myCourses tips for students

Students use myCourses—McGill's learning management system—to access course materials, view grades, submit assignments, and more.

We have developed a list of tips to help you make the most of myCourses.
 

1. Setting up Notifications

• You can sign up to be notified via text (SMS) or email about any or all of the following topics, including assignment due dates, new discussion posts, new grades, new items, and more.
• To sign up for notifications: log-in to myCourses, click on your name in the top right corner, then click on "Notifications." You can set how often you would like notifications, for which topics, and by which method (text or email).
• More information can be found here.
   

2. Viewing your Progress

• myCourses has a number of tools to help you track your progress.
• Click on "Class Progress" in your course Navigation Bar. Here, you can see how much of the course material you have accessed, how many discussion posts you have read or authored, and how you have performed on quizzes and/or assignments.
• You can also access this by clicking on your name in the top right corner and selecting "Progress."
• Also, in the "Content" menu on myCourses, you can see how many course files ("topics") you have accessed.
• Learn more about checking your progress here.
   

3. Accessing myCourses on your mobile device

• myCourses is mobile-friendly. On your phone, you can easily view Content, access your Grades, and post discussion messages.
• For easy access, add a link to myCourses to your phone's home screen.
• myCourses can also be accessed via the McGill app!
• More information can be found here.
   

4. Registering for Polling @ McGill

• Do any of your courses require you to use Polling @ McGill? If your instructor is assigning polling participation grades, make sure to register your account. Log into myCourses and click on the “Polling @ McGill" link from the My Home page.
• Check out the "Getting Started for Students" section here. 
   

5. Subscribing to the Calendar

• Instructors often use the calendar tool to post important dates, deadlines, and reminders.
• You can subscribe to your course calendars and add them to an external calendar, such as Google, Outlook, or iPhone.
• Learn more about the calendar tool here; pay special attention to the "Subscribing to a calendar" section.
   

6. Enrolling in a Group

• If you are doing group work in your course, your instructor may ask you to enroll in a group in myCourses.
• From your course page, click on the “Groups” tool to self-enroll in a group. More information on how to do so can be found here.
   

7. Participating in Discussions

• myCourses has many tools to help you communicate with your instructor(s), TA(s), and classmates.
• Instructors often set up Discussion boards to allow students to post messages to each other. It can be useful to ask questions to your peers and/or Teaching Assistants as well as to share interesting materials related to the course.
• Learn more about discussions here.
   

8. Submitting Assignments

• For written assignments, your instructor may ask you to submit an electronic copy of your work using the “Assignments” tool.
• After you submit an assignment successfully, you will receive an email confirmation to your McGill email.
• You can also view the files you submitted when you click “View History."
• More information on how to successfully submit an assignment can be found here.
   

9. Taking Quizzes

• Your instructor may ask you to take a quiz through myCourses.
• Before taking the quiz, you should log in with a fresh browser window.
• A wired (LAN) connection may be more reliable than a wireless connection.
• If the session times out or your browser crashes, you can continue the quiz, provided the quiz duration has not expired.
• You should click the "Save" button after answering each question.
• Make sure to click "Save All Responses" before clicking "Go To Submit Quiz."
• After you click the "Submit Quiz" button, you will receive a confirmation that you have completed the quiz.
• For more information on taking quizzes in myCourses, visit the FAQ section on Quizzes.