Why is nearly every graded activity called a "quiz" in Canvas?

[lsmith129]

I have several activities that are not quizzes, but it doesn't appear that Canvas allows instructors to rename "quiz" as a different activity. It's very confusing to students when everything (whether it's a test, exam, or any other activity) always seems to be called a "quiz" in Canvas. Can someone help me with this? Thanks in advance.

[SusanNiemeyer]

In Canvas, the term "Quiz" refers to any number of assessment tools which employ true-false, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, and even open-ended questions. In my class, I use Canvas Quizzes as "homework quizzes" (e.g. exercises), "weekly quizzes," and "exams." I'm careful and consistent with the titles, and my students haven't had any issues with this.  

Here is my recommendation:

Remove Quizzes from your students' course navigation bars altogether. I would also remove Pages, Discussions, and Assignments as well. It's really, very confusing for students to try to find the right items this way. Instead, set up Modules and have the students proceed through the work that way.  

Because Canvas is used to teach every subject imaginable at every level, it would be a nightmare for Canvas to relabel Quizzes. As an instructor, just keep in mind that a Quiz is an assessment tool. Then, create names for your Quizzes that make sense for you and your students (e.g. Chapter 1 Exam, Week 12 Quiz).

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @lsmith129 ...

Totally agree with @SusanNiemeyer on this.  She offers some great suggestions on how to set up your course and keep things simple for your students...including just showing the most necessary items on your left-hand course navigation...including the "Modules".  Here is a Guide on how to hide course navigation menu items (if you're not familiar with how to do that):

How do I manage Course Navigation links? - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)

The nice thing about doing it this way is that anything you've added to your "Modules" page (such as Pages, Quizzes, Discussions, etc ... those items that Susan mentioned above) are ordered within your modules the way you want, and so your students don't have to go to the actual "Page", "Quizzes", "Assignments", or "Discussions" menus to see the course content.  It's all there in "Modules".  These videos might help:

• Modules Overview (Instructors) - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)

[lsmith129]

I also remove "Quizzes" from navigation and agree with using modules, pages, etc. The problem is when a student enters an activity, Canvas has a button to enter that literally says "Take the Quiz." Does it really need to say quiz? Shouldn't it just say "Start the Activity" or something more general?