Module 6

teacher behind laptop in front of chalkboard

Finalizing and testing your Canvas course before the semester begins is a crucial step in ensuring a smooth learning experience for students. It’s not enough to build a great course—you need to make sure everything works as intended, from links and assignments to the overall flow of the course. This final step can save you a lot of time and frustration once the course is live, preventing technical issues, confusion, and student complaints. In this module, we’ll expand on why checking your course matters, explore best practices for doing it effectively, and provide real-world examples and solutions that can help improve the student experience. We’ll also cover additional tools and strategies to keep your course running smoothly.

Why Checking Your Course Matters

Imagine the frustration of a student logging into your course on the first day only to an unstructured shell and encounter broken links, missing or duplicate assignments, or inaccessible resources. This can quickly set the tone for a semester of confusion and disengagement. By thoroughly checking your course beforehand, you’re ensuring that students have immediate access to everything they need, which not only improves their learning experience but also reduces the number of troubleshooting emails you’ll receive.

At Penn State University, faculty members who implemented routine course checking reported fewer technical problems during the semester, resulting in higher student satisfaction and fewer disruptions. Checking also allows you to catch errors before they become an issue, giving you time to fix problems before students even notice them.

Best Practices for Finalizing and Checking Your Course

Checking your course doesn’t have to be a long, complex process. By following these best practices, you can ensure your course is fully functional and ready for students on day one.

Use the Canvas “Student View” Feature

Canvas has a built-in tool called “Student View” that allows you to experience the course exactly as your students will. This feature lets you check for hidden or inaccessible content, such as assignments that aren’t visible or links that don’t work. You can also use this view to ensure that due dates, quizzes, and modules are properly aligned and visible.

At Arizona State University, instructors are encouraged to use the “Student View” feature as part of their pre-semester course preparation. This practice has become a standard for identifying and resolving issues, such as hidden materials or incorrect due dates, before they impact students. Instructors report that this simple step significantly reduces the number of emails they receive from confused students.

Use the Canvas “Validate Links in Content” Tool

Another useful feature within Canvas is the “Validate Links in Content” tool, which can be found under the course settings. This tool automatically checks all external links in your course to ensure they’re still working and haven’t become outdated or broken. Given how frequently websites or resources change, this tool is an easy way to ensure your course remains up-to-date.

University of Michigan has integrated the “Validate Links” tool into their course audit process, ensuring that faculty can quickly and easily check for broken links without manually going through each one. This practice has drastically reduced the number of student complaints about inaccessible materials, freeing up instructors to focus on teaching rather than technical troubleshooting.

Have a Colleague or Instructional Designer Review the Course

After spending hours building your course, it’s easy to overlook minor errors that could lead to big issues for students. That’s why having a colleague or instructional designer review your course can be so helpful. They can provide an objective assessment of both the clarity of your course structure and the functionality of its components.

At Indiana University, peer reviews are a common practice in online course development. Faculty collaborate with instructional designers to ensure that their courses are clear, well-organized, and free of technical issues. These reviews often reveal minor issues that the instructor might have missed, such as inconsistent module sequencing or unclear assignment instructions. Peer reviews have contributed to smoother course launches and improved student feedback.

Make Notes as You Teach for Future Updates

While testing your course before the semester starts is essential, it’s also important to make note of any issues that arise during the course itself. As you teach, keep a running list of updates or changes you want to make to the course shell. This can include anything from tweaking assignment instructions to fixing links or reorganizing modules for clarity. By making notes in real time, you ensure that you don’t forget any improvements by the end of the semester.

At Stanford University, faculty are encouraged to maintain a “course improvement log” as they teach. This log allows instructors to note any issues or areas for improvement, which can then be addressed either during the semester or when preparing the course for the next term. This continuous improvement process has resulted in more refined and polished courses over time, as small adjustments lead to better organization and a smoother student experience.

Check Links, Files, and External Resources

One of the most common frustrations for students is finding that links or resources they need for assignments are broken or inaccessible. While you can use the “Validate Links” tool for external links, it’s also a good idea to manually check any files you’ve uploaded to ensure they’re in the correct format and accessible from different devices, including mobile phones and tablets.

Examples of Course Checking: Before and After

Let’s look at a practical example of how testing your course can drastically improve the student experience:

Before: A Course with Broken Links and Missing Materials
Professor Johnson launches her sociology course without checking it first. On the first day, students log in and quickly encounter problems: several links to external readings are broken, the syllabus is uploaded in a file format that students can’t open, and one of the key assignments is hidden because it wasn’t published. Students are confused and frustrated, and Professor Johnson spends the first week fielding emails and fixing problems.

After: A Course Checked for Functionality and Ready to Go
Before launching her course, Professor Johnson uses Canvas’s “Student View” feature to check that all links are working, assignments are visible, and files are accessible. She also uses the “Validate Links” tool to automatically check all external links and has a colleague review the course for clarity. As a result, her students log in on day one and can immediately access everything they need without any issues. Professor Johnson can focus on teaching rather than troubleshooting.