How to: Use the Homepage
If you are enrolled in a course as a student, the Course Home Page helps you navigate your course and manage your coursework.
Open Course
In Global Navigation, click the Courses link [1], then click the name of the course [2].
View Course Home Page
The Course Home Page involves Course Navigation [1], the content area [2], and the sidebar [3].
View Course Navigation
The Course Home Page is viewed from the Course Navigation Home link [1].
Course Navigation includes links that help you and your students get to specific locations in the course. Instructors can customize what links are shown in a course, so if you don't see links that may display in other courses, your instructor has hidden those links from your view.
The active link of the page you are viewing is highlighted in blue. This highlight helps you quickly identify the feature area you are currently viewing in Canvas.
You may also see course indicators [2] that show updates to your course grades when your instructor grades your assignments Links to an external site..
Collapse Course Navigation Menu
To expand or collapse the Course Navigation Menu, click the Menu icon.
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 [1]. The content can also show the Course Activity Stream, Links to an external site. which is a list of all recent activity in the course. Your Home Page may also display recent announcements at the top of the page [2].
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, the breadcrumbs leave a trail to show where you are inside the course. You can follow these links backward to visit prior course content.
View Sidebar
The sidebar functions the same as the Dashboard sidebar Links to an external site. but only shows content for the specific course and includes additional options.
If your Course Home Page displays a page other than the Course Activity Stream, you can view the course activity stream by clicking the sidebar View Course Stream button [1]. When the Home Page is set as the Course Activity Stream, this button will not appear.
If you have been added to a group in your course, the Course Group section [2] includes links to your course groups.
View Sidebar Sections
The sidebar always shows the To Do section [1], which shows all assignments with a due date in the next seven days, including ungraded quizzes and assignments that do not require a submission. Each item in the To Do list displays the assignment name, the number of points, and the due date for the assignment. Once the due date has passed, 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 your instructor sets for the 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 displays an icon [1] to differentiate between assignments and peer review assignments.
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: Assignments submitted through Canvas disappear automatically from the To Do list; no-submission assignments (submitted on paper/in class) can only be removed from the list manually.