Have you ever entered a Canvas course (not your own) and thought to yourself, “how do I access the course content?” Many students think the very same thing when entering a Canvas course. How can we as instructors provide the clearest “roadmap” for students as they navigate course content? Try one or all of the suggestions below:
Clean up the course navigation. Look at the two course navigations below. Which one is easier to follow?
vs.
If items in the course navigation are not being used, you may hide them from students. This provides a cleaner course navigation for students. Go to Settings in your course navigation and click the Navigation tab. Simply drag and drop the items from the top that are not needed to the list on the bottom. Someone may ask, “how do students access quizzes and assignments?” Canvas Modules provides the organization for course content items such as pages, quizzes, discussions, and assignments.
Utilize Canvas Modules. Canvas modules provide organization to any course. For example, if modules are not used, students may have to go to pages, assignments and quizzes to locate what they need each week. With Modules the instructor can place all those items in one place, in any order necessary. If you need help using modules within Canvas, contact canvas@unthsc.edu.
Provide a Course Home Page with only the essentials to start the course. The template below shows a home page with these essentials, including a clear indication of where to begin. Most UNTHSC schools have a home page template, as well as other page templates. If you need assistance creating a home page, contact canvas@unthsc.edu.
