Navigating Canvas

Printable Handout: General Canvas Guide Links to an external site. | Video Tutorial: Canvas Student Overview

alert.pngImportant!

Courses you have registered for in IRIS will become available on the first day of the semester in Canvas. Please note that some instructors do not publish the course on the first day of the semester. If you view all courses, unpublished courses will display an unpublished tag next to them. Contact your instructor for more information about the course.

The Dashboard is the first thing you will see when you log into Canvas. The Dashboard will display information from ALL of your courses. Review the numbered items below.

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  1. Global Navigation – In the global navigation there are global links for Courses, Grades and Calendar. The global navigation remains static and is available at all times in Canvas.  
  2. Help Center – The Help Center includes each student’s Inbox, Profile and Help button. The inbox contains private messages sent to student from the instructor and other students in the enrolled courses. The Settings link will display the student’s profile in Canvas. Click the Help link to submit a ticket or to search the Canvas guides.
  3. Global Activity Stream – The Global Activity Stream contains a stream of recent activity from all of current courses. The activities are grouped by type (assignments, discussions etc) from all active courses. Point the mouse over a grouping to show more details. Then point the mouse over an item to reveal the option to dismiss the item. Clicking the X to dismiss. Any admin announcements will be posted at the top of the global activity stream.
  4. To Do List - The To-Do List will display assignments that are coming due. Items in the To Do list can be dismissed by clicking the gray X next to each item.
  5. Coming Up – All assignments and events that are coming  up on the calendar will display in the list. The Calendar can also be accessed by the link in the global navigation.
  6. Instructor Feedback - Any assignment with recent feedback will display on in the right sidebar. Click to view feedback on the submission details page.

Canvas Guides