Canvas Learning Management System

Canvas Support: Grades 7-12

Belton High School and Belton Middle School teachers use Canvas Learning Management System to organize courses, deliver content and assignments, administer quizzes, and publish student grades.

We strongly encourage all parents of Belton High and Belton Middle School students to be Canvas parent observers so they can view grades, view assignments, keep in contact with the teacher, and help keep their children organized. The Parent Portal (SISK12) will only show Progress, Term, and Semester grades.

In the past, parents had to create their own Canvas Parent Observer accounts. If you created an account in the past, you will still have access to that same account this school year. If you are listed as Parent 1 in the Parent Portal (Tyler SISK12), accounts were only automatically created for you. If you are a BHS or BMS parent but you do not have an account, reach out to Laura Gibson for support.

Frequently Asked Canvas Questions

What are the advantages to having a Parent Observer account in Canvas?
The Canvas Parent app lets you view a student’s course events, upcoming assignments, and grades. Observers can view the course content but cannot participate in the course.

On a web browser, observers can:
- see assignment due dates
- View announcements
- View assignment details
- View a calendar with student assignment due dates
- Change user settings
- Change user notifications
How do I log into the Parent area of Canvas?
To get into your new Parent Observer Account...

MOBILE DEVICE

You can download the app from your iOS or Android app store.

Make sure it is the BLUE Parent App.

To log in:
- Under “Find My School”, type in “Belton” and select “Belton School District” when it pops up.
- Enter your email
- Enter the password Pirates21!
- Log in
COMPUTER

Log in at bsd124.instructure.com

To log in:
- Enter your email
- Enter the password Pirates21!
- Log in
If you still have trouble logging in, please fill out this form: Canvas Parent Observer Questionnaire or email Laura Gibson.

First Time Logging in?
- Click “Forgot Password?”
- Enter your email address.
- Check your email and follow instructions to set a new password.
How do I adjust my User Settings as a Parent Observer?
You cannot make any changes to your user settings on the Canvas Parent App. You must go through the web browser.

To get into your user settings, click on the profile icon under the BSD Logo. It looks like a silhouette of a head.

Click “Settings."

1. Add an email address to your account, so another parent in the household or a separate parent outside the household can receive email notifications.
- Click + Email Address.
- Enter the other email address(es) and have the other parent/guardian verfiy their email address in their own email inbox.
2. Add text messages as another method for notifications.
- Click + Contact Method.
- Enter your cell phone information.
3. Change your preferred language and time zone.
- Click Edit Settings
- Use the Dropdown beside “Language” and/or “Time Zone” to choose your preferred language and/or time zone.
How do I adjust the parent notifications from Canvas?
On the Canvas Parent App:
- You can set reminders through the Courses page or the Week page. You can choose the date and time that you would like to receive the reminder. Reminders are sent as push notifications to your device.
- The Alerts page displays assignment and grade alerts for the student(s) you are observing.
- You can set student alerts based on specific criteria.
- Once the Course Announcements alert has been enabled, any announcements created thereafter will display in the Alerts tab.
On a web browser:
- Canvas includes a set of default notification preferences you can receive for the courses you are observing.
- Notifications are sent to Canvas contact methods as specified in your account User Settings. However, you can change the default settings by setting your own notification preferences.
- These preferences only apply to the emails included on the account; they are not used to control how course updates are sent to the student you are observing.
To get to your notification settings:
1. Click on your profile image (looks like silhouette of head).
2. Click notifications in the menu.
3. Check this information for notification recommendations.
How do I set up Alerts about my child's activity on Canvas?

You cannot set Reminders or Alerts through the web browser. You can only set up email and text notifications as described above from the web browser.

You can set reminders through the Courses page or the Week page in the Parent Canvas App only.

Choose the date and time that you would like to receive the reminder.

Reminders are sent as push notifications to your device. The Alerts page displays assignment and grade alerts for the student(s) you are observing.

Set student alerts based on specific criteria.

Once the Course Announcements alert has been enabled, any announcements created thereafter will display in the Alerts tab.
Can I contact my child's teachers via Canvas?
Can I check grades in Canvas?
You can view grade information for all graded courses in which your student is currently enrolled. For a full picture of student performance, please use the SISK12 Parent Portal; Parent Portal is the permanent location for grades and course information that will appear on transcripts.

MOBILE APP
- Click on the student whose grades you want to see. Grades will be next to each course name. Clicking the course will give a breakdown of individual assignment grades.
- Each assignment displays an assignment-type icon. You can also view the assignment name, due date, submission status, and your student's assignment score. You cannot see additional assignment details.
WEB BROWSER
- From the Home Page, click the “View Grades” button on the right side. This will take you to a list of all of the students’ courses with their current grades listed. You can click on each course to get to the assignment detail.
- Once in the gradebook of an individual course, you can get to the assignment detail by clicking the assignment.
- To get to the assignment directions, click the assignment name at the very top of the page.
Is there a calendar in Canvas to track due dates?
The Calendar is a great way to view everything a linked student has to do for all their courses in one place.

WEB BROWSER
Observers cannot view events in a student's personal calendar or appointments reserved through the Scheduler by the student.

MOBILE APP
- The Calendar page displays a calendar of assignments and events for the student(s) you are observing.
- You can view each day by clicking on the date.
My child's class periods are wrong in the class names. For example, English I-Y-P2-Bruhn. My student is not in P2; he is in P4. Is the wrong class showing up in Canvas?

When a teacher teaches multiple periods of the same course, the teacher combines them all into one Canvas course. Usually, the teacher uses the Canvas course for the period they have earliest in the day. Pay attention to the class name, but do not consider the class period. To see a student’s schedule, go to the Parent Portal (Tyler SIS).

Helpful hint: Rearrange the Canvas Course Cards on the dashboard in order of the student’s schedule. You can also give each course a nickname that includes the correct period name.
Students: My assignment answers keep disappearing when I want to submit them in Canvas!

Several teachers, students, and parents are reporting issues when students attempt to submit assignments in Canvas.

This seems to be happening because:

1. WiFi connection drops at the wrong time.

2. What has been the most common reason: Students open assignments, start to work, decide to finish later, and leave the assignment open. When the student goes back to the assignment, finishes it, and tries to submit it, the assignment has timed out because of inactivity. And when the submission fails, the work is gone. We agree this is VERY frustrating.

Hooray! We have solutions:

Textbox Assignments:

Students should not type straight into a textbox. Instead, they should type in a Google Doc or Notes. Then when they are really ready to submit, they should refresh the assignment, copy and paste the text into the textbox, and click to submit immediately. If anything goes wrong with the submission, they still have their work in Google Docs or in Notes.

Google Cloud Assignments:

Open the actual Google Doc, Slides, etc., and edit it there. It's important not to edit in the assignment, especially if you are going to leave the assignment. Then when you are ready to submit, refresh the assignment, which will update with the changes you made in the other tab. Click submit.

Quizzes:

Only start quizzes when you are ready to complete the WHOLE quiz. If you do have to leave during the quiz, copy and paste any text you have written into a Google Doc or Notes. The text will likely disappear if you try to submit later and it fails. If at first, an assignment fails to submit, you should refresh the assignment and try again.

Canvas Learning Management System

Canvas Support: Grades 7-12

Frequently Asked Canvas Questions

What are the advantages to having a Parent Observer account in Canvas?

How do I log into the Parent area of Canvas?

How do I adjust my User Settings as a Parent Observer?

How do I adjust the parent notifications from Canvas?

How do I set up Alerts about my child's activity on Canvas?

Can I contact my child's teachers via Canvas?

Can I check grades in Canvas?

Is there a calendar in Canvas to track due dates?

My child's class periods are wrong in the class names. For example, English I-Y-P2-Bruhn. My student is not in P2; he is in P4. Is the wrong class showing up in Canvas?

Students: My assignment answers keep disappearing when I want to submit them in Canvas!