Create Seating Charts in Canvas

Last updated on October 19, 2021

The Roll Call feature in Canvas includes a tool you can use to create seating charts and share them with others. You can use this feature to comply with the Fall 2021 requirement that in-person instructors create and submit seating charts of their class; this is to facilitate contact tracing in the event of COVID-19 infection of a student.

Directions

1. Go to MSU Denver’s Faculty and Staff Hub.
2. Click Canvas in the Teaching & Learning section.
3. Log in to your Canvas Account.
4. Select the Course you’d like to work in.

Enable Attendance Tools

If you can see Attendance in the left-hand navigation menu of your Canvas course, skip to the next section.

5. Click Settings in the left-hand course navigation menu.
6. Click Navigation in the tabs along the top of the page.
7. Scroll to Attendance.
   • It should be in the second list of deactivated features.
8. Click the More Options (3-dots) menu to the right of Attendance.
9. Click Enable.
10. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
11. Click Save.

Create Seating Chart

12. Click Attendance in the left-hand navigation menu.
13. Click Class in the top right-hand corner of the page, just above the date.
14. Click Edit Seating Chart in the top right-hand corner of the page, just below the date.
    • A list of all your students will appear on the left-hand side and an empty grid will appear on the right.
15. Click and drag each student into a square on the grid.
    • This works best if your classroom is arranged in a grid of desks. If you have a different layout, do your best to approximate the relative locations of students.
    • You will need to explain to your students that the university requires them to sit in the same seat each class to facilitate contact tracing.

Print/Create a PDF of your Seating Chart

16. Click Attendance in the left-hand navigation menu.
17. Click Class in the top right-hand corner of the page, just above the date.
18. Click Take Attendance in the top right-hand corner of the page, just below the date.
19. Press CTRL + P (Windows) or COMMAND + P (Mac) on your keyboard to print the page.
20. Print the Seating Chart. You can print to a PDF to create a digital copy that can easily be shared via email or a physical copy if you prefer.