Piazza Instructor Guide

Enable Piazza in your Canvas course

You can enable Piazza in your Canvas course in two ways: by adding it to the Course Navigation or by linking it to a module.

We recommend adding Piazza to your Course Navigation, for quicker student access. But also linking your Piazza class in a related module can be a good way to organize course materials for students in one place.

Create and set up your Piazza class

Once you have added your Piazza link to Canvas following the steps in the accordion above, follow these instructions to create your Piazza class.

1. Log in to your Canvas course and click the Piazza link where you've added it. Piazza will open in a new tab, and you will be prompted for a Piazza account. If you had previously linked your Piazza account to Canvas, the account will automatically be associated with you.
   • Enter your UBC email and click Check Email.
   • If you have never used Piazza before, you may be prompted to enter your name and create a password (for security reasons, please use a different password than your UBC CWL). Click Continue.
   • You will be sent an email with a verification code. Enter the verification code from the email, and click Confirm. Your Piazza account will be associated with Canvas.
2. Fill in the "Estimated Enrollment" field (this can be changed later) and click Create New Piazza Class.
3. On the "Configure Your Class" page, review the default settings for your course and make adjustments where necessary. We recommend the following:
   • Keep the “Disabled” option default for the "Instructor Self-Signup". This setting will ensure only enrolled course instructors and TAs can sign up as instructors.
   • Set up an access code for your Piazza class. This code helps prevent non-registered students from accessing your course.
   • Do not enrol students, other instructors, or TAs on this page. Information on how to better enrol others is provided in the next accordion sections of this guide.
4. Click Finish Setup and Continue to Class Q&A to access your Piazza class.

Add TAs and other instructors to your Piazza class

The easiest way to add TAs and other instructors is to invite them through Piazza.

1. Log in to your Canvas course and click the Piazza link where you've added it.
2. In the top navigation bar of your Piazza course, click Manage Class.
3. Click Manage Enrollment in the grey toolbar.
4. Under "Enroll Professors/TAs", enter the UBC email addresses of the TAs and other instructors in the text box.
5. Click Add Instructors.
6. In the pop-up, select each person's role as either a TA or Professor.
7. Click Add Instructors in the pop-up.
8. Once they are added, TAs and other instructors will receive a welcome email with a link to activate their Piazza account.

Add students to your Piazza class

Students can self-enrol in your Piazza class. Whether they click the Piazza link in Canvas from the Course Navigation or from a module, students will be prompted to set up their Piazza account.

Note that, to ensure your use of Piazza complies with privacy requirements, students must also be offered an option to use a pseudonym. This step is included in the process below.

1. Before you invite students to self-enrol, please provide the following information to them:
   • In this course, you will be using Piazza, which is a tool to help facilitate discussions. When creating an account in the tool, you will be asked to provide personally identifying information. Please know you are not required to consent to sharing this personal information with the tool, if you are uncomfortable doing so. If you choose not to provide consent, you may create an account using a nickname and a non-identifying email address, then let your instructor know what alias you are using in the tool.
2. Students will need to log in to Canvas and click the Piazza link in Canvas from the Course Navigation or from a module, depending on where you've added it. You will also need to provide them the access code, if you are using one.
3. You can share the following steps to help guide students through the rest of the enrolment process:
   • After you click the link, Piazza will open in a new tab and you will be prompted to set up an account. If you have an existing Piazza account linked to Canvas, your account will automatically be associated and you can skip ahead.
     • If you are using Piazza with Canvas for the first time, you may be prompted to enter your preferred email, preferred name, password, and an email verification code. This step is where you can create an account using a nickname and non-identifying email address, if you choose.
     • You may also be prompted to enter your level of study, major, and anticipated completion date. This information does not need to be accurate, if you wish to keep these details private.
     • You may be offered the option to "Join the Piazza Network of students and employers". You are not required to join the network to participate in course discussions.
   • If your instructor has used an access code, enter the access code you have been given.
   • Click Join Class to finish enrolling in the Piazza class.
   • If you have used an alias in signing up for a Piazza account, let your instructor know what you used.

Set anonymity for discussions in your Piazza class

By default, students can choose to post anonymously to everyone: their peers, instructors, and TAs. As an instructor, you can decide whether you want to keep students anonymous to the instructional team or not.

1. Log in to your Canvas course and click the Piazza link where you've added it.
2. In the top navigation bar in your Piazza course, click Manage Class.
3. Click Customize Q&A in the grey toolbar.
4. Beside "Posting Anonymously", decide which setting to use:
   • Choose Enable, and students have the option to show up as "Anonymous" to everyone: peers, instructors, and TAs.
   • Choose Disable, and students have the option to show up as "Anonymous" to peers, but instructors and TAs will be able to identify them.
5. You can also provide students an option to post privately to the instructional team. Beside "Private Post", choose to enable or disable this feature.
6. Click Save Changes.