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MTSU is Moving to Canvas!

Canvas

Canvas Resources for Students

The following resources are designed to support MTSU’s transition from D2L to Canvas, ensuring faculty, staff, and students are prepared to succeed with Canvas. These resources include Canvas-provided tools, MTSU-specific support, and external options to facilitate learning and course management.

Don’t have a class to look at and see what Canvas is like? You can self-enroll in a sample course called Getting to Know Canvas – Student Edition. This course is a sample course only and is not associated with any academic courses. This will allow you to view a course through the web and/or the Canvas Student Mobile App.

Accessing Canvas

Use the Canvas Student Mobile App

Google Play
Apple App Store
  1. Go to the appropriate app store.
  2. Search for “Canvas Student”.
  3. Download and install the Canvas Student app (developed by Instructure).

Logging In & Accessing the MTSU Account

  1. Open the Canvas Student app.
  2. Use a QR code to access Canvas for MTSU
    1. Select the QR Code link at the bottom of the app screen.
    2. Access your account on a web browser, select the Account icon in the global navigation bar.
    3. Choose QR for Mobile Login
    4. A warning message about sharing the QR code will appear. Do not share this QR code; it connects directly to your account. Click Proceed.
    5. Scan the QR code
    6. It will take you into your MTSU Canvas account.
  3. Manually enter the information:
    1. Tap Find my school.
    2. Enter MTSU and select Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) from the list.
    3. Log in using your MTSU credentials (username and password).

When you enter Canvas, it will take you to your Dashboard area. This is unique to each person and shows the Global Navigation Menu (on the left), the courses you have access to, and a To Do list to the right of the page.

  • You can also select the Courses option on the global navigation menu to see your courses from anywhere in the system.
  • Select a course card to enter the course.

The Canvas Dashboard is the main landing page in Canvas. It is similar to the My Home area in D2L.

Student Dashboard

Items you will see on the Dashboard

  1. Global Navigation Menu – this menu is located on the left side of every page in Canvas.
  2. Course Cards – each card represents a course you have access to. It also has icons that show when there are new course announcements, assignments, or discussions.
  3. To-Do List – shows upcoming assignments, discussions, and other activities that require your attention.
  4. Recent Feedback – shows recent feedback on assessments that have been posted in your courses.

Below the Recent Feedback, there is a View Grades button [not visible in the image above] that will allow you to go to a page with all the courses you are taking, and you can see your current grade. You can also select the course, and it will go to the grades area of that course.

Global announcements [not pictured] are important messages from the institution that may appear at the top of the dashboard page when posted.

Learn more about the Dashboard.

By default, certain notification settings will be enabled to make sure you stay updated on changes in your courses. You can change the default settings by updating your own notification settings. This can be done through a web browser or through the Canvas Student App on your phone.

From a web browser:

  1. Go to your Account in the global navigation bar.
  2. Select Notifications
  3. You can select to update the notifications for your entire account or for a specific class by using the Settings for drop-down.
  4. Under the Email notifications column, you can choose to Notify immediately, Daily summary, Weekly summary, or Notifications off.
  5. Under the Push Notifications column, you can select Notify immediately or Notifications off. 
    NOTE: The default settings have some of the Push notifications set to a Daily summary, but once you update this, you will no longer have that option.

From the Canvas Student App: 

  1. Select the Hamburger icon (three lines) in the upper left to expand your account info, select Settings.
  2. Choose Push Notifications to set up the notifications on your phone. Toggle the options on or off.
  3. Choose Email Notifications to set up notifications that are sent to your email. Select the option and choose the frequency to deliver email notifications.

Learn more about Canvas Notifications.

Canvas has several built-in accessibility tools that all users can enable in their own accounts.

Video: How to set accessibility settings in user accounts

You have the ability to personalize your course cards for your own view. You can change the color of the course card and add a nickname for the course that appears to you in your Dashboard and when you look at the Courses menu.

Change the Color

The color chosen for a course is also used in the calendar and To Do list to visually show which course the item is associated with.

  • Select the three-dot menu in the upper-right of the course card.
  • Select a color from the list or enter a hex color code.
  • Click Apply

Add a Nickname

This option could be helpful if you want to show the course details instead of the entire name of the course in your view. The nickname will appear in the Dashboard, the mobile app, and the Courses list.
For example: Rename Research and Argumentative Writing – ENGL-1020-001 to MW-ENGL-1020-001.

  • Select the three-dot menu in the upper-right of the course card.
  • Enter the nickname you would like to use in the Nickname field.
  • Click Apply.
Course Card Options

View our calendar using the Calendar link in the global navigation menu to the left.

The content area in Canvas is called Modules. This area can have links to content pages, files, external tools, URLs, assessments, and activities for the course.

The Assignments area in Canvas will list all graded assessments in the course. You will see the assignments, discussions, quizzes, and attendance. You can view the assignments by date or type.

How do I submit Canvas Studio media to an assignment?

The quizzes tool works similarly to D2L. Quizzes can be accessed through the Assignments area, the Quizzes area, and the Modules area, if linked.

The discussion tool allows students in a course to participate in course and group discussions. These can be accessed by going to the Discussions link on the course menu, or your instructor might choose to link them directly through the content modules area.

The grades area displays all current grades for the course assessments. You can also view scoring details, comments, and rubrics.

What is Canvas Studio?

Canvas Studio is a media creation and storage tool in Canvas that allows you to create and provide media for your courses. You can upload media, create videos, link to YouTube videos, and create video quizzes. Students can also use Studio to create videos to submit for assessments and discussions.

How to Access Canvas Studio

Studio icon
  • Select the Studio icon on the global navigation menu.
  • Select Studio on the course navigation menu. (This option is only available if you have made it visible in the Course Settings – Navigation area.)
  • When editing a page using the Rich Content Editor (RCE), select the Apps icon and choose Studio, then select the appropriate video to add to the page.

Accepted Media Types

You can upload media files you already created. Studio accepts the following file types of files and has a 10GB file size limit. 

  • Video: MP4, MOV, WMV, AVI, FLV, etc. (common video formats)
  • Audio: MP3, WMA, WAV
  • Images: JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, BMP, TIFF
  • Captions: SRT, VTT

Additional Resources:

Creating, Editing, Managing, and Uploading Media

Depending on the browser you are using, the options will be slightly different. There are two types of videos you can create. Webcam only and screen capture. The Webcam option will only include your video image and voice (if selected). The Screen Capture option will allow you to record a selected window or screen on your computer, your video image, and your voice.

Creating Videos

Editing Videos

Managing Media

Uploading Media

You can upload different types of media to Canvas Studio. View the full list of supported file formats.

You can submit a Canvas Studio video or audio file as a File Upload assignment in Canvas. You can also embed a Canvas Studio video or audio file as a discussion reply.

If you are having issues, you have multiple ways to get assistance.

  1. If you cannot see content or assessments in your course, please make sure to contact your instructor to make sure they are aware of the issue.
  2. Canvas Support Options
    • Select the Help icon in the Canvas global navigation menu.
    • 24/7 Assistance
      • Chat support
      • Canvas Support Hotline
  3. MTSU Help

Login to Canvas
Spring 2026 Pilot

Faculty

ServiceNow Canvas Request
Access Canvas Training

Student

Canvas Resources

Contact Us

[email protected]
615-904-8189