Grades 2-5 | Getting Started with Derivita in Canvas

How to Use Derivita in your Canvas Course

How to Access Derivita and Create Grades 2-5 Assignments in Canvas

Grades 2-5 Derivita content includes*:

• Screeners & Unit Assessments in the “Common Assessment” section
• Item Banks for each unit & grade under “Shared with Me” section. Item Bank questions are randomizable with feedback & worked solutions.  Learn more here.

This article will give you the step-by-step and video instructions for setting up each assessment type.

Assign a Screener or Unit Assessment: step-by-step video here

Step 1:  Navigate to Assignments in Canvas -> +Assignment (upper right corner) to create a new assignment

Step 2: Name your assignment in Canvas then scroll down to Submission Type, select “External Tool”, and click “Find” next to the External Tool URL box.

Now select “Derivita'' from the Configure External Tool popup box and you will be taken to the Derivita Assignment Assembly area with the entire content library of questions. 

Step 3:  Once you access Derivita, you will see the Screeners and Unit Assessments under the Common Assessments section.

The assessments under “Common Assessments” are pre-built and already have Derivita settings applied to them (cannot add or subtract questions from them, single attempt per student, does not show results until after exam submission,  etc.). Click on the assessment you want to select and you will see the problems appear in the right-hand window.

Step 4:  When you are ready to share a Common Assessment to Canvas, click the “SELECT ASSESSMENT” button in the upper right corner

Step 5:  You will be taken back to the Configure External Tool popup box.  Click Select and you will be taken back to your Canvas assignment settings. 

Step 6: You’re back in your Canvas assignment settings. Fill in:

• Due date
• Availability dates (if you want to schedule in advance)

Step 7:  Click “Save” or “Save and Publish” (publish will make it visible to students).

Step 8:   (optional):  If you wish to turn on the “Show Work” prompt on a Common Assessment for students to upload pictures of their work to the assessment,  toggle on Show Work in the Derivita Exam Settings (under the gear icon at top-right)

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Create an assignment with Gr 2-5 Item Bank: step-by-step video here.

Item Bank questions are randomizable with feedback & worked solutions.  Learn more here.

Step 1:   Follow Steps 1 and 2 from the Common Assessment section above to initiate the assignment-creation process in Canvas.

Navigate to the “Shared with Me” section in Assignment Assembly and click the triangle next to the content you wish to assess in the Item Bank folder. 

Step 2:  Select the question(s) you wish to use by clicking the checkmark on the bottom-right corner of the question. Preview the question by clicking the 3-dots menu. You can even create a single assignment with questions from multiple different unit item banks if you wish!

Step 3:  When you are ready to share your Item Bank assignment to Canvas, click the “NEXT” button in the upper right corner

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Step 4: Title your assignment, make any necessary changes to the questions (re-order, add, delete or duplicate questions, etc.) and select “Create.” 

Step 8:  Apply Derivita Assignment Settings. Video tutorial here: Derivita Assignment Settings

• Click on assignment name in Canvas to open it in Derivita
• Click gear icon at top right > select “Assignment, Quiz, or Exam Settings” 

Make desired changes and click “Save” at top right.

Congratulations! You did it! Now you are ready to revolutionize your math learning experience!  If you run into any issues, or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at support@derivita.com. 

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Best Practices and Additional Resources

Now that you have accessed Derivita through Canvas, below you will find some additional getting started information and resources on how to use Derivita. 

Video Guide Showcase for Grades 2-5 - everything you need to know to get started.

Derivita Support Site:  https://support.derivita.com/

Derivita Tech Support Email: support@derivita.com 

Derivita Reporting Dashboard: Teachers access through the 3-dots menu (top-right) in any Derivita assignment (from the assignment’s Educator Dashboard overview page). Select Item Analysis to go directly to analytics for that individual assignment or “Course Analysis” to see the entire analytics dashboard for your course.

How to Engage Your Students with SpotCheck: 

https://vimeo.com/showcase/11010909/video/916846194

Assignment Accommodations:

• How to Provide Retakes and Make-ups on Common Assessments 
• How do I set/reset due dates?
• How to collect unsubmitted exams