At the beginning of each semester as a University of South Florida instructor, I provide a brief overview of Canvas, the university’s standard course management system. Here’s what that might look like:

Welcome to ENC 1102!

All course information is available in Canvas.

Canvas provides a number of tutorials and videos, such as How to Navigate Canvas as a Student, which can be located through an online internet search. 

The Course Navigation on the left sidebar allows you to return Home and to locate the Syllabus, Announcements, and Modules. You can also navigate through the Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions. The Course Navigation also includes a link to Grades that will take you directly to the Canvas Gradebook, where all course grades are accessible. To get familiar with all the options, click through all the links on the Course Navigation. 

On the right, you will see To Do, which will alert you to upcoming assignments. You will also see a Calendar with upcoming dates and assignments. Both of these are great options for visualizing tasks and providing helpful reminders, but not all assignments appear in these spaces, so always use the Modules link to find the assignments for each week.

Scroll through the assignments and calendar. 

Modules titled Course Overview, Resources, and First Day Attendance are followed by a module for Weeks 1-16. Each week includes the readings, quizzes, discussions, and assignments for the week split into two parts. The Next button at the bottom of each page will advance you through all the modules. Preview the course by clicking Modules on the left and scrolling down to see the layout. 

The Canvas App is available for Android and iOS. The app allows you to access Canvas on your phone and can be used to set notifications. 

After you spend a few minutes clicking through Canvas to become comfortable navigating the modules and pages, select the Instructor Information page in the Course Overview module, and use next at the bottom of each page to move through the Overview. 

After you review the content in the Course Overview Module, review the content in the Resources module. Then review the First Day Attendance module. 

The Syllabus must be read and the FDA Syllabus Quiz must be submitted by 1/11 at 8:00 p.m. for you to remain enrolled in the course.The course summary at the bottom of the syllabus has a very useful list of the tasks with due dates. 

Clicking on “Home” will always return you to the landing page, and the Course Navigation will allow you to navigate all the major locations.