The Dashboard is the first thing you see when you log into Canvas. It displays a number of course cards which take you into the course areas you are enrolled in.

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1. Dashboard

Your Dashboard is the first thing you will see when you log into Canvas. It shows a limited number of courses, but you can see more by clicking on Courses > All Courses. You can also 'favourite' a course which will cause it to appear on your dashboard.

2. Account

Click on your Account to edit your user information, change your profile and set your notification preferences.

3. Courses

Courses: Access all your Canvas courses and choose your favourites to display on the Dashboard. Note: If a course has ended, it will disappear from the Dashboard. It can be found by clicking on Courses > All Courses and looking under Past Enrolments.

4. Help

The Canvas supplier offers 24/7, 365 days-a-year support via live chat and phone. Oxford also provides a dedicated helpdesk service via email.

5. Deadlines

If your Canvas course contains assignments, discussions or quizzes, with due dates in the next 7 days, and/or calendar events in the next 7 days, these will appear in your To Do and Coming Up lists.

6. Calendar

The Calendar previously displayed a maximum of 10 course calendars, but this has now been increased to 20. On the main calendar view, you can click the box next to each course calendar to turn it on or off.

The course cards show all the courses you are currently enrolled on:

At the bottom of each course card there are icons for Announcements, Assignments, Discussions and Files. A blue circle will appear over each icon to alert you to new notifications.

Global Navigation

The 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.

Oxford University video: Canvas dashboard

Using the three-dots menu on the Dashboard, you can switch between Card View, List View or Recent Activity.

Card View: displays course cards for quick access to all your favourite courses (the same courses displayed in the Courses link from the Global Navigation Menu)
List View: displays all course to-do items in an agenda view
Recent Activity View: displays all recent activity for all courses

If you are expecting to have access to a course but the course card does not appear on your Dashboard, check the following three things:

At the start of a new term, allow the course administrators time to enrol you in the relevant courses. Even if you have an account in Canvas, course administrators in your department or faculty will need to enrol you on Canvas courses. After they have done so, then you should see the relevant course cards on your Dashboard.
Make sure that courses you need to access frequently are listed in your Favourites. To do this, click on Courses > All Courses. Each course that you wish to see on your Dashboard should be starred.
At the end of the academic year, most courses will automatically move into your Past Enrolments, so that you can access them at a later date. Click on Courses > All Courses > and look under the heading Past Enrolments.