Canvas Dashboard

The Dashboard is the first thing you see when you log into Canvas. By default it displays a list of course cards which take users (students and teachers) into the individual course areas they are enrolled in.    

 

View of a Dashboard 

 

Course cards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Each card displays the long and short names of the course.
  • At the bottom of each card there are icons showing Announcements, Assignments, Discussions and Files (if these tools are present in the course).
  • A blue circle will appear over each icon to alert you to new notifications.
  • You can customise the names, colours  and images on course cards by clicking the options icon (three dots) on the top right corner of the card.

 

Note: A maximum of 20 cards can be displayed on your Dashboard at any time (when accessing Canvas via an internet browser).  When using the app, this number is reduced to 10. You can see all your courses by clicking on Courses (see below).

 

Dashboard view options

The default Card view of your Dashboard is one of two viewing options and can be changed by clicking the options menu and selecting Recent activity; in this mode your Dashboard will display recent activity for all your courses.

 

Course Navigation Menu

The white left-hand sidebar contains the Course Navigation Menu. This is a series of links giving you and your students one-click access to different course tools, such as Modules and Announcements. You can reorder and even hide these tools. Note that if a link shows an 'invisible eye' icon in the course navigation menu, this means that it has been hidden and is therefore not visible to your students.  Learn more about how to manage your course navigation links.  Links to an external site.

 

Right-hand Sidebar

The sidebar on the right-hand side of the page contains a To do list and other items that alert students to upcoming ssignments and events.

 

Global Navigation 

The dark blue Global Navigation menu on the left provides shortcuts to Account settings, the Dashboard, your Courses, Calendar, and Help resources.  No matter where you are in Canvas, these shortcuts will always be available on the left of your screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are expecting to have access to a course, but it does not appear on the Dashboard, go to Courses > All Courses. Courses which are 'starred' will appear on your Dashboard (these are your 'favourites'). Click in the blank star to favourite a course. If you have favourited at least one course, then only favourited course cards will appear on the Dashboard. If you have not favourited any courses, then a maximum of 20 course cards (max 10 in the mobile app) will appear on your Dashboard by default.

A course needs to be Published before it will be visible to students, even if students are enrolled in the course.