University of Utah

Using Absolute and Relative Values to Size Elements

Article

This page is intended to give you a deeper insight into the types of values used to control size. The code examples provided in the library code snippets and code tutorials throughout this resource often include indications of size such as width, height, and thickness. In these examples, size is always expressed using a number and then a value. The values can either be absolute or relative. 

About This Resource

Article

Welcome to the University of Utah Gen3 Canvas Styles resource! This resource was created by a team of instructional designers, learning designers, production specialists, multimedia specialists, web developers, and accessibility consultants. This resource was designed to assist instructors and faculty develop advanced HTML elements within the Gen3 template and the Canvas LMS platform.

Using This Resource

Article

After this introductory module, there is a Guidelines and Best Practices manual, and after that, each remaining manual will focus on a specific type of page element, such as boxes, images, or tables. Each of these manuals will include a brief overview of the topic, library code snippet pages, and a tutorial section that explains the code elements and how to create your own styles.

Accessible and Responsive Design

Article

Part of why we created this resource is to help you create accessible and responsive (meaning it will display correctly on different devices) content that is visually appealing. All the styles we are providing have been tested for accessibility with a variety of devices and assistive technologies. We know that people access digital content in a variety of ways, including on mobile devices, on a computer using a mouse and/or keyboard, or even by using a computer with additional input devices. People who have limited or no vision can use screen reading software to navigate and read page content without having to see it. And others may need to print pages to read entirely offline. The styles provided in this resource can enhance course content without creating unnecessary barriers for anyone, regardless of their method of access.

Glossary

Article

How do I reset/ reschedule/ extend a proctored exam as a Instructor?

Article

Please ensure you apply the applicable critical steps below in order to reset, reschedule or add extensions to an exam for a student. These are known as "Accommodation Settings". You will need to make adjustments in both the Canvas exam (found in Canvas Quizzes) and in SmarterProctoring, which appears as Schedule Exams in your course navigation. The following covers date extensions and time extensions followed by accommodation settings in SmarterProctoring.

Getting Started with Gen3 Online Course Template

Article

Welcome to the Gen3 Course Template for Canvas, designed to streamline the initial course setup and help ease ongoing maintenance management for instructors at the University of Utah. If you are new to the Gen3 system, this template serves as your foundational guide to building a course that adheres to the best practices and educational standards followed by the University of Utah for online courses. For those who are familiar with previous iterations of Canvas templates provided by the University (from TLT, Continuing Education, UCL, etc), you'll find that this version has several enhancements aimed at ease of use and course flexibility while providing the latest updates and support from Digital Learning.This template has been built from the ground up for speed and reliability while adhering to the standards of online and hybrid courses in the typical 16-week semester format. The simplicity and reliability of this template is due to the fact that the course is written solely in page-local HTML code and in-line CSS. While simpler and more refined compared to previous templates built with external formatting tools, this template still offers many customization features, new page contextual navigational links, and an updated set of course services pages. More importantly, the overall module structure, page design, and course services that students and instructors have grown accustomed to over the years are apparent from the first glance of the home page - but now updated, quicker, and more reliable! For more information about the Gen3 template and our deployment and design services, please contact UCL’s Digital Learning Experience.This welcome page serves as your one-stop resource for everything you'll need to know to get your course up and running smoothly. Here, you will find various guides, tips, and best practices that are essential for both new and returning instructors. After reading through this page and watching the video, take a look at the other instructor resources, as they contain detailed information about the most time-intensive and important work; from setting up your course modules to optimizing assessments, our instructor guides have got you covered!

Course Accessibility in Gen3 Online Course Template

Article

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Rehabilitation ActSection 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 protect postsecondary students from discrimination on the basis of disability.Learners with disabilities are not required to inform the university of their disability status. However, to receive personal accommodations, eligible students must be registered with the Center for Disability & Access (CDA). Accommodations are determined based on the individual needs of the student.In accordance with the law, faculty must adhere to the appropriate academic adjustments recommended by the CDA.Additionally, all content hosted online must be accessible in accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which indicates that all web pages, apps, and software must be functional for people using assistive technology tools.Refusal to comply may lead to legal action. Instructors may be held personally liable.University of Utah Accessibility PoliciesArticle III, Section A of Policy 6-400: Student Rights and Responsibilities lists the Student Bill of Rights. The following sections are important to consider surrounding accessibility concerns: Learning Environment - Students have a right to support and assistance from the University in maintaining a climate conducive to thinking and learning. University teaching should reflect consideration for the dignity of students and their rights as persons. Students are entitled to academic freedom and autonomy in their intellectual pursuits and development. Students have a right to be treated with courtesy and respect. Rights in the Classroom - Students have a right to reasonable Notice of the general content of the course, what will be required of them, and the criteria upon which their performance will be evaluated. Students have a right to have their performance evaluated promptly, conscientiously, without prejudice or favoritism, and consistently with the criteria stated at the beginning of the course. Requirements related to evaluation are described in Policy 6-100. To read the full accommodations policy for the University of Utah, please see Section Q of Policy 6-100: Instruction & Evaluation regulations. 

Module Instructions for Gen3 Online Course Template

Article

The Gen3 Master Course Template is designed to streamline the preparation and management of your online courses on Canvas. The modules are structured to offer a flexible, user-friendly framework that aligns with the University’s educational standards for the standard 16-week semester. Each module is tied to weekly progression during the course of a semester, with the option to customize a module for the semester break. Here’s how to use and update the modules to reflect your course requirements.

Helpful Hints for Gen3 Online Course Template

Article

Use CTRL + Z or CMD + Z to immediately reverse unwanted changes. Be careful when you use the 'Delete' or 'Backspace' key when editing course pages. Aggressive selecting and deleting, or hitting backspace too many times, could inadvertently delete layout elements. This will break the page layout. Do you want to recover a page, assignment, or file you accidentally deleted? In many instances, you can! Read the Canvas instructions on the undelete function to learn more. Dividing content into modules (as opposed to weeks) makes it easier to rearrange course content if you have to teach the class another semester (or on an alternative schedule). Do you regret a page change and want to go back in time? You can do that. Revert changes to a Canvas page using the page history restore feature. Do you want to start a page from scratch? You can restore a Canvas page to its original template using the page history restore feature described above or you can copy the HTML from the templates provided in the ‘Course Templates’ module in the Modules of the course. Follow the steps below to copy the template: Navigate to the template in the Modules area. Click Edit in the upper-right corner to open the edit view for the template page. Click the "HTML Editor" link above the rich text editor. This will pull up the page HTML code. Select all the code and hit CMD + C or CTRL + C on your keyboard to copy the code. Click the Cancel button below the rich text editor to exit the template page. Navigate to the page to which you want to apply the template. Click Edit in the upper-right corner to open the edit view for the template page. Click the "HTML Editor" link above the rich text editor. This will pull up the page HTML code. Hit CMD + V or CTRL + V on your keyboard to copy the HTML code from the template into this page. Make sure to update any Navigational links used in the templates copied. We recommend duplicating the pages or assessments in the specific module you want to create content while in the Canvas Modules area, as directed by the Assessment Instructions; this helps ensure you are duplicating module-specific pages with correct navigational links and module references and already made. Click the Save button beneath the rich text editor (HTML editor) to save your changes. Be careful when you copy and paste from Word documents. Copying and pasting content into course pages from Word documents can sometimes cause layout issues because of "formatting gremlins." This can happen in pages with the course layout or in pages that are completely blank. If problems crop up when you copy and paste, you may want to convert your Word document to a plain text file, from which you will copy from directly into Canvas. Be careful when you copy and paste between Canvas pages: It is easy to make formatting errors when you copy content from one page by selecting the visual content with your cursor, hitting copy and then pasting it into a new page. It is often okay to copy content within the rich content editor but sometimes it's safer to copy the HTML code itself using the built-in HTML code editor.