Canvas Collaborations & Conferences

Group Work Collaborations Tool

When students work together on assignments such as papers or projects, they may need a centralized location to store and work on shared documents. The Collaborations area in Canvas houses third-party document sharing tools.

There are two platforms for collaborations in Canvas.

  • Google Docs is a lot like Microsoft Word, so it has a familiar interface for document editing. However, it also allows multiple individuals to work on the document simultaneously without having to worry about emailing and compiling multiple versions. It also has a chat feature so that students can communicate while working together on the document. Please note that participants will need a Google account to use this tool.
  • Office365 is an online suite of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint available to UCF faculty, students, and staff. It also allows multiple individuals to work on the document simultaneously without having to worry about emailing and compiling multiple versions. In addition, it also has a chat feature so that students can communicate while working together on the document. Students will need to log in using their UCF Knightsmail account.

TipsCreate student groups and give them the assignment to work on using one of the collaboration tools. Then require them to turn in a collaboration document as a graded Assignment.  

Discussion Conferences Tool

Canvas has a web conferencing tool Links to an external site. integration called Big Blue Button that allows students and instructors to:

  • Share documents (PowerPoints, PDFs, Word documents, etc.)
  • Share desktop views
  • Webcam capability
  • Audio capability
  • Record a conference

Please note: Zoom is the primary video conferencing platform used for synchronous online teaching at UCF. Students may want to utilize the Canvas Conferences tool to meet as a group, collaborate, or work on a project together. 

Both students and instructors can create a new Conference Links to an external site.. If you would like to allow students to have access to this tool, be sure to adjust your course settings accordingly.