1) Create a new module in Canvas with the previous modules as prerequisites to ensure only students who completed all modules can access it. 2) Create a Google Form to collect student names and email addresses. Install the Form Publisher add-on. 3) Design a Google Doc certificate template using markers from the form.

1. How to:
Certificates in Canvas
Using Google Forms and Form Publisher
by Renée Schulz, April 2018

2. What is needed?
• Preparation in Canvas
• A google account (this google account will automatically sent out the
certificates)
• Form Publisher installed on the google account
• A google form (or multiple for different certificates)
• A google document (can be created/edited through form publisher)
that serves as the certificate template

3. How does it work?
Link.to.form.com
Content Page
Canvas Module Google form
Personalized Certificate
Student

4. Step 1: Canvas Preparation
• Canvas has (to date) no native certificate support
• One workaround uses Form Publisher
• We want to enable the students, who earned a certificate to access a
form where they can enter their name (and email address), to receive
a personalized certificate
• For that, we need to make a new module that has all previous
modules as pre-requisites
• That ensures, that only students who cleared all modules can enter
the new module and visit a page with the link to the form.

5. Canvas Requirements and Prerequisites
Prerequisites:
-can only be modules
-are the requirements what
needs to be completed before
being able to access THIS
module
Requirements:
-these define what students
need to do in THIS module so
that this module is marked as
«done»
-if a later module has this
module as a prerequisite, these
requirements need to be fulfilled

6. Keep in mind that options for requirements are somewhat limited:
Check in beforehand if or how you
can cover the requirements for
your certificate in Canvas!

7. Create a new module with correct prerequisites to earn a certificate
• Go to modules and click «new module»
• Name it after the certificate you want to hand out
• You don’t need to publish it directly, wait until everything is done
• It might look something like this:
Create a new content page, where the
link to the form will be posted.

8. The new content page with the link
• Create an explanatory text around the link for the students
Here you have to
insert the link that
is generated from
your form in the
end!

9. Step 2: Create a simple google form
• You can create a new form from your google drive
• Give it a suitable name
• Create the questions that you need to personalize your certificate
• For this example, it only requires the name for the certificate
• and a mail address to send the certificate to the students
• The mail addresses are collected through a setting (not a normal form
question)

10. Step 3: Install Form Publisher
• Click in the menu in your form
• Then click «add-ons» and choose form publisher

11. Example for a simple form
• the + creates a new question
• set the question as required
in the bottom of the question
creation
• Select «short text answer»
• The mail address question is
generated through a setting

12. «Collect mail adresses in google forms»
• https://support.form-publisher.com/hc/en-us/articles/213286325-Sharing-options-for-each-file-created
• Click on the settings symbol
• Check the first option «collect
email addresses»
• That generates the mail-
question in the form as seen on
the slide before

13. Configure Form Publisher
• Upon start of form publisher, it walks you
through the steps
• You can name the generated files, using markers
or increments
• You can choose who gets notifications when a
PDF (certificate) is generated
• Through the «collect mail addresses option» the
option that respondents get a mail should be
enable: make sure that they get sent a PDF and
not editing rights (in the notification options)
1. Click on the add-ons button
2. Click on Form Publisher

14. Design a Certificate Template
• There is a certain limitation on what can be done in google docs
• Your markers need to be normal text
• E.g. <<What is your name?>>

15. Create certificate «landscape»
• File  page settings
• Then click on «landscape»

16. Style your certificate
• Create a title for the certificate
• Place your marker meaningfully
• Insert pictures or logos

17. How to Insert Background Pictures in the Template
• You can use the watermark function to
insert background pictures with overlapping
text in google docs
• You can also add text there, but not your
markers (form publisher cannot recognize
markers in the watermark)
• Drag and drop all the pictures and text you
need, save and close
• No transparency functions, have your
pictures prepared in beforehand
use this

18. Background Pictures in the Template
• You can insert pictures and text
• Drag and drop
• Limited styling options
• In this mode, text can overlap with
the picture but remember, that your
markers (<<What is your name?>>)
need to be «real» text in the google
doc, so they can’t be used in the
drawing
• Save and close

19. Example Result:

20. Put Everything Together
• Click on «share» in the google form and copy the (short) link
• Insert the form link into your content page in canvas
• Make sure to test the form link (does it send the PDF correctly?)
• Make sure the requirements and prerequisites in Canvas are correct
• Publish the “Certificate module” and the certificate content page
• You can check in your google form under «answers» who has
answered/ how many have answered/ what has been answered

21. How to make multiple certificates?
• Your course might feature two different levels of certificates
• E.g. one for basic passing and one for «passing with distinction»
• The steps are the same, but you need to set up multiple «certificate
modules» in canvas with different prerequisites
• That might require that you have to create another «help module» to
insert the same assignments/pages/quizzes etc. but with «higher
requirements» to fulfill the help module
• E.g. instead of «view the item» you can choose «score at least»
• This makes your module view in Canvas very messy and you might want to
think about hiding it from your students through the navigation settings
(only if your course has decent other navigation options)