Introduction to Canvas, Simplified

calendar

"A communication tool that shows users all events and assignments in their courses and groups. Has a link in Global Navigation."

discussions

"A forum designed to facilitate informal communication between students in a course. Can also be created as assignments for grading purposes. Students can also respond to informal and graded ones in the context of a group. All of their content is public, and all course students can view and reply to" each other. Has "a link in Course Navigation."

dashboard

"A panel of content that acts as the Canvas default landing page and provides an overview of all Canvas activity for a user. It shows all courses and groups, recent activity, to-do items, upcoming assignments, and recent feedback."

modules

"A tool that can unify all course content into structural components. Content can be grouped by week, topic, or day. They can be set up to require students to complete materials in a sequential fashion. Is a link in Course Navigation."

settings

"Allow admins and instructors to customize the Account or Course Navigation, add users, import content, and link to external tools.' Has "a link in Account and Course Navigation."

pages

"Comprises all pages created in a course. Allows instructors to create content for a Canvas course. Students can also create and edit these in Groups. Is a link in Course Navigation."

profile

"Is a description that provides information about a person. Admins can choose to enable this feature, which allows users to create biographies and link to social networks as part of their user account."

course navigation

"The menu on the left side of a Canvas course. It consists of navigation links directed to all the feature areas within a course. Instructors can customize it for each course."

global navigation

"The menu that appears on every Canvas page. Consists of navigation links that direct users to frequently-used features in Canvas. In the New Canvas User Interface (UI), Is located on the left of every Canvas page."

courses

"The units of instruction in one subject that typically last one term. Can be created by Canvas admins or instructors."

Assignments

"any activity assessment that is created by the instructor. Can include Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes. Some are submitted for no grade. Others may be submitted offline but tracked in the Canvas Gradebook or be submitted online. Has a link in Course Navigation. Lists all assignment types in a course."