reverts to that of a text hyperlink. To rectify this, the text must again be converted into a button.

Find step-by-step guidance for converting text hyperlinks to buttons here.

B. The link is not working

Have you…

1. Recently changed any page titles related to the broken link? If yes, refer to FAQ question Warning: Changing page titles.
2. Found your link is directing you to the incorrect page or previous subject? If yes, find the step-by-step guide to linking content here.
3. Completely lost the link? If yes, find the step-by-step guide to linking content here.

When first setting up an accordion page, the BEL+T team will have included a dashed boundary line to visualise the extents of the accordion space directly underneath the accordion title.

It is important to work within this dashed box and avoid deleting it while working to best preserve the accordion code.

If the accordion is broken, you can revert to a version of the page with unbroken accordions, but note that this method will delete any recent work to the page. We recommend duplicating a copy of the page before restoring it to a previous version so that you can copy the content over.

If this option does not work, please contact the BEL+T team for further support.

Creating a Zoom button in Canvas is a simple three-step process

1. In Zoom, schedule a Zoom meeting. Copy the meeting URL (which you will find in the email that is created) to your clipboard (CTRL + C). If the Zoom meeting will be recurring (eg Weekly lectures or tutorials), make sure to select Recurring meeting.
2. In Canvas, create a hyperlink on the page where you would like your button, using the copied Zoom link as the URL destination.
3. Transform your hyperlink into a button.

It is first important to check whether the issue is affecting a single student, or if the problem is affecting multiple students (or the whole cohort).

• If a student is unable to access a page, check whether the page is published.

Students may also have issues accessing a Group homepage.

Only students that have manually been added to a group (link) may access the sub-homepages of groups. If a single student is unable to access their homepage, double-check the groups to ensure they have been added to the correct groups.

Group homepages must also be published before students are able to view the content

If none of these scenarios relate to your issue, contact abp.belt@unimelb.edu.au and the BELT team can assist with further troubleshooting.

There are various reasons why images do not appear to load in Canvas. Commonly, images do not show because they were incorrectly copied from a past canvas website. When this happens, the link for these images originates from a previous semester's  Canvas site (which you have access to, but your students don’t).

Each Canvas site has unique reference numbers, that can be found in the URL of every page.For example:

• https://canvas.lms.unimelb.edu.au/courses/111111 [Homepage URL]
• https://canvas.lms.unimelb.edu.au/courses/111111/announcements [Announcements page URL]

Troubleshoot Option 1 - Image is being sourced from the wrong Canvas site.

To troubleshoot whether your image is being sourced from another Canvas site, right-click on the image and click “Inspect”, or the equivalent in your browser. This will enable you to inspect the HTML of your image, which will look something like this:

<img src="https://canvas.lms.unimelb.edu.au/courses/111111/files/8698160/preview" alt="T_Martin Pl.png" data-api-endpoint="https://canvas.lms.unimelb.edu.au/api/v1/courses/111111/files/8698160" data-api-returntype="File" />

Make sure the courses/111111 (the number will be different for your image) part matches the number in the URL of your course homepage, which can be found in the address bar at the top of the screen.

If the numbers are different, the images are in the wrong course and will need to be fixed. To do so, right-click on the image and select “Save Image As”.

Choose an appropriate location, and then upload the image to your Canvas site.

Troubleshoot option 2 - The image is being sourced from the correct Canvas site.

If your course number and image number match, then the image is not showing for a different reason.

Please use this resource to identify and resolve your issue.

Student View is a great way to understand the site from a student’s navigational perspective. However, some features will not show as available through the lens of Student View, even if a student may be able to access them.

Examples include:

• Group homepages (as the instructor is not technically ‘enrolled’ as a student)
• Videos embedded from applications such as Kaltura and Echo360

It’s important to receive continuous feedback from your students over the course of the semester to understand the accessibility issues that students may be experiencing.

From the sidebar menu, enter 'Settings' and open the 'Navigation' tab to ensure 'Announcements' is under the upper list that makes tools available to students.

Then, click into the 'Subject Details' tab and scroll to the bottom to find, 'More Options'.

Tick the first box to activate the 'Number of Announcements shown on the Homepage' and select the desired number.

Click 'Update Subject Details' and return to the homepage to check.

For an in-depth guide on this process, click here.

Adding a user as an instructor provides them access to a greater range of features and helps them manage the subject and student groups.

Only users already listed as a subject’s Instructor, Subject Coordinator and Division Representative (Admin) may add additional users as Instructors.

[Note: To be added as a Subject Coordinator or Division Representative, individuals must request permission from Central IT and/or faculty heads.

Groups are small sub-sections of a course that can be used as a collaborative tool where students can work together on group activities. They are ideal for dividing the subject cohort into smaller groups to collaborate on assignments, pages, discussions and more. Groups can be used to facilitate:

• Semester-long group projects
• Studios
• Assignments
• Study Groups

Find step-by-step guidance for creating groups here.

Sections are used to segment the student cohort for administrative purposes, typically based on lectures, studios or tutorial groups. Sections and Groups are often confused, but they are very different in their purpose and function.  Sections enable streamlined student administration, whereas Groups enable teamwork between students. Sections can be used to:

• Differentiate due dates for assessment tasks
• Send announcements to a sub-section of students in a subject
• Filter the Gradebook by Section.

For an in-depth guide on sections, including guidance for creating new sections, click here.

The BEL+T team has compiled a list of learning tools that can be integrated into a Canvas subject site. Learning tools are categorised into 3 sections: Delivery, Interaction and Assessment. Click on the link to find information about learning tools.

Please reach out to the BEL+T team for further information or advice on selecting the best tool for your purpose.

Images are a great way to improve the aesthetic language of your Canvas page.

The University holds a library of high-quality images that can also be used, found through the link below:

https://imagebank.unimelb.edu.au/portals/categories

Images can also be sourced through Unsplash. Unsplash is an image bank that is incorporated into Canvas, and provides high-resolution, professional photographs for free.

Unsplash can be easily accessed via the Rich Text Editor. First, press Edit on the page you wish to add an image to. Press the Image icon, and navigate to the Unsplash tab. Enter a search term, select an image and click ‘Submit’ to paste it into your Canvas page.

Reach out to the BEL+T team for further information or advice on using Canvas for ABP subjects.

abp-belt@unimelb.edu.au

Alternatively, Canvas help is available 24/7 at dedicated University of Melbourne Canvas support channels, which can be found using the link below:

https://lms.unimelb.edu.au/staff

Support can be requested for questions regarding LMS, Qualtrics, Poll Everywhere, Lecture Capture or any tool supported by Learning Environments.

• Staff support can be requested here
• Student support can be requested here.

A complete index of student and staff guides for Canvas produced by Learning Environments can be found via the following links:

• Canvas guides for Staff
• Guides for Students