(Differentiation Tags were enabled at St. Thomas on October 16, 2025.)
What are Differentiation Tags?
Differentiation Tags can be used to assign specific content to a set of students. When Differentiation Tags have been applied, you can use them to personalize learning for students. They allow you to control access to specific modules, pages, assignments, quizzes, or discussions.
You can use Differentiation Tags to easily apply different due dates and availability dates for sets of students.
Tags are available in Gradebook filters, Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, Modules.
Differentiation Tags are not visible to students in Canvas. Although they aren’t visible to students, we recommend being careful with the names of tags as these would be visible in certain areas of Canvas if you share your screen during class or in a student meeting.
What would I use Differentiation Tags for?
You might use Differentiation Tags for:
- Disability accommodations
- Athletes who may need make-up or alternative assignments
- Cohorts of students within a course
- Separating students to receive different information based on roles they’ll play in a role play, simulation, or negotiation
- Assignments based on student choice
What are some limitations of Differentiation Tags?
- Each course is limited to 40 tags total and 10 variants per tag
- Tags are not available in Moderate Quiz (so cannot be used to extend quiz timers)
- In a given tag set, students can only be assigned to one tag
- You cannot manage or view Differentiation Tags when viewing People in the Grid View (where you only see student profile photos). Toggle to the list view to manage and view Differentiation Tags.
How do I manage Differentiation Tags in Canvas?
Canvas has some tutorials that will help you get the most out of differentiation tags: