If you are enrolled in a course as an instructor, the Course Home Page is the first page students see when they open the course. The Home Page also helps students understand how they can navigate through the course. You can customize the Home Page to create a specific workflow for your students.
To help you learn how to navigate a Canvas course, this lesson uses a course that has already been populated. To learn how to build a new course, visit the create a new course shell lesson.
Note: If your institution has enabled the Course Setup Tutorial, course pages such as Assignments and Discussions are responsive to the full width of the browser and minimize white space in the sidebar. This responsive behavior applies to all users in your institution.
View Course Home Page
The Course Home Page involves Course Navigation [1], the content area [2], and the sidebar [3].
To view the course home page as a student, click the View as Student button [4].
Notes:
- If you view Canvas with a smaller screen, any sidebar content will align with the bottom of the page.
- If the course navigation link for the page is disabled and hidden from students, the View as Student button does not display.
View Course Navigation
The Course Home Page is viewed from the Course Navigation Home link.
Course Navigation includes links that help you and your students get to specific locations in the course. As an instructor, you can customize what links are shown in your course. Learn more about the Course Navigation menu.
Collapse Course Navigation Menu
To expand or collapse the Course Navigation Menu, click the Menu icon. When you choose to expand or collapse the Global Navigation menu, your preference is applied to all of your courses.
View Content Area
Home Page content (and all Canvas content) is displayed in the content area.
The content can be a page, the syllabus, discussions, announcements, quizzes, or imported content as set by your Course Home Page layout [1]. Your Home Page can also be set to display recent announcements at the top of the page [2]. The content can also show the Course Activity Stream.
The Home Page content also defines what sections display in the sidebar.
View Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs appear above the course content area.
As you view course content from your Home Page, the breadcrumbs leave a trail to show where you are inside the course. You can follow these links backward to visit prior course content.
Note: If you have created a nickname for a course, the breadcrumbs display the nickname to identify the course. Otherwise, the breadcrumbs display the course code.
View Sidebar
The sidebar functions the same as the Dashboard sidebar but only shows content for the specific course and includes additional options.
The top of the sidebar [1] contains course tools for managing your course.
The bottom of the sidebar [2] includes the To Do list, in addition to other sections depending on the layout you set for the Course Home Page.
View Course Tools
In the course tools section of the sidebar, you can manage your Course Home Page in addition to viewing other helpful buttons for your course:
- Import Existing Content [1]: Allows you to import course content using the Course Import Tool.
- Choose Home Page [2]: Allows you to change the course home page layout.
- View Course Stream [3]: Displays recent course activity and events in the course for assignments, announcements, discussions, and conversations.
- Course Setup Checklist [4]: Displays a list of checklist items to help populate your course.
- New Announcement [5]: Allows you to make a new announcement.
- View Course Analytics [6]: Displays analytics for your course, including page views, submission statuses, and grades.
- View Course Notifications [7]: Allows you to manage course notifications for a single course. Course notification settings only apply to the course in which they are set.
Notes:
- If you cannot view the View Course Stream button, the Home Page is the Course Activity Stream.
- If you cannot view the Course Setup Checklist button, your institution has enabled the Canvas course setup tutorial instead.
- Viewing course analytics requires permission by your Canvas admin.
- The View Course Analytics button displays as New Analytics if the New Course and User Analytics feature option is enabled for the course. To enable new analytics, learn about managing features for a course.
View Sidebar Sections
The sidebar always shows the To Do section [1], which shows all items that require grading in Canvas, regardless of due date. Each item in the To Do list displays the assignment name, the number of points, and the due date for the assignment. Some assignments may display multiple due dates. Items remain in this section for four weeks. However, assignments that are not graded or do not require an online submission only display until the due date.
The sidebar can also include a variety of other sections [2], depending on the layout of your Course Home Page. Additional sidebar options include Coming Up or the Assignment list, Calendar and Assignment Groups, and Recent Feedback.
Manage Sidebar Items
Each section item indicates how many items need to be graded [1].
If a section contains more items than are listed, a link will appear under the list that you can use to view additional items [2].
If there are more than 100 items in the To Do section, you must remove items before you can view any new items. To remove a To Do item, click the remove icon [3].
Note: When an item is removed, the item can only be restored to the To Do section if a new submission is received for that assignment, or if an existing submission for the assignment still requires grading.
