Help with Canvas

If you run into an issue while in Canvas, support is available! Begin by selecting the "Help" button, located on the left-side Global Navigation menu. Then, select from one of the support resource items within the menu. Review the Canvas Student Guide:

Each tab below has walk-thru guides and/or tutorial videos.
If you have technical troubles, click on the help button in the blue navigation bar to the left and choose the best option for your needs.

Browser & Device Warning: Canvas is not fully compatible with mobile devices and Safari or Edge browsers. Use Chrome or Firefox on a desktop/laptop (not smartphone, tablet, or Chromebook) for best access to all Canvas features and tools.

Navigation
Notifications
Announcements
Modules
Files
Inbox
Discussions
Assignments
Quizzes
Grades
Mobile Devices

Navigation

Navigating Canvas for the first time might be challenging. Here are a few walk-thru guides and video tutorials to help get you started:

How do I use the Global Navigation Menu as a student?
How do I use the Dashboard as a student?
How do I use the Course Home Page as a student?
How do I use the Course Activity Stream as a student?
How do I use the Syllabus as a student?

Notifications

Canvas pushes Announcements and other information to your student email, so it's important that you configured your Canvas Notifications to receive alerts quickly. You can also change you Canvas Profile to push notifications to your personal email and cell phone.

Watch these video tutorials to set up your Profile and reconfigure your Notification settings:

Announcements

Your instructor may use the built-in Announcements tool to communicate important course information. You may find the most recent Announcements at the top of the Home page. Additionally, the Announcements page will have all the announcements sent throughout the semester so that you can refer to them as needed.

Need a bit more information? Read this walk-thru guide:

How do I view Announcements as a student?

Modules & Pages

Canvas modules can be used by instructors to organize course content and assignments. Modules might be named for the current week or the current chapter. You can move through the modules by clicking NEXT at the bottom of each module page and assignment.

Inside the modules, your instructor may have content pages, assignments, discussions, and quizzes. When looking at the module on the Module Index page, these pages and assignments can be viewed by clicking on the name or by moving through the module using the NEXT buttons. Also, your instructor might have added a link to a file, presentation, external URL, or video as a part of the module.

Canvas Pages allow instructors to put course content directly on the page. They can also embed hyperlinks and files. These files can be downloaded to your device or previewed in Canvas. Click on the icon after the hyperlink and select download or preview.

Need a bit more information? Read these walk-thru guides and watch these video tutorials:

Files

Your instructor might use Files to give you access to documents, presentations, and lecture materials. You can click on the file folder you need. Click on the specific document you are looking for, and a download option can be found above to the right of the preview of the document.

Need more info? Read this walk-thru guide:

How do I view course files as a student?

Inbox

Inbox allows instructors and students to send messages inside Canvas. It will be important for you to check your Inbox regularly. It is recommended that you modify your Notification preferences if you want Inbox messages to be forwarded to your personal email or cell phone.

Need a bit more information? Read this walk-thru guide and watch the video tutorial below:

How do I use the Inbox as a student?
How do I reply to a message in the Inbox as a student?

Discussions

During this course, you may use Canvas Discussions to interact with your instructor and classmates. This is similar to small group and whole class discussions you might have during an in-person class. In an online discussion, there are two steps to having a conversation with your classmates:

Initial post -- your initial response to the assignment question and content
Replies -- your responses to two things: 1) your classmates' initial posts and 2) their replies to your initial post

Need a bit more information? Read these walk-thru guides and watch the video tutorial below:

Assignments

During this course, you may use Canvas Assignments to submit course work. For an assignment, you may type your answers in a text entry box using the Rich Content Editor, or you might need to attach a file. If you are attaching a file, be sure to have the file type your instructor requested; for example, it might be a DOC, DOCX, or PDF. Your instructor will be able to see all work you submit even though you will only see the last item submitted.

Need a bit more information? Watch these video tutorials:

Quizzes

During this course, you may use Canvas Quizzes to take a quiz, test, or exam. The questions may be multiple choice, T/F, essay answer, or other common question types. Some question types will be auto-graded by Canvas while fill-in-the-blank and essay answers will need to be graded by your instructor.

Need a bit more information? Watch this video tutorial:

Grades

Your instructors may be using Grades to grade your work with only a score, but they might also use a rubric and annotate on your attached documents to provide additional feedback. They can also leave a comment.

Read this walk-through guide for information on seeing your grade and the instructor's feedback:

How do I view annotation feedback comments from my instructor directly in my assignment submission?
How do I view rubric results for my assignment?

Need a bit more information? Watch this video tutorial:

Canvas & Mobile Devices

Many students use their phones to complete their course work. Canvas has even developed an app for students. Watch this video for an overview of the Canvas Student app. Then read the warnings from online students below.

Canvas Student App from Instructure Community on Vimeo.

WARNINGS

If you decide to use the mobile app or a mobile device, keep in mind that the Canvas app has very limited functionality. Even though there will be times when accessing Canvas with the app or a mobile device feels more convenient, there are some things you should be aware of. Here are a list of warning from online students about using the Canvas app and your mobile device to complete course work:

Online students report that:
- You can't rely on having full functionality of all Canvas features and assignments using mobile devices; these devices included smartphones, tablets, and Chromebooks.
- If you must complete class work on your phone, you should access Canvas through your phone's browser (Chrome) and changing the browser setting to "Desktop Mode."
- Navigation in the app is slightly different from the web version. You should access everything through the modules where possible.
- If your course has a page where you need to "Edit" the page to write your ideas on the ‘wiki’ page, you will not be able to do this in the Canvas app. You can view the page but not edit it. You’ll need to access Canvas directly on a computer.
- When submitting assignments, knowing the difference between submitting and commenting is important. You should click on the Submit Assignment button in the top right corner of the assignment. Then type in the text entry box or attach a file as directed. The comment box is for quick questions or a clarification about your submission. Do not submit your work as a comment as only correctly submitted work can be graded in Canvas.
- Submitting to discussion boards is not always reliable using a mobile device, so if you do this type of work through the app, double check that your posts submitted with a desktop/laptop.
- When taking a quiz, be careful about your Internet connection; if your mobile device (or laptop) loses WiFi or bandwidth, your quiz will auto-complete and submit. Even if you do have a stable Internet connection, your submitted quiz might still have blank answers if you use a mobile device. If you only have one attempt at a quiz, you should do this type of work on a desktop/laptop with a stable Internet connection when possible.
- If your instructor uses Module requirements, you may not be able to complete these requirements on a mobile device. Completing requirements allows you to move forward in the course work; you should do this work with a desktop/laptop.
- While some courses may required students to complete work that requires a webcam and microphone, using your phone might not work because not all assignment types and tools have full functionality on mobile devices. Communicate with your instructor to navigate these situations.

Be sure to read all tabs before clicking NEXT.