We’re excited to announce a new AI assistant developed by Duke Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education (LILE) now available in DukeGPT: Canvas Designer is tailored for instructors looking to build or refine their courses in Canvas. It offers support in designing module structures, organizing content layouts, and creating effective homepage designs—all informed by instructional design best practices.

You can access the Canvas Designer by logging into DukeGPT, clicking the down arrow next to the model name in the upper left corner, and selecting "Canvas Designer" from the dropdown list.

The Canvas platform is regularly updated with new features and changes to existing ones. These updates are shared to the Canvas Community, but we have highlighted those we think are most important to Duke users below:

Designing Your Canvas Course Site for Student Success

Monday, August 11 | 12 - 1:30 pm

Learn how to design a course site with the learner experience in mind. 

Assessing Student Learning in Canvas

Tuesday, August 12 | 12 - 1:30 pm

Learn how to create assignments, build quizzes, and effectively manage the Gradebook to view and assign grades.

Accessibility in Canvas

Thursday, August 14 | 12 - 1 pm

Learn how to create a more inclusive and accessible learning experience to support every student in Canvas.

Get Personalized Help from LILE

There are two ways to get personalized support from LILE:

You may also email us any time at canvas@duke.edu, or access 24/7 support directly from Canvas via chat or phone.

UDOIT, or Universal Design Online Inspection Tool, is an accessibility tool in Canvas that scans your online course content, identifies possible accessibility issues, and guides you through how to resolve those issues. To use UDOIT to assess your courses' accessibility, watch the video below or follow these instructions.

Then, consider earning the UDOIT Superstar badge to show your colleagues and students that you value accessibility in your Canvas course sites.

Visit go.canvas.duke.edu and select "For Instructors" to access a robust library of content for instructors new to Canvas (select "Learning Canvas"), as well as for more intermediate users (select "Using Canvas"). Below are some of the pages that address the most frequently asked questions:

Content in Sakai will be saved for 5 years, so if you need materials from a course taught using Sakai since 2020, our team can access it for you. Learn more about the data retention policy and how to request Sakai content.

Canvas at Duke is managed and supported by Duke Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education (LILE), Duke University’s central source for teaching and learning innovation, in collaboration with Duke Office of Information Technology (OIT).