Instructor Getting Started Resources

Below are some general questions and answers about Canvas, the Teacher role, and links to resources to help you be comfortable with Canvas.

To learn more, visit the Instructor Guide.

Introduction

What is Canvas?

Canvas is a Learning Management System. To learn more about Canvas terminology and definitions, visit How does Canvas define the terms used to describe its features and functions? 

Because Canvas is a web-based system, it doesn’t need to be installed on your computer. However, you’ll want to make sure that your computer and web browser meet the basic requirements to run Canvas. 

What is the Instructor/Teacher role?

In Canvas, the Teacher role is used to enroll users responsible for course creation, instruction, and management. Teachers are also referred to as instructors in Canvas. In general, users with the Teacher role have permissions that allow them to moderate a course, view course data, and direct daily course communications. However, these permissions may vary among institutions.

Canvas for Elementary

Canvas for Elementary is a Canvas setting that displays a simplified interface and experience designed for young learners. Your institution may have this enabled for your course(s).

Course Structure Resources

Additional Resources

Flowcharts

For a visual representation of how to get started with Canvas as an instructor, view the Getting Started with Canvas as an Instructor Flowchart.

For a visual representation of what students can view and access course content, view the Student Course Visibility and Participation Flowchart.

Videos

You can watch videos designed for instructors.

Canvas Guides

The Canvas Instructor Guide has over 600 articles that each answer a question that relates to using the Canvas interface as an instructor. Each article also includes Next and Previous links so you can easily navigate to related content.

User Account Setup

Before you can do anything in Canvas, you'll need an account and the URL for your institution's Canvas website. View the articles below for help with setting up your account, logging in, and managing your user settings.

Use QR Code to Log In

Theres a very simple way to log in to the Canvas Teacher app. In the web version of Canvas, if you click the Account link in the Global Navigation menu, you'll see a QR for Mobile Login link. After opening the Canvas Teacher app on your mobile device, scan that code. You will be instantly logged-in, without having to worry about connecting to your institution and retyping your information.

Canvas Overview

Canvas has four main areas: Canvas Dashboard, sidebar, Global Navigation menu, and course interface. The video below is an overview of Canvas navigation and account settings for Instructors.

00:07: In this video, you will learn about the canvas dashboard, sidebar, Global 00:11: navigation menu, and course interface. 00:15: When you log into canvas, you will see the global navigation menu, the 00:19: dashboard and the sidebar. The dashboard provides a high 00:24: level overview of your courses. 00:26: The dashboard has two different viewing. Options course, card, and recent 00:30: activity. 00:32: Course, card view displays a course card, for each of your favorite courses. 00:38: Each card can include up to four icons for announcements. 00:41: Assignments, discussions and files. 00:44: These icons mimic visibility and order. 00:47: In course navigation, any new or unread activities or indicated 00:51: on the appropriate icon with a number badge, and you can directly access these 00:55: activities by clicking the icon. 00:58: To help organize your dashboard you can manage the settings for course cards by 01:02: clicking the options icon. 01:05: In the colors tab, you can enter a nickname for your course and change the color 01:09: of the course card by selecting from the options or by entering a hex code. 01:14: Click the apply button to save your changes. 01:18: In the move tab, you can reorder your course cards on the dashboard. 01:23: You can also manage the color overlay for all course cards with images. 01:27: Click the dashboard options icon and select the color overlay option. 01:32: The color of the course, card still appears behind the more options icon on the course 01:36: card. And the setting applies to all course cards with images. 01:41: Recent activity, view displays, a stream of recent notifications from all 01:45: your courses, including announcements conversations, assignments 01:49: and discussions. 01:52: New or unread activities are shown by an indicator Dot. 01:56: You can view the details of each activity by clicking the show more link. 02:01: To collapse recent activity, click the show less link. 02:06: You can directly access your recent activities by clicking the link for that activity. 02:12: To remove a notification, click the remove icon. 02:16: The sidebar includes a to-do list, a coming up feed and a 02:20: view grades button. If enabled by your institution, you will also 02:24: see a start a new course button. 02:27: The to-do list helps, you keep track of assignments that you need to grade. 02:31: Click any assignment link, and canvas will open speedgrader for the assignment. 02:36: Click the remove icon next to any item to ignore the assignment. 02:41: The coming up feed lists upcoming assignments and events within your courses. 02:46: To create a new course, click the start a new course button. 02:51: Then select an account, the course will be associated with an enter the course name for your new 02:55: course. 02:57: To view. Great information for your courses. 02:59: Click the view grades button. 03:03: You can quickly access grades for any of your courses and view student interactions 03:07: reports. 03:09: The global navigation menu gives you direct access to your courses and other areas 03:13: of canvas. This menu is accessible from any page, within canvas. 03:19: Click the account, link to log out of canvas, specify your notification preferences, 03:24: upload personal files, modify your user settings, 03:28: manage eportfolios open shared content scan, 03:32: a QR code to log into the canvas teacher app, view, Global announcements 03:37: and enable a high contrast user interface. 03:41: Click the dashboard, link to return to the canvas dashboard. 03:46: Click the courses link to access your favorite courses or view a list of all your courses. 03:51: Click the group's linked to access any groups in which you are enrolled, or to view a list 03:55: of all your groups. 03:58: Click the calendar link to view the global calendar, which shows assignments and events 04:02: from each of your courses. 04:05: Click the inbox, link to compose and send messages to students and other canvas 04:09: users. You can also view any existing messages. 04:14: Click the history, link to view up to three weeks of your canvas course, page view history. 04:19: Click the help link to access help resources, including the canvas guides, 04:24: the canvas community, and canvas support. 04:26: Now, let's take a look at the course interface. 04:30: Click the courses Link in global navigation and click the name of a course you'd 04:34: like to view. 04:36: The course, interface consists of four main components course, navigation, 04:41: the content area, the breadcrumb navigation, and the sidebar. 04:46: The course, navigation, menu provides links to the different areas of your course. 04:51: This menu may be customized. So it may vary from course to course. 04:56: You can collapse this menu by clicking the menu icon. 05:00: When you click the link in course, navigation, content from the corresponding area 05:05: in canvas will be displayed in the content area. 05:09: The breadcrumb navigation shows your current location within a course and allows you to 05:13: easily return to a previous screen. 05:16: The course, sidebar is dynamic and will change depending on where you are within the course. 05:21: It provides tools and resources to help you build and manage your course. 05:26: This guide covered an overview of canvas for instructors.

The articles below show you how to navigate Canvas and use a few of the tools that link across all your courses.

Course Setup

Canvas provides several tools that allow you to create a course and add content for your students. View the articles below for information on setting up your Canvas course.

Canvas Feature Options Functionality

Canvas Instructor Resource Documents

Resource documents offer visualizations of information as well as deep dives into various feature or data areas in Canvas. Below are commonly accessed resource documents.