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Dashboard Orientation for Students

  • Article Updated:

When you log in to Canvas, the dashboard is the first page that you will see. In the Dashboard you will find the:

  1. Course cards of active courses (up to 20)
  2. Global Navigation Menu
  3. Sidebar

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Course Cards

Up to 20 active courses will display as cards at the center of the Dashboard. 

You may personalize the course cards by choosing the color and a nickname that will be visible only to you. To personalize the course cards follow these steps:

  1. Log in to Canvas.
  1. Locate the course card you wish to personalize and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the card. 

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  1. Under Nickname, enter a nickname for the course and, optionally, select the color or add the hex color code in the designated field.

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  1. Click Apply.

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To rearrange or unfavorite a course in the Dashboard, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to Canvas.
  1. Locate the course card you wish to rearrange or unfavorite and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the card. 

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  1. Click the Move tab and click Move… to rearrange or Unfavorite to remove the course card from the Dashboard. 

Note: instructions to favorite a course here

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The card view is UCSB’s default Dashboard viewing option. However, you may change this for any of these two other viewing options:

To change the default dashboard view option, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to Canvas.
  1. Click the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the Dashboard.

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  1. Select your preferred viewing option from the dropdown menu.

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Global Navigation Menu

The Global Navigation Menu is located on the left side of the Dashboard.

The Global Navigation Menu provides access to frequently used Canvas features across all of your courses.

The default links are: Account, Dashboard, Courses, Calendar, Inbox, History, Commons, and Help. Clicking on a link in the Global Navigation menu expands more information and options. 

  • Account: View and update your profile, notifications, and settings
  • Dashboard: Shows an overview of your courses. 
  • Courses: Displays all your courses.
  • Calendar: Shows upcoming assignments, events, or due dates related to your courses 
  • Inbox: Communicate with instructors through the Canvas messaging system
  • History: Displays the past 3 weeks of page view history 
  • Help: Get help with Canvas through chat, voice, or email.

You may access all courses that you are or have been enrolled in through the Courses link in the Global Navigation Menu. 

Follow these steps to access a list of all the Canvas courses you are or have been enrolled:

  1. Log in to Canvas.
  1. Click Courses in the Global Navigation Menu.

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  1. Click All Courses.

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  1. A list of all the courses you are or have been enrolled in will be displayed.

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Favorite courses will be displayed in the Dashboard and when clicking the Courses link. Follow these steps to favorite courses:

  1. Log in to Canvas.
  1. Click Courses in the Global Navigation Menu.

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  1. Click All Courses. 

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  1. A list of all the courses you are or have been enrolled in will be displayed. Star the courses you wish to add to your favorites. 

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  1. The newly starred courses will be displayed in your Dashboard and when clicking the Courses link. To unfavorite a course, repeat the procedure and click on the star. 

Sidebar

The Sidebar displays to the right in the Card view option of the Dashboard. In the Sidebar you will find a list with To Do’s, recent feedback notifications of assignments with feedback from your instructors during the last four weeks, and a button to view your overall course grades (when applicable, some instructors might restrict students from viewing their grades).

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In the To Do you will find all of your courses' graded and ungraded assignments, events, and announcements that are coming up. This sidebar helps you see what you need to do next and what feedback you've received across all your courses. The To Do section shows up to seven items with due dates or event dates in the upcoming weeks, including ungraded quizzes, assignments that do not require a Canvas submission, and course announcements. Each item in the To Do list displays the assignment name, the course name, the number of points, and the due date for the assignment. If an item has not been submitted via Canvas and its due date has passed, graded items will remain in this section for four weeks. Ungraded items will disappear from the To Do list as soon as the due date passes. You may click the X to the right of an item to manually delete it from the To Do list.

You may also add items to the To Do list by following these instructions:

  1. Log in to Canvas.
  1. Select the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the Dashboard and select List View.

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  1. Click the + on the top right corner of the page 

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  1. A window will display to the right of the screen. Complete all the required fields. Optionally, associate the To Do with a course and fill in the Description field. 

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  1. Click Save. 

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  1. Click the three vertical dots at the top right corner of the page and select Card View to go back to the default viewing option, if desired. 

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  1. Reload the page and the new To Do item will be displayed in the list. 

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