Canvas

Canvas

Canvas is 51����’s campus-supported digital learning environment. Instructors can use Canvas to have students access readings, watch videos, take quizzes, submit assignments, participate in online discussions, and more. With its extensive range of features and tools, Canvas fosters effective communication, collaboration, and organization within classes.

CASL partners with  to assist instructors with course redesign, learning technology integrations, and other needs related to Canvas.

H5P

H5P

What is H5P?

H5P is a web-based authoring tool that helps instructors build interactive course content. A wide variety of activities can be created; including , , , , , , , and . Examples of interactive content types can be explored on the website.

How can H5P be used in courses?

Interactive content can be used to increase students’ engagement with the course material or used to assess students’ comprehension. Because H5P is integrated with Canvas, it provides automatic grading and score pass-through to the Canvas grade book. While H5P activities can be graded assignments, they should not be used as the primary means to assess student learning. Instead, H5P activities can be used to promote curiosity and to strengthen a sense of connectedness to course concepts. H5P activities provide instant feedback to students, allowing them to self-assess their understanding of the course material. This gives students control over their learning processes and helps them feel competent to achieve their own learning goals.

How can I use H5P?

If you are interested in using H5P, you are welcome to use . This free tool offers the same authoring functionality, but the tool is not directly integrated with Canvas. You can create interactive content in H5P, and this content can be embedded into Canvas for student access. However, activities developed in H5P and embedded into Canvas will not transfer student scores to the Canvas Grades area.

Hypothesis

Hypothesis

What is Hypothesis?

Hypothesis is a social annotation tool that is fully integrated with Canvas. Using Hypothesis, instructors can make PDFs and websites annotatable. Students can annotate course readings collaboratively, sharing comments and replying to peer’s comments. Instructors can also create annotation assignments. Through Hypothesis-enabled assignments, students submit their annotations for feedback and grading in Canvas. This  demonstrates how to use Hypothesis in Canvas.

Successful strategies for using Hypothesis include:

• Having students ask each other questions, share ideas, and collaborate around their learning.
• Inviting students to annotate the syllabus.
• Making readings annotation-enabled to create an optional space for students to connect with each other.
• Guiding students through the reading with instructor annotations.
• Using Hypothesis for seminar-style discussion online.
• Recommending that students annotate the lecture notes.

The Hypothesis Pilot at 51����

During the Fall 2020 semester, Hypothesis was piloted at 51����. As a result of the positive feedback, Hypothesis has been purchased for use during the Spring 2021 semester through the Educational Technology Fund.

During the pilot, approximately 500 students in 30 courses used Hypothes.is for annotations, threaded messages, and page notes. Feedback from both students and instructors was overwhelmingly positive with 95% of student saying Hypothesis was useful and 75% saying they would be disappointed if they were unable to use Hypothesis in other courses. All pilot instructors found Hypothesis useful and would recommend Hypothesis to other teachers. This brief presentation that provides data and stories from 51���� instructor and students.

Using Hypothesis in a Course

Hypothesis has been enabled for use in all 51���� credit-bearing (SIS) courses. There are two ways to use Hypothesis, graded and ungraded. You can create a Hypothesis-enabled Assignment in Canvas. Instructors can evaluate and grade these Assignments using the SpeedGrader and student grades would automatically flow into the Canvas Gradebook.

Receiving training to use Hypothesis

Instructors can register for Hypothesis workshops through the CASL Events Calendar.

Topics addressed in these workshops include:

• Exploring successful strategies for using Hypothesis as a social annotation tool
• Creating a Hypothesis-enabled assignment
• Ensuring PDF materials contain digital text (optical character recognized)
• Orienting my students to Hypothesis
• Using groups with Hypothesis
• Connecting a rubric to a Hypothesis-enabled assignment
• Grading student annotations
• Getting help with Hypothesis for me and my students

In addition, you are welcome to contact CASL for support setting up and using Hypothesis in your course.

More information on Hypothesis

Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the Hypothesis Social Annotation Tool can be found in this .

Kaltura’s My Media

Kaltura’s My Media

What Is My Media?

My Media is a streaming video platform that is integrated with Canvas. Instructors can upload their audio and video files to My Media and can then embed those videos in their Canvas classes for students to view. My Media automatically generates captions for uploaded videos. Note that you can edit your video captions in My Media. Note that Kaltura is the company that owns the tool My Media.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Online Proctoring Software

51���� provides instructors with access to online proctoring tools.

Respondus LockDown Browser (LDB)
Respondus LDB restricts students’ access to external resources during online assessments, ensuring a more controlled testing environment.

Vevox

Student Response Systems and Polling

Student response systems, often referred to as polling tools or “clickers,” are technologies that allow instructors and facilitators to engage participants in real time. These systems enable users to pose questions, gather instant feedback, check knowledge, and encourage interaction in both large and small group settings. In higher education, polling promotes active learning, increases participation, and provides instructors with immediate insights into student understanding, allowing them to adjust instruction on the spot. Beyond the classroom, polling can also be used in meetings and events to foster collaboration and collect input from diverse audiences.

Vevox Polling

Vevox is a cloud-based student response and polling platform now available to the entire campus community. Integrated with presentation tools and the learning management system, Vevox supports real-time polls, quizzes, and anonymous Q&A that enhance student engagement and inclusivity. For instructors, Vevox provides an easy way to encourage participation, gauge comprehension, and gather feedback during face-to-face, hybrid, or online classes. Staff and administrators can also use Vevox for meetings, workshops, and events to drive interaction and decision-making. With its intuitive interface and flexible applications, Vevox empowers both instructors and staff to create more dynamic, responsive, and engaging learning and working environments.

UDOIT

UDOIT is designed to assist faculty with improving the accessibility of their Canvas courses. It scans Canvas courses, provides easy-to interpret suggestions to improve the accessibility of the course, and can automatically repair many common accessibility issues.

Video Captioning

Video Captioning

Videos uploaded to My Media are automatically captioned, and the captions can be edited directly in My Media.

Automatic captioning is also available for Zoom cloud recordings.

Automatic Captioning & Editing Captions in My Media

My Media, an integrated streaming video platform within Canvas, offers instructors the ability to upload and share/embed videos with their Canvas classes.

Upon uploading a video to My Media, the system automatically generates captions for the content. While these machine-generated captions are generally of good quality, they may not meet the accuracy standards required for students relying on captions. Therefore, it is recommended that instructors review and edit the captions to correct any errors in spelling, punctuation, and other aspects. My Media provides a user-friendly caption editing tool specifically designed for this purpose, enabling instructors to enhance the accuracy of the captions in their uploaded videos.

Zoom

Zoom

Zoom is a web conference service used for video, voice, virtual classrooms, online meetings, screen sharing, chat, and webinars.

Zoom is an online collaboration tool that provides virtual rooms where participants communicate and share information, typically within four primary use-case models — small group work, review sessions, interactive presentations, and virtual office hours. This service is also being used to hold fully virtual class meetings, and Hy-Flex classroom meetings, in which students are both present in a face-to-face classroom and virtually through this synchronous tool. 

The Center for Advancing Student Learning (CASL) partners with  to assist instructors with course redesign, learning technology integrations, and other needs related to Zoom and other learning technologies. 

Get Support for Using Zoom

Find Help for Resources Supported Outside of CASL

While CASL does not offer support on the following 51���� software tools, you can click the links below to be directed to the department at 51���� that provides support for the specific tool.

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Lecture Capture

Record your lecture in the classroom with Lecture Capture. This recording can be scheduled or ad-hoc and allows for the recording of audio, video, and content.

Contact Classroom Services for Lecture Capture Support

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is workspace for real-time collaboration, messaging, online meetings, file sharing, and more.

Contact the Help Desk for Microsoft Teams Support

Lightboards

Revolution Lightboards

What is a Lightboard?

Lightboards are large backlit panes of glass on which instructors draw while speaking into a camera. They are similar to a traditional whiteboard, with the exception that instructors stand behind the glass to draw equations, write notes, and edit on-screen slides. All the while instructors are able to look directly at the camera where students would be in a face-to-face classroom ().  Our lightboard setup is user friendly (requiring only two buttons to operate), and permits you to teach as though you were in a physical classroom. (). 

Combined with thoughtful pedagogy, we believe lightboards can boost instructor presence in the course, and help build a community of learning.

The Lightboards at 51���� are now managed by Classroom Services.

• classroomhotline@uwm.edu
• (414) 229-4040 (Select Option 2)

Learn More about the Lightboard

Active Teaching Lab

On November 10, 2020, we provided a recorded introduction and walk-through of UW-Milwaukee’s lightboard. The session introduced the lightboard studio space, showed how to sign up and reserve use of the lightboard, and provided access to additional training material.

•  with additional information

Self-paced Lightboard Canvas Course

This Canvas course will provide an overview of lightboard technology, a calendar to help you plan your lightboard session, instructions to use the lightboard, and information on how to edit and publish your lightboard video.

• If you’ve already signed up for the course, .

KnowledgeBase Documentation

Instructional resources available in the . All content in the 51���� KnowledgeBase regarding the Lightboard is identical to those found in the Canvas training course.

Lightboard Accessibility Considerations

• Be Prepared 
  • Make sure your PowerPoint/presentation is accessible
    •  
  • Wear dark colors when your presentation has a dark background. Wear light colors when your presentation has a light background. This allows you to blend into the background while creating better contract between the text and the background.  
• Audio 
  • Speak loudly and clearly (the microphone is at the top center of the frame)  
  • Caption your video prior to sharing. Upload to My Media to make use of the automated captioning tool.
• Visual 
  • Write on the board using large legible print  
  • Read text and describe images shown on screen  
  • Choose marker color carefully. Viewers with full or partial colorblindness may not be able to distinguish between colors.

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All course material adoptions should be submitted to the PantherShop (operated by Follett Higher Education) so that students know what the course texts will be for their courses. The bookstore collects textbook adoption data for Open Textbooks/OER, Library materials, and traditional textbooks. If the total cost of your course materials is less than $25, ask your departmental course scheduler to assign the no/low-cost attribute to your course section in the Schedule of Classes.

Please note the textbook submission dates for 2025-2026 are:

• Summer 2026 textbook submissions are due 03/23/2026
• Fall 2026 textbook submissions are due 04/06/2026

Campus Contacts

• ��
•  Libraries Guide to Open Educational Resources  
• 51���� Libraries Media and Reserve Services 
•  

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Watch Singh and Deng walk through their teaching framework in the recording below. The notes beneath the video provide a brief overview of their methodology.

Why “Rehumanizing” Engagement Matters

Students know AI negatively impacts their learning, but the ease by which AI can help complete homework, answer discussion prompts, or fill in quiz responses, makes it a siren song too tempting to resist. According to the , 86% of students reported using AI tools in 2024 to help complete coursework. Over half of these students were doing so on a weekly or daily basis.

Despite these facts, more than half of students surveyed also believe that an over-reliance on AI in teaching decreases the value of their education, and undermines their own academic performance. These students were thirsty for greater guidance in how to use AI ethically and effectively, but felt their universities did not provide the expected training in how and when to use AI in their courses.

But how do we guide students in the ethical use of AI, combat AI academic misconduct, and achieve our regular semester-long learning objectives?
Sarthak and Lin suggested that a way forward could be found by rehumanizing student engagement. Instead of just asking students to complete an assignment on their own, we build activities that help students connect to each other, think critically about course content, and move beyond the textbook answers at which AI excels.

The Preview-Practice-Reflection (PPR) Framework

Sarthak and Lin developed a teaching method by which to put this ‘rehumanized’ teaching practice into place: the Preview, Practice, Reflection (PPR) Framework.

PPR gives instructors a transferable three-part structure for any lesson. It helps build the empathy, trust, and connection Sarthak and Lin identified as so crucial to building student engagement. Simultaneously, the framework provides students a guided method by which to encounter the uses and limitations of AI contextualized to their own course material. Each of the framework’s three stages has a distinct purpose, and together they move students from passive consumption to active and critical engagement.

Preview

Before class, or at the start of a session, students use AI to generate an initial explanation of the topic or concept at hand. The goal isn’t to get a good answer, but an answer they can interrogate.

Then, together in groups or as a class, students explore what problems they identified in the AI’s response. For example, they might explore what information is missing, whose perspective is absent, and what the AI oversimplified.

Lin Deng’s cross-cultural management example is a useful illustration. She asked students to prompt AI about individualist versus collectivist cultures and whether the United States is an individualistic society. The AI gave a confident, textbook-accurate answer: the United States is highly individualistic. Then, in class, Lin asked students: “if you had extra money you didn’t need, would you give it to a homeless person or to your family and friends?” Lin noted that more than 90% said family, which is a very collectivist response.

The AI had told her class what culture theory says about the United States. Yet, it had no way to surface lived reality, or the fact that context is very important to any given question. That gap between the AI’s confident generalization and the students’ own experience was then the starting point for discussion over what is meant by individualism and collectivism.

Practice

In the practice stage students work in small groups to take one of the gaps or missing voices they identified in the Preview section and develop it further. Groups use course readings, primary sources, case studies, or other discipline-specific materials to pressure-test their reasoning and compare what the AI gave them against what the evidence actually says.

The practice stage not only gives students the opportunity to interrogate their use of AI, it offers instructors a convenient place in which to discuss AI in the context of their own discipline. Instructors can help students see both where using AI is harmful to student learning and when it can provide resources to develop better ideas more quickly.

Reflection

The Reflection stage is meta-cognitive. Students are not asked to critique the AI, restate what they learned, or evaluate the lesson. They are asked to reflect on their own thinking process: such as what question did you ask today that you couldn’t have asked at the start of class, and what would you need to find out next?

This section invites students to see themselves as thinkers who are developing and challenging received content, not just containers for facts. It also surfaces the experience of productive uncertainty: realizing you know more than you did, and that knowing more means you now have better questions, not necessarily the final answer.

Furthermore, Deng noted that students in her courses using this kind of structured reflection report feeling seen and heard. That experience of being recognized as a person with a perspective, rather than a student performing for a grade, improves engagement and counters many students’ instinct to stay invisible.

Build a PPR Activity for Your Course

To see what a PPR activity might look like in a course you teach, copy this prompt into your preferred AI tool. Fill in the bracketed sections before submitting. .

I am an instructor teaching [COURSE NAME OR SUBJECT AREA] at the college or university level. I want to design a Preview-Practice-Reflection (PPR) activity for my students around the topic of [SPECIFIC TOPIC OR CONCEPT FROM YOUR COURSE].

Please build a complete PPR activity using the following structure:

Preview: Write a student-facing AI prompt on this topic — or note that students can use readings to develop a prompt of their own — that asks for a plain-language explanation and one real-world example or consequence. The prompt should be specific enough to be useful but open enough that students can identify gaps, missing voices, or oversimplifications in the response. Then provide three debrief questions the instructor can use with the full group to surface what the AI got right, what it oversimplified, and whose perspectives are absent.

Practice: Describe how students working in groups of 3 might identify one gap from the Preview debrief and build a scenario around it. Provide one example scenario that could emerge from this process, written from the perspective of someone living inside the historical moment, policy decision, scientific debate, or professional situation relevant to [SPECIFIC TOPIC OR CONCEPT FROM YOUR COURSE]. Include two or three primary sources, case studies, data sets, or discipline-specific readings an instructor might use to help groups pressure-test their reasoning — and two probing questions the instructor can use while circulating.

Reflection: Write one exit ticket prompt (suitable for a 3–5 minute written response) that asks students to reflect on their own thinking and inquiry process — not simply to restate what the AI got wrong.
Where possible, reflect the norms, methods, and source types typical of [DISCIPLINE OR FIELD — e.g., history, nursing, economics, art education, biology].

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51���� is reviewing Hypothesis usage in Canvas to better understand instructional needs and plan for future licensing costs. This����is intended for instructors who are currently using, or have recently used, Hypothesis in their courses. Your responses will help us estimate student seat demand and understand the pedagogical value of the tool in teaching and learning. The survey takes 3-5 minutes to complete. Thank you for your input!��

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51���� is reviewing Hypothesis usage in Canvas to better understand instructional needs and plan for future licensing costs. This is intended for instructors who are currently using, or have recently used, Hypothesis in their courses. Your responses will help us estimate student seat demand and understand the pedagogical value of the tool in teaching and learning. The survey takes 3-5 minutes to complete. Thank you for your input!

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Student potential misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a prevalent concern for many instructors. This resource is intended to direct instructors to available data in Canvas and frame insights in terms of patterns and anomalies that may warrant additional attention should concerns about student AI misuse arise. Please note: Identified data cannot be used alone to determine student use of AI or allege academic misconduct. This resource serves merely as a starting point on what data is available and where in Canvas related to student course activity.

Data Sources in Canvas

Individual Student Quiz Activity

How To Find It

• (Classic Quizzes)
• (New Quizzes)

What To Look For

Examine time spent per question and overall quiz attempt duration. Intriguing data may include:

• Unusually rapid quiz attempt completion
• Remarkable changes to answer submission timing patterns from previous quizzes e.g. previous quiz answer submission times varied in length while current answer times were uniformly quick despite variations in question type and complexity
• Periods of inactivity coinciding with simultaneous submission of multiple answers

Look at the quiz log for breaks in quiz attempts. The log will indicate when a student stops viewing the quiz-taking page and when they resume viewing the quiz-taking page.

Aggregate Quiz Data

How To Find It

• (Classic Quizzes)
• (New Quizzes)

What To Look For

Use Average Time and Average Score data to evaluate the student’s performance in comparison with peers. Intriguing data may include:

• Correctly answering questions when all or most other students answered incorrectly
• Answering complex or difficult questions much quicker than all or most other students

Student Course Access Report

How To Find It

What To Look For

Use the Course Access Report to gain insight related to student interaction with course content in relation to their performance in the course. Intriguing data may include:

• Low or no engagement with instructional materials when paired with high achieving assessment and/or assignment submissions

Course Analytics

How To Find It

What To Look For

Use the Course Activity Report to identify patterns or shifts in the frequency and duration of student interaction with content. Intriguing data may include:

• Low or no engagement with instructional materials when paired with high achieving assessment and/or assignment submissions
• A change in typical levels of course activity coinciding with observed changes in assignment quality or style
• Brief interaction time with assignments and assessments coinciding with a lack of interaction with supporting instructional material
• Lower than average course interaction coinciding with higher-than-average course performance

Get All the Information

The available data in Canvas provides a portion of a larger story. While information may be suggestive of certain student behaviors, there can be other explanations for the activity seen. It is important to refrain from making judgments without additional information or consideration.

• Growth is expected, but a sudden change may be suspicious. Look for anomalies versus shifts over time. Compare the student’s writing style, answering patterns, and their academic performance across multiple assignments and assessments.
• Does the effort match the outcome? Student participation data in Canvas is an important metric, but it is not fully inclusive of student effort. Canvas cannot capture student work done outside of the system. In-person participation, tutoring, independent reading, and studying are important factors. Further, working on a response in a draft document outside of Canvas that is then copied in would not be captured. AI usage is not the only possible explanation for low interaction data in Canvas coinciding with high student performance.
• Is there a technical explanation for the data? Unusually quick answer submissions or submissions of multiple quiz answers at once may be indicative of AI, but it may also be the result of internet connectivity issues and Canvas safeguards against lost work.
• Interruptions happen. Periods of inactivity or multiple breaks in viewing the quiz-taking page may have a reasonable explanation.

When the data casts doubt on student behavior, begin with broad questions and explore other alternatives. Should you decide to move forward with a discussion with the student, ask questions that provide an opportunity for the student to share an unusual experience that may have happened during a quiz or provide insight on how they completed an assignment. They may offer the explanation you seek. Ask additional questions if needed and be sure to follow any Academic Misconduct Procedures.

Instructors are encouraged to maintain transparent expectations and dialogue regarding AI. For more information on setting expectations for generative AI use, assignment design considerations, academic misconduct, AI syllabus statements, and CASL workshops on AI, please refer to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Teaching.

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A Canvas course blueprint is a��primary��course shell that allows departments to manage and share common course materials, structure, and settings across multiple course sections. Rather than building each section from scratch, a blueprint makes it possible to create a consistent foundation that can be pushed out to associated courses while still allowing instructors some flexibility where��appropriate. For more information, please see:����

Why Might a Department Use One?

Blueprints can be especially helpful when a department wants greater consistency across multi-section courses, general education courses, or gateway courses with shared learning outcomes and student expectations. They can support course coordinators and chairs in making sure that core materials, grading structures, policies, navigation, and key assignments are aligned across sections.��This can improve the��student��experience by reducing confusion and helping ensure that all students��encounter��the same essential elements of the course, regardless of instructor or section.��

How Can Blueprints Support Digital Accessibility?

Blueprints also offer a strong opportunity to improve digital accessibility at��scale. When accessible design practices are built into the��primary��course shell from the start—such as clear heading structures, organized navigation, accessible document formats, consistent page design, captioned media, and thoughtfully designed assessments—those practices can be extended across every associated section. This helps��ensure that the accessibility work��that is completed��for a course��is consistent across all course sections, allowing for digital accessibility at scale.����

What Are Good Use Cases?

Departments often find blueprints useful for:��

• courses with multiple sections taught by different instructors, TAs, or adjuncts��
• ability to lock��module order and structure��
• include instructor-facing materials for consistent course��facilitation��
• general education or high-enrollment courses that need a common student experience��
• ability to lock core course elements��like general��education��high-impact practices (HIPs)��
• courses with shared outcomes, assessments, or accreditation expectations��
• programs aiming to improve quality, consistency, and accessibility across offerings��

Interested in Exploring a Blueprint in Your Department?��

A good first step is to��identify��a course or course group where consistency matters most, such as a multi-section course or a general education requirement. From there, department chairs and course coordinators can begin conversations about which elements should be shared across sections, what flexibility instructors should��retain, and how accessibility and student success goals can be built into the design.����

To obtain a blueprint course shell, contact CASL and��submit a request using the CASL Support Form.��

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The next phase of our unit name change,��announced in January, to the Center for Advancing Student Learning is to transition our primary email address. Beginning��Monday, March 2, 2026, we will be moving our email from��cetl@uwm.edu��to��advancing-learning@uwm.edu. Please update your contact information and any linked materials accordingly.

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The next phase of our unit name change,��announced in January, to the Center for Advancing Student Learning is to transition our primary email address. Beginning��Monday, March 2, 2026, we will be moving our email from��cetl@uwm.edu��to��advancing-learning@uwm.edu. Please update your contact information and any linked materials accordingly.

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