Just starting in Canvas? This video takes you on a first look into Canvas!
Dashboard in Canvas
- The Dashboard shows your active courses in the form of course cards.
- Each card represents a course and displays the course name and course code.
- You can see unread announcements, discussion posts, or other important updates directly on the course cards:
- A green icon indicates unread information (e.g., discussions).
- A specific icon is displayed if there is an assignment related to the course.
- You can move course cards to a new position on the dashboard to organize them according to your preferences.
- You can change the color of the course cards and even give them nicknames for easier navigation.
- The courses displayed on the dashboard can be managed under the Courses menu:
- By starring a course, you decide which courses appear on the dashboard.
- If you no longer want to see a course on the dashboard, you can unstar it.
To-Do List and Recent Feedback
- On the right side of the dashboard, there’s a To-Do List that shows assignments with upcoming due dates from your courses.
- By clicking on an item in the list, you’re taken directly to that specific assignment in the correct course.
- Under Recent Feedback, you can see comments and feedback from your instructors on specific assignments.
Dashboard View Options
- There are three different view options for the dashboard:
- Card View: The default view where your courses are displayed as cards.
- List View: A list that shows your assignments and events in chronological order, with the most immediate at the top.
- Recent Activity: This view shows recent changes and additions in your courses, regardless of whether they require action from you or not.
Groups
- Under Groups, you can find the groups you’re a member of in different courses.
- By clicking on All Groups, you can see which course each group belongs to.
- When you click on a group, you’re taken to the group’s workspace, where you can engage in discussions and collaborate with other group members.
Calendar
- Under Calendar, you can see events and deadlines for your courses.
- There is a personal calendar where you can add private events that only you can see.
- Below the personal calendar, course-specific calendars for all your courses are displayed:
- You can toggle course calendars on or off to show or hide course-related events.
- At the bottom, there are also calendars for groups you are part of, allowing you to add events for group activities.
Inbox
- Canvas has an internal inbox that you use to communicate with instructors and other students.
- This is not the same as email but rather an internal messaging system within Canvas.
- Unread messages are marked with a green circle, and you can click on the circle to mark the message as read or unread.
- The number of messages in a thread is shown next to the message.
History
- Under the History menu, you can quickly access your recent activities in Canvas.
- This menu is useful if you want to return to a recently opened course or assignment.
- You can easily get back to where you left off without having to navigate through the entire course structure.
