Canvas: How Can Students Share Files For A Course?

Environment

Canvas
MiVideo
U-M Google
Perusall
Dropbox
MCommunity

Issue

Is there a way for students to share files (a Google doc, PDF, etc) with other students in a course?

Resolution

Students can share files with classmates via the following options:

Option 1: Canvas Discussions

• Create a discussion board for students to share and discuss files
• Students can:
  • Upload files (PDF's or Word documents) directly to their posts
  • Share links to Google Drive or Dropbox
  • Embed images or MiVideo media
  • Comment on each other's shared materials
• Can be set up for the whole class or specific groups

Option 2: Group Files in Canvas

• Create student groups in Canvas
• Each group gets a shared file space (50 MB storage limit)
• All group members can upload and view files
• Can create one large group for whole-class sharing

Option 3: Perusall

• Available in all Canvas courses
• Instructor creates a student upload folder
• Students can view and comment on each other's uploads
• Useful for peer review activities

Option 4: Google Drive with MCommunity

• Create a MCommunity group for the course.
• Students share Google files with the MCommunity group using the group email
• All group members get access automatically
• This method uses U-M Google Drive

Quick Help Links

Discussions

• How to create a discussion
• How to create a group discussion
• How students can reply to discussions
• How to upload documents in Rich Content Editor

Groups

• How to automatically create groups
• How to manually create groups
• How to manually assign students to groups
• How students can upload files to groups

Resources and Questions

• Check out the new Academic Technology@Michigan website for course planning resources from across U-M
• Visit the Canvas @ Michigan site for faculty including the U-M Instructor Guide with links to additional support resources from across campus
• Check out the Canvas and MiVideo tutorials

For additional questions, please contact the ITS Service Center