When you first log into Canvas, UBC’s new online learning platform, the first page you see is your Dashboard. This is your Canvas homepage—the quick, customizable way to see all your courses, check any outstanding notifications, and track your assignments.

Here are three key features to help you navigate your Canvas Dashboard:

1. Managing Courses

In Canvas, you can control which courses appear on your Dashboard and Courses menu. You can do this by clicking the “Courses” tab on the far left sidebar and scrolling down to “All Courses.”

You should see a list of every course you have in Canvas with a star next to it. If you want a course to appear on your Dashboard and Courses tab, you need to select the star icon (next to the name of your course) so that the course is ‘starred’ or ‘favourited.’ If your courses aren’t ‘starred’ on this list, then they may not appear on your Dashboard and Courses tab. If you’re unable to star a course, this may be because your professor hasn’t published it yet.

2. Tracking Assignments and Quizzes

The Dashboard also provides you with lists that can help you track all your ongoing tasks in one place. There are three different lists:

1. The To-Do List shows all assignments with a due date in the next seven days.
2. The Coming Up List shows upcoming assignments and events in the next seven days.
3. The Recent Feedback List shows assignments that have received instructor feedback during the last four weeks.

These lists are automatically created and updated from each Canvas course you’re enrolled in and include direct links to each assignment. Depending on the size of your window, these lists appear either on the far right side or the bottom of the page.

3. Notifications and Appearances

Each course you “star” or “favourite” will be displayed on the Dashboard as a square icon called a card. By default, every card will show the course name, a customizable colour, and a several icons for notifications along the bottom.

You can customize the color for each course by clicking the three dots on the corner of each card. You can also add or remove a colour overlay to course pictures by clicking on the gear at the top of the page and selecting “Color Overlay.”

The icons at the bottom of the card represent different kind of notifications, including Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, and Files. If there is any recent activity in the course, small numbers will appear on these icons to notify you.

Learn more

With these tips, you can take advantage of the all the features the Canvas Dashboard has to offer. For more Canvas tips and tricks, check out our articles on Personalizing Notifications and Three Canvas Features You Need to Know About.