Learning Lab: Create a Traditional Assignment

Create a traditional assignment in your course

The most common place to create an assignment is inside the appropriate module, as we will do here.

Create Your Assignment

To begin, use the familiar Add Item button associated with the module to which you are adding your new assignment:

In the resulting dialog, choose the "Assignment" type, select "[New Assignment]," and enter a title:

Move and Open Your Assignment

The assignment will appear in your module list. As when you created a new page, use the handle to move it up or down in the module (or into another module).

Click the title of your new assignment and use the "Edit" button to begin editing.

Edit Assignment Details

Assignment Group. If you chose to create assignment groups earlier, you can place your new assignment in one of them. Like all of the options, you can change this later!

Display Grade As. Typically, you will want to display grades as points, percentages, or as complete/incomplete. If you choose Letter Grade, the grade will be displayed according to the associated "Grading Scheme," which you may need to modify to suit your course.

Submission Type. We discussed this in the Traditional Assignments page preceding this lab.

Group Assignment and Peer Reviews. These are covered later in the course.

Assign To. By default, assignments are assigned to everyone. Here you can choose to assign the work to individual students or sections. If you want to assign the work to a group, that is covered later in this course.

Due Dates and Availability. As long as an assignment is available, it can be submitted...the Due Date determines when a submission is marked late or not. The Due Date also displays in student calendars and the assignment list. The availability dates dictate the period during which a student may submit their assignment at all. If you don't want to allow late work, set the Due Date and the Until (end) availability date to be the same.

NOTE: This Canvas Guide to Assignment Details covers all the assignment details.

Save (and Optionally Publish) Your Assignment

When you have set up your assignment details to your satisfaction, use the Save or Save & Publish button to save your assignment.

Remember that until the Availability date is reached, your students can't see the assignment details or submit the assignment, so you can publish your assignments well ahead of time without causing confusion.