Units allows you to organize content to help control the flow of the module. You have the ability strucutre your content is an easy to follow path and create 'instruction' for your students or as they are called in Canvas 'requirements'

Units are used to organize module content by weeks, themes or topics. Units can essentially create a one-directional linear flow of what students should do in a module.

Each unit can contain files, discussions, assignments, quizzes, and other learning materials. Unit items can be added to the course from existing content or new content shells within the unit. Module content can be added to multiple units or iterated several times throughout an individual unit. Units can be easily organized using the drag and drop feature. Elements within the units can also be reorganized by dragging and dropping.

Note: Keyboard shortcuts can be used to navigate the Units page. Press the comma key and a pop-up window with keyboard shortcuts will appear for keyboard navigation. As a user you can also collapse your units but this will only remember for you as a user, not your students within the module.

Structured Learning

Proving content online is a form of proving learning but it is vital that you create a learning pathway for them so they know how they are going to learn through the content you have provided. Units can be turned into self directed and tracked learning by adding prerequisites and requirements for content within the unit. This means the students will need to view, mark as done, complete or score X to be able to move onto the next session page / quiz / discussion / assignment. See below for what this can look like for a student:

Depending on what requirements you set, the students can see what they have done and what is required of them. We can not control what they do within the page but having action on a page can help with engagement and let the students know where they are at with their learning.

You can click on Units to look through the other helpful guides on how to use Canvas discussions, quizzes, conferences (Big Blue Button), Panopto for pre-recording lecture content and Microsoft Teams to support your teaching.