Getting started
This page will quickly get you the information you need to navigate, communicate and customize WebCampus to best accommodate your teaching needs.
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WebCampus FAQs
WebCampus uses the same NetID and password that you use to log into your office computer or connect to the University wifi on your laptop or mobile device. Make sure you are clicking the large grey button that says "Click Here to login to WebCampus with your NetID" and enter your NetID and password when prompted. If you are having difficulties logging into WebCampus or other campus resources, contact the Computing Help Desk at (775) 682-5000. The Help Desk also offers a self-service portal for NetID issues.
Individual content items and elements in your course need to be published in order for them to be seen. Make sure you click on the cloud icon next to your content item or quiz to make it available.
Course availability in Canvas is determined by two-factors: the publish course button, and the term dates. In order for students to see your course in Canvas, the course must be published. To publish your course, go to the Home item on your course menu. On the right side of the screen click the Publish button. Once the course is published, it will become available when the term starts.
To view your course in student view, click on Settings at the bottom of the course menu and click Student View from the list of buttons on the right side of the screen. In student view, you can interact with the course and see it just how students see it. Your interactions will be saved under the name Test Student that will show up in the course gradebook.
To merge multiple sections of a course into one course, contact the the Office of Digital Learning at (775) 682-6798 or email idt@unr.edu.
Canvas allows instructors to add their own TAs, Co-instructors, Observers and Guests into their courses. The person whom you wish to add to one of these roles must have a NetID. Those added as co-instructors or TAs in the course will have access to student grade information. It is your responsibility to ensure that they have received FERPA training prior to granting them access to the course.
To add a TA or co-instructor click on the People in the course navigation menu. In the upper right hand corner, click on the + People button. In the window that opens, type the NetID of the person you would like to add to your course, select the role from the drop-down menu, and click Next. Click on the Add Users button and then click Done to complete the process.
When you your next semester’s course shell becomes available, you may pull content from a previous course into that shell.
To copy your course, enter the course you wish to copy content into. Click on Settings at the bottom of the course menu. Click on Import Content into this Course from the list of buttons on the right side of the screen and select Copy a Canvas Course from the Content Type drop-down menu. In the drop-down menu next to the Search for a course, select the course which you want to copy content from. Choose to select either All content or Select specific content, and click on the Import button. Canvas will either import all content from the source course, or allow you to check boxes for specific content to copy across.
Items on the course navigation menu cannot be renamed, nor can additional items be added. However, they can be hidden from students and they can be arranged to display in a different order. To hide or move items around on the course menu, go to Settings and click on the Navigation tab. You may click and grad to move items around, or drag them to the very bottom of the screen under the heading “Drag items here to hide them from students” to make them visible only to you.
Student enrollments are processed three times a day (excluding weekends), if you do not see a student they will likely show up later in the day. If there continues to be a problem with the student’s enrollment 24 hours after you are made aware of the problem please contact the Office of Digital Learning at (775) 682-6798 or email idt@unr.edu.
By default, Canvas allows for unlimited submissions of assignments. There is no way, currently, to restrict the number of times a student submits an assignment. You will be shown the latest student assignment submission when you grade, but you have the ability to see earlier submissions as well. The Office of Digital Learning is working with Canvas to see if this setting can be changed.
To take care of this special enrollment, contact the Office of Digital Learning at (775) 682-6798 or email idt@unr.edu.
WebCampus user interface
The WebCampus interface includes the Dashboard, Global Navigation Menu, and sidebar. The WebCampus interface was designed to allow easy access to all course activities for students and instructors. The interface is nearly identical for faculty and students, which will help you design your course with the student experience in mind. Please view the following video for a brief overview of the WebCampus interface, Global Navigation Menu, and Settings.
Global navigation menu
The Global Navigation Menu in WebCampus is "global" in the sense that it is visible everywhere in WebCampus. This is the blue column on the far left of the page with the University logo at the top. Each of the icons in the menu are links to frequently used WebCampus features. These links provide access to all of your courses collectively. Default links include Account, the Dashboard, Courses, Calendar, Inbox, Commons, and Help (at the bottom).
Step-by-step tutorials and additional information
Canvas Commons
Canvas Commons is a learning object repository where instructors can share learning resources, which can be accessed by clicking on Commons on the global navigation menu. Here, you can find materials, import items directly into your WebCampus course, or share your own materials with the Canvas community.
You can access materials specifically shared with the University of Nevada, Reno community by filtering for University of Nevada, Reno. There are a number of resources that have been developed by research librarians with University Libraries covering a number of research-related topics that can be imported into any course.
Step-by-step tutorials and additional information
WebCampus dashboard
The Dashboard is the default entry page into your WebCampus account. Here you’ll see information about your current courses, as well as your To Do list, which includes any grading you need to do in any of your classes. Below this, you will see events Coming up in the next seven days, which is pulled from your calendar. As an instructor, you may not see much here, but students will see upcoming assignments in this area. You can also access Grades from the sidebar.
You can return to your Dashboard from anywhere in WebCampus by clicking the University of Nevada, Reno N logo in Global Navigation.
Step-by-step tutorials and additional information
Profile settings
The Settings page will show your profile picture, language, time zone, contact methods, and personal pronouns.
Profile picture
Whenever you post to a Discussion or send an Announcement, your message or post will feature your profile picture. It is very helpful to have a picture there so students easily recognize what messages are coming from you versus what messages are coming from classmates. To add a profile picture, click "Account" and choose "Profile". Click the gray placeholder profile picture icon to get a pop-up window where you can add your picture. Click the Upload a Picture tab and either choose a picture or drag one from your desktop and drop it into the uploader.
Step-by-step tutorials and additional information
Language and time zone
You can adjust your language and time zone by clicking on Edit Settings, and choosing the language or time zone you prefer.
Step-by-step tutorials and additional information
- How do I change the language preference in my user account as an instructor?
- How do I set a time zone in my user account as an instructor?
Contact methods
The right-hand panel includes ways to contact you. You’ll notice you already have an email address selected—this is pulled from MyNevada and can only be changed by officially adjusting it in MyNevada. If you would like your notifications to go to an additional email address and/or if you would like to add notifications via text message, you can add these options to your notification preferences in the Account tool on the left of the page under Settings. Once you are on the Settings page, you will see a place to the right of the page to add a new email address or an Other Contact which would be your cell phone number if you would like text messages.
Step-by-step tutorials and additional information
Personal pronouns
You can update your profile to include your personal pronouns. Once you do, they will appear next to your name in a variety of locations throughout WebCampus. Personal pronouns are used when referring to someone or ourselves (I, you, she, they, he, ze). Someone's personal pronouns may be different from what others initially assume. Not everyone uses the binary pronouns "he" or "she," and some prefer to be referred to only by name.
Step-by-step tutorials and additional information
Notification preferences
You can set your preferences for how and when you will be notified of different actions that take place within WebCampus. In order to determine what kind of notifications you’d like to receive from WebCampus, click Account on the global navigation menu, then select Notifications. Here you will see the default notification settings, all of which can be changed to suit your preferences. You can choose to have notifications sent right away, daily, weekly, or to receive no notifications at all.
You can determine the best time frame for notifications for each activity. For example, you may want to receive messages from students as soon as they send them, but you may not want to be alerted to an announcement created by you at all. Note that you can also choose to turn off all notifications sent to your officially listed email address, and have all notifications sent to the secondary email account that you added in the settings section. The notification preferences you set here will apply to all of your courses.
Step-by-step tutorials and additional information
Combining course sections
Instructors teaching two or more sections of the same class may consider combining all sections into a single WebCampus course shell. This can help to cut down on the number of times an instructor must create content, build assignments, or communicate with students via Announcements. To merge multiple sections of a course into one course, contact the Office of Digital Learning at (775) 682-6798 or email ODL.
Step-by-step tutorials and additional information
Once sections have been combined, instructors may choose to assign work to specific sections on different dates. Please see the following guides for instructions on how to do this:
Getting additional help
If you have any difficulty navigating the WebCampus tools and menus, you can get help by using the Help link at the bottom of your global navigation menu. There are a few options for getting help in WebCampus. By clicking on Help on the global navigation menu, you are given two options. First, you can search the Canvas Guides, which contain step by step information on working with all aspects of the learning management system. This is a great place to start with questions you may have about how to work certain tools or how to adjust specific settings. If you believe that the system is not working correctly, you can also click on Report a Problem to let WebCampus know; however, before reporting a problem, we’d recommend contacting the Office of Digital Learning at (775) 682-6798 or idt@unr.edu to see if we can help.
Step-by-step tutorials and additional information