Setting Up Canvas to Work For You
Wilson College Setting Up Canvas to Work For You
You will be using Canvas in all of your courses in some form or other. This page will help you understand the basics of Canvas and how to make it work for you. Click on each of the tabs below to learn a little bit more about this tool
There are quite a few ways to access Canvas:
- Through the Portal (my.wilson.edu) - you should bookmark this link in your browser - you will be using it a lot
- Go directly to Canvas (onlinelearning.wilson.edu) - you can bookmark this too if you prefer not to go through the portal
- The Canvas Student App - Canvas has an app available for both iOS Links to an external site. and Android Links to an external site.. You are strongly encouraged to download the App to your phone and use it as a resource for your courses - for example, if you are stuck waiting somewhere, you could use the app to open a document that you need to read. You can learn more about the Canvas Student app at this link: What is the Canvas Student App? Links to an external site. and the video below.
The Dashboard is what you see when you log in to Canvas. The dashboard button in the Global Navigation menu will take you back to the Dashboard from any course. There are several ways that you can use the Dashboard in Canvas:
- Card View
- List View
- Recent Activity
You can learn more about the dashboard at this link: How do I use the Dashboard as a student? Links to an external site. and in the video below.
Card View
Card view is a simple, visual way to organize your courses. When you are using Card view, each course appears on your dashboard as a card that you can click on to access the course. Some information will be provided on the card (if there are new announcements for example), but this is a straightforward interface. Clicking on the Course Card takes you directly to the course's Home page.
You can learn more about Card View here: How do I view my favorite courses in the Card View Dashboard as a student? Links to an external site.
List View
Many students like to have the Dashboard show up in List View. It gives them the assignments that they need to do for each of their courses in the form of a To Do List, which is very convenient.
An Important Consideration:
If you use List View and click on the assignment that shows up in the list this will take you directly to the assignment. If your instructor has set up the course using modules, going directly to the assignment will bypass any content in the modules that is available to you.
You can learn more about List View here: How do I use the to-do list for all my courses in the List View Dashboard as a student? Links to an external site.
Recent Activity View
Your third option is Recent Activity View. This will show any new activity from all of your courses. What you see in this view will vary depending on what is happening in your courses.
You can learn more about Recent Activity View here: How do I view global activity for all my courses in the Recent Activity Dashboard as a student? Links to an external site.
Canvas Calendars
Global Calendar (found in the blue global navigation menu)
Clicking on the Calendar button on the far left global navigation menu will bring up your Canvas Calendar. It shows the due dates, events and assignments for all of your courses. You can filter by course if you don't want to see everything at the same time.
Course Calendar (found on the right side of the course Home page)
Clicking on the View Course Calendar button brings up the same calendar as the Global Calendar, but it only shows the due dates for the specific course. You can use the filter button to see other course due dates as well.
Important!
Items only show up on the Canvas Calendar if they have a due date associated with them. If your teacher doesn't add a due date in Canvas the assignment won't show up on the calendar. It is always a good idea to verify the calendar against the course syllabus. If something on the syllabus isn't on the calendar, you can add it yourself.
How do I use the Calendar? Links to an external site. gives you more information about how to use the Canvas Calendar, as does the video below.
Account Settings
Notifications
You can personalize how you receive notifications for your courses by clicking on the Account button in the Global Navigation Menu. You can specify where you want notifications to be sent and determine how often notifications are sent to you.
DO NOT TURN OFF NOTIFICATIONS FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS - you don't want to miss anything important.
You can learn more about setting your preferences here: How do I manage my Canvas notification settings Links to an external site.
Setting Your Profile Picture
You can also add a profile picture to your account settings. This is a great thing to do - especially if you are taking an online course because it allows the instructor to put a face with your name. You can find out how to set your profile picture here: How do I add a profile picture in my user account? Links to an external site.
Getting Help
Canvas has a several different ways that you can get help.
- Help - Click on the Help button on the Global Navigation Menu and you will see the choices available to you
- Search the Canvas Guides - this is a large databases of articles that explain everything that you would ever want to know about Canvas
- Canvas Support Hotline (Students) - You can call 1-844-629-6840 for 24/7 Canvas support. This is great if you have a question outside of regular working hours
- Chat with Canvas Support (Students) - If you prefer chat to a phone call, there is also 24/7 chat support available to you