Getting started
New to working with Canvas? Watch the following video introduction to Canvas.
Description of the video:
In this video, you will learn about your Canvas Dashboard and Global Navigation links. You’ll also learn about navigating a course and accessing assignments.
When you log in to Canvas, the first thing you see is the Dashboard. It provides a high-level overview of your current courses. You may be able to select from three different viewing options.
Card View displays a course card for each of your favorite courses. Each card can include clickable icons for Assignments, Announcements, Discussions, and Files.
List View displays all course To Do items in an agenda view to help you easily manage tasks across all of your courses. List View opens to the current date. You can scroll up and down on the page to view past or future items.
The last dashboard view is Recent Activity, which displays a stream of recent notifications from all your courses, including announcements, conversations, assignments, discussions, and peer reviews.
Canvas displays a Global Navigation menu that gives you direct access to your courses and other areas of Canvas.
From the Account link, you can modify your user settings, specify your notification preferences, upload personal files, manage ePortfolios, and log out of Canvas.
Click the Dashboard link to return to the Canvas Dashboard at any time.
Click the Courses link to quickly access your favorite courses and to view a list of all your courses.
Click the Groups link to access any current groups in which you are enrolled or to view a list of all your groups.
Click the Calendar link to view your personal calendar and course calendars.
Click the Inbox link to view and send conversations to your instructors and peers within Canvas.
And finally, click the Help link to access help resources for your institution.
Now let’s take a look at the Course interface. Click the Courses link and then click the name of the course you want to visit. Canvas automatically opens courses to the course home page set by your instructor. The course interface consists of four main components. Course content displays in the Content Area. You can use the Course Navigation links, breadcrumb navigation, or the Sidebar to navigate to different areas of the course.
The course home page sidebar includes a To Do list displaying items that you need to do in your course. You can click any assignment name to view the assignment, and to submit the assignment click the Submit Assignment button. Return to the course home page by clicking the Home link in Course Navigation or the course name in breadcrumb navigation.
If your course includes student groups, you can view a list of your groups in Course Groups. Click the group name to view the group homepage.
You can view recent assignment feedback in Recent Feedback. Click the assignment name and view feedback in the Submission Details page.
You may be able to view your course grades by clicking the Grades link in Course Navigation. You can also access the course grades page from the Course Card and Recent Activity dashboard. Click the View Grades button and click the course name. The Grades page displays your current course grade and a clickable list of all the course’s graded assignments and assignment details.
You've now completed this Canvas Overview Video for Students. For additional information on this or any other topic about Canvas, please visit guides.canvaslms.com. You can also ask questions and engage with other Canvas users by visiting community.canvaslms.com.
Check out these additional videos to get up and running with Canvas.
