This guide walks you through setting up a video-based assignment in Canvas, including important considerations for University of Manchester and FBMH staff.

1. Create a New Assignment

  1. Go into your Canvas course.
  2. Select Assignments from the course navigation menu.
  3. Click + Assignment to create a new assignment.
  4. Give your assignment a clear and descriptive name.

2. Add Assignment Instructions

In the Rich Content Editor, include all key information students will need:

  • Assignment overview
  • Learning objectives
  • Marking criteria / rubric details
  • Deadlines and submission expectations
  • Restrictions or specific recording requirements
  • Any FBMH- or programme-specific instructions

3. Set Points and Assignment Group

  • Enter the number of points the assignment is worth.
  • Add the assignment to the appropriate Assignment Group.
  • Choose how grades should be displayed (e.g., percentage).

4. Configure Submission Type

Set Submission Type to Online.

You will then see two relevant submission options:

Option A: Media Recordings

Selecting Media Recordings allows students to upload a recorded video file through the built‑in Canvas media tool.

Important notes:

  • Videos submitted this way do not go into Canvas Studio.
  • Staff can view the videos in the Canvas media player but not download them.
  • Appropriate for simpler video submissions where Studio analytics or editing tools are not required.

Option B: File Uploads

Selecting File Uploads allows students to upload video files into Canvas Studio or as a lone MP4 file (you cannot specify; both options become open to students).

Important considerations for FBMH/University workflows:

  • Students can record directly in Canvas Studio or upload a video file. Both of these options are available to students at all times when “File upload” is ticked.
  • The interface looks different from the Media Recordings option.
  • Ownership issue: Students own the video in Studio, not the course.
    If a student archives or deletes their Studio video, markers will lose access.

Use this option if Studio features (e.g., captions, analytics) are necessary—otherwise, Media Recordings may be safer.

Choosing options

You may select one or both options depending on your assignment design. Markers will see slightly different things when marking depending on the choice that you and the students make on assignment creation/submission.

5. Submission Attempts

Choose how many attempts students are allowed. This may depend on programme policy.

6. Plagiarism Review

Do not enable Plagiarism Review for video assignments.

  • Turnitin cannot process video submissions.
  • Video content contains no analysable text for similarity detection.

7. Group Work and Peer Review

You may enable:

  • Group Assignment
  • Peer Reviews

Use these only if appropriate for your course design.

8. Moderated Grading and Anonymous Marking

  • Do not enable Moderated Grading unless you have spoken to the eLearning Team and tested the functionality.
    It does not work reliably and is not recommended.
  • Anonymous marking:
    You can choose to mark anonymously by ticking the “Anonymous grading” box.
    There is little point to ticking “anonymous instructor annotations” in a video assignment. Only DocViewer comments can be made anonymous and video assignments do not use this function. Any comments added into the “Assignment comments” box will be viewable by students with the staff name attached.

9. Assign Dates and Availability

In the Assign panel:

Due Date

  • University of Manchester policy requires deadlines at 14:00 (2:00 PM).
  • However, if you set exactly 2:00 PM, a student submitting at 2:00:01 will appear as late.
  • Therefore, set the due time to:
    14:01 (2:01 PM)
    This prevents accidental late flags in Canvas.

Available From / Until

  • You may keep the Available Until date the same as the due date.
  • However, this prevents late submissions, so most courses allow it to remain open for a few days after.

Additional Due Dates for DASS or Mitigating Circumstances

To accommodate students with adjusted deadlines:

  1. Click + Add in the Assign panel.
  2. Create a second Assign to entry for:
    • Individual students (e.g., DASS students)
    • Sections
    • DIFFTAGSs (where applicable in Canvas)
  3. Set their personalised due date and availability.

10. Save the Assignment

When finished, choose:

  • Save
    or
  • Save & Publish (if ready for students to access)

Guide: Creating a Video Assignment in Canvas