{"id":1236,"date":"2026-04-21T14:24:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/?page_id=1236"},"modified":"2026-10-22T17:43:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T22:43:34","slug":"canvas-essentials-for-faculty","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/facultyresources\/canvas-essentials-for-faculty\/","title":{"rendered":"Canvas Essentials for Faculty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><nav style=\"--separator: &quot;\/&quot;\" class=\"wp-block-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumbs\"><ol><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/\">Home<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/facultyresources\/\">Faculty Resources<\/a><\/li><li><span aria-current=\"page\">Canvas Essentials for Faculty<\/span><\/li><\/ol><\/nav>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-gray-background-color has-background is-style-wide\" \/>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Canvas essentials resources provides information about the dashboard, the global navigation menu, how to personalize your course cards, and downloading the Canvas Teacher mobile app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-mtsu-blocks-expandable-block accordion expandable-group expandable-group-lightblock\" id=\"newExpandable\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-mtsu-blocks-expandable-item accordion-item expandable-heading expandable-heading-lightblock\"><h2 class=\"accordion-header\" id=\"headingcanvas-dashboard-overview\"><button class=\"accordion-button collapsed\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"collapse\" data-bs-target=\"#collapsenewExpandablecanvas-dashboard-overview\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapsenewExpandablecanvas-dashboard-overview\">Canvas Dashboard Overview<\/button><\/h2><div id=\"collapsenewExpandablecanvas-dashboard-overview\" class=\"accordion-collapse collapse expandable-content expandable-content-lightblock\" aria-labelledby=\"headingcanvas-dashboard-overview\" data-bs-parent=\"#newExpandable\"><div class=\"accordion-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"Dashboard\">The Canvas Dashboard is the main landing page in Canvas. It is similar to the My Home area in D2L. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"637\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/10\/Faculty-Dashboard-1024x637.png\" alt=\"Canvas Dashboard - Faculty View\" class=\"wp-image-527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/10\/Faculty-Dashboard-1024x637.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/10\/Faculty-Dashboard-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/10\/Faculty-Dashboard-768x478.png 768w, https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/10\/Faculty-Dashboard.png 1487w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Items you will see on the Dashboard<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list is-style-compact-list\">\n<li><strong>Global Navigation Menu<\/strong> &#8211; this menu is located on the left side of every page in Canvas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Course Cards<\/strong> &#8211; each card represents a course you have access to. It also has icons that show when there are new course announcements, assignments, or discussions. <br>These cards are divided into two categories: <strong>Published <\/strong>(live courses) and <strong>Unpublished<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>To-Do List <\/strong>&#8211; shows upcoming assignments, discussions, and other activities that require your attention.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Coming Up<\/strong> &#8211; shows upcoming events and tasks in your courses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>View Grades<\/strong> &#8211; shows the list of courses you are teaching so you can go directly to the grades for that course.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Global announcements <\/strong>[not pictured] are important messages from the institution that may appear at the top of the dashboard page when posted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">View the video about <a href=\"https:\/\/community.instructure.com\/en\/kb\/articles\/663872-video-how-do-i-use-the-dashboard-as-an-instructor\">how to use the dashboard as an instructor<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-mtsu-blocks-expandable-item accordion-item expandable-heading expandable-heading-lightblock\"><h2 class=\"accordion-header\" id=\"headingcanvas-global-navigation-menu\"><button class=\"accordion-button collapsed\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"collapse\" data-bs-target=\"#collapsenewExpandablecanvas-global-navigation-menu\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapsenewExpandablecanvas-global-navigation-menu\">Canvas Global Navigation Menu<\/button><\/h2><div id=\"collapsenewExpandablecanvas-global-navigation-menu\" class=\"accordion-collapse collapse expandable-content expandable-content-lightblock\" aria-labelledby=\"headingcanvas-global-navigation-menu\" data-bs-parent=\"#newExpandable\"><div class=\"accordion-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"GlobalNav\">The Global Navigation Menu is a consistent menu that is accessible throughout the system. The options available are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Global Navigation Menu Item<\/th><th>Icon<\/th><th>Description<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Account<\/strong><\/td><td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/09\/GNM-AccountIcon.png\" alt=\"Account link in menu\"><\/td><td><ul><li>Update your <strong>profile <\/strong>image, add a bio, and add links. Select which <strong>notifications <\/strong>you would like to receive and how for your account and\/or specific courses. Update your account Settings, which include language, time zone, and additional features available. <em>The Canvas system defaults to Central Time, and all dates will be based on this time zone.<\/em><\/li><\/ul>Learn more about: <a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Basics-Guide\/How-do-I-edit-my-profile-in-my-user-account\/ta-p\/615501\">Editing your profile<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Basics-Guide\/How-do-I-manage-my-Canvas-notification-settings\/ta-p\/615326\">Managing notifications<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Basics-Guide\/How-do-I-edit-my-profile-in-my-user-account\/ta-p\/615501\">Edit account settings<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Dashboard<\/strong><\/td><td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/09\/GNM-DashboardIcon.png\" alt=\"Dashboard icon\"><\/td><td><ul><li>Goes back to your main dashboard page.<\/li><\/ul><a href=\"https:\/\/community.instructure.com\/en\/kb\/articles\/663872-video-how-do-i-use-the-dashboard-as-an-instructor\">Learn more about the Dashboard.<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Courses<\/strong><\/td><td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/09\/GNM-CoursesIcon.png\" alt=\"Courses icon\"><\/td><td><ul><li>Shows a list of all courses you have access to.<\/li><\/ul><a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Basics-Guide\/How-do-I-view-all-my-Canvas-courses\/ta-p\/618766\">Learn more about the Courses area.<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Calendar<\/strong><\/td><td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/09\/GNM-CalendarIcon.png\" alt=\"Calendar icon\"><\/td><td><ul><li>Shows all course dates and deadlines. The instructor can drag and drop dates from one place to another, and it will update in the assessment dates. A user can add items to the calendar. You can link the Canvas calendar to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Basics-Guide\/How-do-I-subscribe-to-the-Calendar-feed-using-Outlook-com\/ta-p\/617601\">Outlook<\/a> <\/strong>or <a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Basics-Guide\/How-do-I-subscribe-to-the-Calendar-feed-using-Google-Calendar\/ta-p\/617614\"><strong>Google<\/strong>.<\/a><br><em>This option is only one way, from Canvas to Outlook\/Google, not from Outlook\/Google to Canvas.<\/em><\/li><\/ul><a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Basics-Guide\/How-do-I-use-the-Calendar\/ta-p\/617613\">Learn more about the Calendar.<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Inbox<\/strong><\/td><td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/09\/GNM-InboxIcon.png\" alt=\"Inbox icon\"><\/td><td><ul><li>This is the internal email to Canvas. The email will be sent in both Canvas and to your MTSU email.<\/li><\/ul><a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Basics-Guide\/How-do-I-use-the-Inbox\/ta-p\/616671\">Learn more about the Inbox.<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>History<\/strong><\/td><td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/09\/GNM-HistoryIcon.png\" alt=\"History icon\"><\/td><td><ul><li>Shows the history of where you have visited in the system.<\/li><\/ul><a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Basics-Guide\/How-do-I-view-my-recent-page-view-history-in-Canvas\/ta-p\/618750\">Learn more about the History.<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Commons<\/strong><\/td><td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/09\/GNM-CommonsIcon.png\" alt=\"Canvas Commons icon\"><\/td><td><ul><li>Contains shared templates and courses.<\/li><\/ul><a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Commons\/How-do-I-use-Commons\/ta-p\/1795\">Learn more about the Commons.<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Studio<\/strong><\/td><td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/09\/GNM-StudioIcon.png\" alt=\"Studio icon\"><\/td><td><ul><li>An internal video creation and storage software that can be used to create videos by instructors and students. You can attach a quiz to a video for assessment. <\/li><\/ul><a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Studio-Guide\/How-do-I-use-Canvas-Studio\/ta-p\/1678\">Learn more about Studio.<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Help<\/strong><\/td><td><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/09\/GNM-HelpIcon.png\" alt=\"Help icon in Dashboard\"><\/td><td>You have multiple ways to get help. All are accessible from within Canvas by selecting the <strong>Help <\/strong>icon in the global navigation menu. This includes 24\/7 chat and phone from Canvas, MTSU Helpdesk, and training resources<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-mtsu-blocks-expandable-item accordion-item expandable-heading expandable-heading-lightblock\"><h2 class=\"accordion-header\" id=\"headingpersonalize-your-course-cards\"><button class=\"accordion-button collapsed\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"collapse\" data-bs-target=\"#collapsenewExpandablepersonalize-your-course-cards\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapsenewExpandablepersonalize-your-course-cards\">Personalize Your Course Cards<\/button><\/h2><div id=\"collapsenewExpandablepersonalize-your-course-cards\" class=\"accordion-collapse collapse expandable-content expandable-content-lightblock\" aria-labelledby=\"headingpersonalize-your-course-cards\" data-bs-parent=\"#newExpandable\"><div class=\"accordion-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"CourseCards\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Change the Color<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-compact-list\">\n<li>Select the <strong>three-dot menu<\/strong> in the upper-right of the course card.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select a color from the list or enter a hex color code.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Apply<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Reorganize your Course Cards<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can drag and drop your course cards in the order you would like to view them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Add a Nickname<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This option could be helpful if you have multiple sections of the same class and would like to rename them to the days they are offered. These nicknames are only visible to you. The official course name will still appear for students. They can also set a nickname in their course card.<br><strong>For example:<\/strong> Rename <em>Research and Argumentative Writing &#8211; ENGL-1020-001<\/em> to <strong>MW ENGL 1020<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-compact-list\">\n<li>Select the <strong>three-dot menu<\/strong> in the upper-right of the course card.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter the nickname you would like to use in the <strong>Nickname <\/strong>field.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Apply<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full has-custom-border\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"415\" height=\"466\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/12\/Course-Card-Options.png\" alt=\"Course Card Options\" class=\"has-border-color has-gray-border-color wp-image-799\" style=\"border-width:1px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/12\/Course-Card-Options.png 415w, https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/167\/2025\/12\/Course-Card-Options-267x300.png 267w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-mtsu-blocks-expandable-item accordion-item expandable-heading expandable-heading-lightblock\"><h2 class=\"accordion-header\" id=\"headingcanvas-teacher-mobile-app\"><button class=\"accordion-button collapsed\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"collapse\" data-bs-target=\"#collapsenewExpandablecanvas-teacher-mobile-app\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"collapsenewExpandablecanvas-teacher-mobile-app\">Canvas Teacher Mobile App<\/button><\/h2><div id=\"collapsenewExpandablecanvas-teacher-mobile-app\" class=\"accordion-collapse collapse expandable-content expandable-content-lightblock\" aria-labelledby=\"headingcanvas-teacher-mobile-app\" data-bs-parent=\"#newExpandable\"><div class=\"accordion-body\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-compact-list\">\n<li><strong>Android<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/search?q=canvas%20teacher%20app&amp;c=apps&amp;hl=en_US\">Download App<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Teacher-Android-Guide\/tkb-p\/teacher_android\">Canvas Teacher Android Guide<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>iOS<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/canvas-teacher\/id1257834464\">Download App<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.canvaslms.com\/t5\/Canvas-Teacher-iOS-Guide\/tkb-p\/teacher_ios\">Canvas Teacher iOS Guide<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Canvas essentials resources provides information about the dashboard, the global navigation menu, how to personalize your course cards, and downloading the Canvas Teacher mobile app.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":313,"featured_media":0,"parent":1211,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1236","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/313"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1938,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1236\/revisions\/1938"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtsu.edu\/canvas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}