Using Coursera in Canvas

🔍 What Is Coursera? 

 Coursera is a leading global online learning platform that offers flexible, high-quality courses from top universities and organizations. 

 Through A-State’s partnership with Coursera, faculty, staff, and students have access to a wide range of learning opportunities, including courses, professional certificates, and micro-credentials from industry leaders such as Google, Meta, and IBM. 

 Through the Coursera Career Academy , A-State provides access to hundreds of courses focused on career development and workforce-ready skills. These courses can be incorporated into Canvas to enhance instruction and provide students with opportunities to build practical, real-world knowledge alongside their academic coursework. 

 Faculty are encouraged to integrate Coursera into their courses to: 

 

 

 Offer industry-recognized content 

 Assign structured learning as part of course activities 

 Provide students opportunities to earn additional credentials 

 Connect academic learning with career-relevant skills 

 

 

 🎓 Types of Coursera Content You Can Add 

 When using Coursera in Canvas, you can assign different types of content: 

 

 

 Courses – Full multi-module learning experiences 

 Videos – Individual lecture videos or short content segments 

 Projects – Hands-on assignments and applied learning experiences 

 Guided Projects – Structured, step-by-step project activities 

 

 

 🔐 How Coursera Access Works 

 Students must be logged in to Coursera using their A-State account to access licensed content. 

 

 

 When Coursera is added using the External Tool in Canvas, authentication is handled automatically in most cases 

 When using direct links, students must already be signed in for access to work correctly 

 

 

 📘 Student resources: ➤ Career Academy for Students: Quick Start Guide ➤ Career Academy for Students: Finding a Course 

 📘 Additional information: ➤ A-State Coursera Overview ➤ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

 

 ❓ Why Students Might Be Asked to Pay 

 Students may encounter a payment prompt if: 

 

 

 They accessed a Coursera link while not logged in 

 They are using a personal Coursera account instead of their A-State account 

 The selected course is not included in the licensed Coursera catalog 

 

 

 How to Fix It 

 

 

 Have students sign in using their A-State account 

 Direct them to access the course through Canvas 

 Confirm the course is part of the licensed Coursera offerings 

 Replace direct links with External Tool links if issues continue 

 

 

 🛠️ Notes and Limitations 

 

 

 Coursera may not appear in the Rich Text Editor (Apps menu) 

 Not all Coursera content supports grade passback 

 Available content depends on the university’s license 

 The Canvas Student View feature does not fully support Coursera testing 

 

 

 🔗 Adding Direct Links (Use with Caution) 

 Faculty can add direct links to Coursera content in Canvas (Pages, Assignments, Announcements, etc.), but this method has limitations. 

 When Direct Links Work (and Why They Fail) 

 Direct links to Coursera will work if: 

 

 

 The student is logged in to Coursera with their A-State account 

 The selected course is included in the university’s licensed content 

 

 

 If either of these conditions is not met, students may be prompted to pay or be unable to access the course. 

 

 ✅ Recommendation 

 Use the External Tool for a more reliable and consistent student experience. 

 

 ✅ Adding Coursera Using External Tool (Recommended) 

 Coursera content can be added to Canvas using the External Tool integration , which provides several key benefits: 

 

 

 ✅ Ensures students access Coursera through the university license 

 ✅ Helps avoid payment prompts by routing students through the correct authentication process 

 ✅ Supports grade passback to the Canvas gradebook (when available) 

 ✅ Allows students to access content directly without searching 

 

 

 In most cases, this method also handles Coursera authentication automatically when students launch the content in Canvas. 

 

 ℹ️ The Coursera External Tool can be added from either Modules or Assignments . 

 

 

 🎯 Modules vs Assignments: What’s the Difference? 

 Both Modules and Assignments allow you to add Coursera content using the External Tool and track student completion and grades in Canvas (when supported). 

 The difference is based on how you choose to organize your course: 

 

 

 Use Modules if you are organizing your course content into a structured sequence (e.g., weekly units or learning paths) 

 Use Assignments if you are not using Modules and want to add Coursera content directly to the gradebook 

 

 

 Coursera content added through Modules will still be configured as a graded activity and report to the Canvas gradebook, except in cases where the selected content (such as videos) does not support grading. 

 

 

 ➕ Option 1: Add Through Modules 

 Steps 

 

 

 Open your Canvas course 

 Go to Modules 

 Click + (Add Item) 

 

 

 Select External Tool 

 From the list, select Coursera LTI (Native) 

 

 

 Choose the Coursera program

 

 (e.g., Arkansas State Full Catalogue Program ) 

 

 

 

 

 Search for and select a course or content 

 

 

 Configure settings (if prompted) 

 

 

 Click Confirm , and then Add Item. 

 

 

 

 

 

 📝 Option 2: Add as an Assignment 

 Steps 

 

 

 Go to Assignments 

 Click + Assignment 

 

 

 Enter assignment details 

 Under Submission Type , select External Tool 

 

 

 Click Find 

 

 

 Select Coursera LTI (Native) 

 

 

 Choose the Coursera program

 

 (e.g., Arkansas State Full Catalogue Program ) 

 

 

 

 

 Search for and select a course or content 

 

 

 Configure grading settings 

 Click Confirm and Select 

 Click Save or  Save & Publish to create the assignment. 

 

 

 

 

 📊 Grading and Grade Passback 

 Grading behavior depends on the type of Coursera content selected. 

 ✅ Supports Grade Passback 

 The following content types can return grades to Canvas: 

 

 

 Courses 

 Projects 

 Guided Projects 

 

 

 These may be configured to return: 

 

 

 A final grade , or 

 individual item grades , depending on the content 

 

 

 ⚠️ Limited Grading Support 

 

 

 Videos typically do not include gradable components 

 Best used for instructional or supplemental purposes 

 

 

 💡 Instructional Tip 

 

 Use Courses or Guided Projects for structured, graded learning activities. Use Videos to supplement instruction with shorter content. 

 

 

 ✅ Best Practice 

 

 Test Coursera content using a real student account whenever possible. 

 

 The Canvas Student View feature does not fully support Coursera testing. Because it creates a temporary user without an associated email address, Coursera authentication will fail and may result in an error. 

 Recommended Testing Methods 

 

 

 Ask a student (or colleague with a student role) to test the link 

 Use a test student account with a valid A-State email 

 Confirm the student can access the content without a payment prompt 

 

 

 📩 Need Help? 

 

 

 CETL – CETL@AState.edu   | 870-972-2334 

 A-State Online Faculty Support – facultysupport@astate.edu   

 

 

 For access or licensing issues, requests may be routed to the Coursera administrator. 

 

 ✅ Related Resources 

 

 

 Coursera 

 Canvas for Educators