How to Configure Canvas for Delphinium

In most cases, Delphinium only reads data from Canvas to create engaging and motivating experiences for students. This has the advantage of allowing you add Delphinium to ANY course very quickly. You will typically not need to make any change to your course to use Delphinium. 

However, there are a few Canvas settings that you can modify to improve how Delphinium works. These are described below and quick links are available to the right.

Canvas gives teachers the option to create groups of assignments. Canvas also allows teachers to weight assignment groups to change how they impact the final grade. For example, it is possible to have a 200 point exam worth 2% of the final grade and a 10 point quiz worth 80% of the final  grade. See the following to learn more about assignment group weights:

• Assignment group weights in Canvas 

Where possible, avoid using assignment group weights. Ideally, a point is a point, is a point. This allows students to look at the possible point value for an assignment and know exactly how it will impact their grade. This is important because one of Delphinium's key functions is to make progress transparent to students. This transparency increases students' sense of control and increases motivation.

Assignment group weights obfuscate the value of a  point and adds an extra layer of computation for students to figure out. Using assignment group weights, a point in one assignment might be worth 10 times more, or half as much, as a point in another assignment. This makes it harder to predict the impact of an assignment on the final grade and decreases student's sense of control and motivation. We recommend that if you want an assignment to impact the final grade more or less, you directly change the number of points the assignment is worth instead of manipulating the point values using assignment group weights.

If you must use assignment group weights in your course with Delphinium, you will not be able to use a 0-based course design.