Wikis in Canvas

Wikis are a collaborative space that allows multiple users to edit the same document/page. While Canvas does not have a tool specifically called “wikis,” Canvas Pages function as wikis and can be used as wiki assignments. With a Canvas Page, students can integrate a variety of content including text, images, and videos to create a dynamic project.

To set up a wiki assignment, there are three stages: create the wiki page, create a manual gradebook column for the wiki assignment, and review/grade wiki contributions by the students.

Create the wiki page

1. Select Pages from the left-hand course navigation of the course in which you want students to complete a wiki.
   
2. If you have a Front Page set in your course, you need to select View All Pages located at the top of your Front Page. (If you do not have a Front Page set, skip to step 3).
3. Select the +Page button located in the upper, left-hand side of the screen.
4. Enter a title for the page. To assist students, the page’s title should include the name of the assignment and a group name/number if you have placed students into groups for the wiki assignment (example: Debate: Classroom cell phone use wiki – Pro argument group).
5. Enter instructions for the wiki in the large text box on the page. Alternatively, you may provide the wiki assignment instructions on a separate page in Canvas and link to the student wiki pages.
6. From the Options drop-down menu, select Teachers and students. This allows students to edit this page and contribute to the wiki.
   
7. Select Save & Publish.

Create a manual gradebook column for the wiki assignment

If the students are to receive a grade for their wiki participation, an instructor must create a corresponding assignment in Canvas in order to generate a gradebook column. To create the assignment/gradebook column, use the following steps:

1. Select Assignments from the left-hand course navigation of the course in which the students must complete the wiki assignment.
   
2. Select the +Assignment button located in the upper right-hand side of the page.
3. Enter the title of the wiki assignment (example: Debate wiki).
4. Provide instructions for the wiki assignment with links to the appropriate wiki pages. This reinforces the requirements for the students and assists them in understanding their grade for the wiki project.
   
5. Check and adjust the following items as necessary based on your course syllabus and grading policies:
   1. Enter the Points for the assignment.
   2. Select the appropriate Assignment Group if you use multiple groups.
   3. Choose Display Grade as to indicate how students will see their grades reported in the gradebook (the default is points).
6. Choose Online and select the box next to Website URL from the Submission Type drop-down menu. This allows students to enter the URL for the wiki page in Canvas, so the instructor can easily access the wiki page for grading.

   Alternatively, choose No Submission from the Submission Type drop-down menu. This makes the gradebook column manual. Students will not submit anything to the assignment link, and the instructor must locate the proper wiki page from the list of all Pages in the Canvas course.
   

7. Assign any necessary dates including Due date, Available from date, and Until date.
8. Select Save & Publish if you are ready for students to see the assignment and corresponding gradebook column. Select Save if you are not ready for students to see the assignment and corresponding gradebook column

Review/grade wiki contributions

As an instructor, you have the ability to view the page history to determine the changes each user made to the wiki page. Use the following steps to view a page’s version history. 

1. Select Pages from the left-hand Course Navigation menu.

   

2. If you have a Front Page set in your course, you need to select View All Pages located at the top of your Front Page. (If you do not have a Front Page set, skip to step 3).
3. Select the collaborative wiki page you want to view.
4. Select the three vertical dots located at the top, right-hand side of the page.
5. Choose View Page History from the drop-down menu.

   

6. Select and review the versions of the page from the Revision History menu located on the right-hand side of the page. By default, the current version of the page is displayed first.

    

   By selecting the different versions of the page, you can determine which students contributed certain components of the wiki page.

   

7. Enter grades in the wiki gradebook column.