How To Customize Your Canvas Dashboard
Last Modified on 12/04/2023 12:52 pm EST
The Canvas dashboard shows your active courses for the current term and/or academic year. The beginning of a new term is a good time to review and customize your dashboard to fit your preferences for how you view your course information.
Before You Start
You will need the following things to customize your Canvas dashboard:
- An active PennKey
- Membership in a course site on Penn Canvas
Change the Dashboard View
The Dashboard is your landing page in Canvas. Depending on your institution, your dashboard may default to one of three views: Card View, List View, or Recent Activity View. (Recent Activity View is described in detail later.)
- Card View displays course cards for quick access to all your favorite courses. The same courses display in the Courses link from the Global Navigation Menu.
![An example of Card View as it appears on the Canvas Dashboard. The image shows four sample favorite course cards on the page. On the Global Navigation Menu (which is located to the left of the image), the Courses link is indicated by a book icon with the word](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655cf2270891f20c3409db09/n/screenshot-2023-11-21-at-125642pm.png)
- List View displays all course to-do items in an agenda view.
![An image of the Canvas Dashboard in List View. The List View shows a To Do agenda list as a sidebar on the right hand side of the page. The To Do list shows a Calendar icon and two Assignment icons. The Calendar icon shows text that indicates an upcoming meeting, and the two Assignment icons show text for an assignment and a midterm exam.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655cf3d82ed17d612852ded0/n/screenshot-2023-11-21-at-11318pm.png)
To change your dashboard view, click the Options menu (indicated by the three stacked dots) and select your preferred viewing option. When set to Card View or Recent Activity View, the dashboard also includes a sidebar that shows a To Do list, Coming Up for upcoming assignments, links to Recent Feedback, and buttons for creating a course or viewing grades.
![Images that show the Options menu (indicated by three dots stacked on top of each other) and a sidebar that shows the To Do, Coming Up, and Recent Feedback options. Both of these images are on the right hand side of the screen. The Options menu is where you can select your preferred viewing option. The image also shows a sidebar that is activated in Card View or Recent Activity view when you use the Options menu.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655dfb4c7066273cd6190b71/n/screenshot-2023-11-22-at-75605am.png)
If you want to remove the default Course Card settings, you can customize your course list by selecting your favorite courses so they display on your dashboard.
View Course Card Details
The Course Card is the individual card in Card View that holds information about the course.
- Course Cards show course information that includes the course name, course code, and term (1).
- Each card can include up to four icons (2), which represent the four main Canvas categories for student course activity:
- Assignments (the paper and pen icon),
- Announcements (the megaphone icon),
- Discussions (the chat balloons icon), and
- Files (the file folder icon).
![An image with a course card on the right that breaks down the individual components of a course card. On the card next to the number 1, the course title is listed, along with the course code and term. Underneath the course description and next to the number 2 are the Assignments, Announcemnts, Discussions, and Files icons. The icons are listed in order next to each other.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655e0b90d077915f610ed645/n/screenshot-2023-11-22-at-90538am.png)
- A number icon on the Discussions or Announcements icon (3) indicates the number of new, unread discussions or announcements in the course.
![An image of an individual course card that shows the number of unread messages on top of the Discussions icon.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655e09fca4b2553697239a32/n/screenshot-2023-11-22-at-90004am.png)
Add a Course Card Nickname
Since course nicknames appear in the dashboard, course navigation menu, course breadcrumbs, and notification emails, we recommend creating a nickname for courses that have long and/or potentially confusing names. This is particularly helpful for courses that might be mistaken for other courses with similar names. Course nicknames do not affect the course name at the account or course level; they only change the name of the course for the individual user who created the nickname.
To add a course nickname:
1. Click on the More Options (1) icon (the circle with the three stacked periods). ![An individual course card that shows the More Options icon. The icon shows a circle with three periods stacked one on top of another. This is step one to adding a course card nickname.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655d0e1149e5447c005afd3c/n/screenshot-2023-11-21-at-30616pm.png)
2. Type the nickname you want to use for the course in the Nickname field (2).
![A course card that shows the Nickname field. This is the field where you put the name you want to use for the course. This is the second step in creating a nickname for a course.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655d0ed561e32750f13d0252/n/screenshot-2023-11-21-at-30943pm.png)
3. Click the Apply button (3).![A course card image that shows the Apply button, where you would click to apply the action. This is the third step in adding and saving a course nickname.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655d0f8bcb897c4888780ded/n/screenshot-2023-11-21-at-31305pm.png)
To remove a nickname, open the card options and remove the nickname. The nickname field will display the original name of the course.
You can find additional information on how to customize a Canvas dashboard using the student guide. If you have any questions, contact courseware@wharton.upenn.edu.
Customize Your Course List
If you are enrolled in more than one course, you can customize which active courses you’ll see first by designating them as a Favorited Course. You can make any published course that appears in the My Courses section a favorite.
Here are the steps to select a course as a favorite:
1. On the navigation bar, click on the Courses icon and select All Courses. ![An image of the Navigation Bar in Canvas (located on the left hand side of the screen). The image shows the Courses icon and the All Courses link. Selecting these things is the first step in customizing your course list. The text reads](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655e0076c316cf187b52dde8/n/screenshot-2023-11-22-at-80804am.png)
2. Click the star next to a course (1). Courses with filled-in stars indicate you selected that course as a favorite (2).
![An image of a course list. In the example, there are three courses listed with stars to the left of the course name. Two of the courses have unfilled stars, and one course has a star that has been filled in. To select the course, click on the star to fill it in. Courses with filled-in stars show that they have been selected as a favorite.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655dfc44d634b5258679b914/n/screenshot-2023-11-22-at-80126am.png)
Note: you can only make active courses favorites. Once you have picked at least one course as a favorite, Canvas automatically favorites any newly published course enrollments. You can remove a course as a favorite at any time by clicking on the filled-in star.
- You can also view courses you have marked as favorites in the Card View dashboard. This option shows your active, favorite courses as Course Cards as illustrated below. On the bottom of the Course Card you will find up to four icons that represent the main Canvas categories for course activity: Assignments, Announcements, Discussions, and Files. Canvas will mark those icons that have a lot of recent activity.
You can change your dashboard view by selecting the dashboard icon on the navigation bar and by organizing the Course Cards by nickname or with a custom image or color. Card View tiles are drag-and-drop, so you can move and arrange Card View to suit your preferences.
![An image of two course cards that have been customized by using images. A course card on the left of the image for Basic Written Communications shows a picture of a fountain pen writing notes on paper, and a card for History 101 has an image of the Lincoln Monument. Both images are an example of how you can customize course cards.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655d290315b7103265310d32/n/screenshot-2023-11-21-at-45910pm.png)
The Card View dashboard also includes the Dashboard sidebar, which shows the items in your To Do list and a link to the global Grades page.
![An image of the card view dasboard, which includes the Dashboard sidebar. The image shows the navigation bar with the Dashboard icon indicated. The icon is a speedometer with the word](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655d2a29bb97fd27c851ef2b/n/screenshot-2023-11-21-at-50610pm.png)
![An image of the To Do list. The list shows the various types of tasks you can have on the list, including Announcements, Assignments, and Discussions.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655e0e21ec6e3e3bc5573ac2/n/screenshot-2023-11-22-at-91722am.png)
![An image showing how to access student grades from the Dashboard sidebar. To access the global Grades page, select the button labeled](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655e10244ec26b5abd7c13eb/n/screenshot-2023-11-22-at-92618am.png)
You can also view To Do list items in the List View dashboard. You can do this by clicking on the three stacked dots (1) and selecting the List View option (2).
![An image that shows how to go to the List View dashboard. There is an image on the right of the image that shows three dots stacked on top of each other. The second image on the right in a drop down menu shows the List View link highlighted in blue. These two actions will take you to the List View dashboard.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655e167e3cc65772f2095e74/n/screenshot-2023-11-22-at-95115am.png)
View Recent Course Activity
Recent course activity can be found on the Recent Activity dashboard.
1. To access the Recent Activity dashboard, click the dashboard icon on the navigation bar:
![An image of the Recent Activity dashboard icon, which is located on the navigation bar. The navigation bar is located on the left of the screen. The icon on the navigation bar is a picture of an odometer with the word](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/654bdf6389f0aa0be21e4385/n/1699471203680.png)
2. Click Options (1) (the three periods stacked on top of each other) and then click Recent Activity (2).![An image of the Canvas dashboard. In the image, Options is indicated with three periods stacked on top of each other with the number 1 in a circle next to them. Clicking on Options opens a drop-down menu that shows Recent Activity highlighted in blue, with the number 2 next to the selection.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/654bdf63cef3dd1a5a039a82/n/1699471203697.png)
3. The Recent Activity link takes you to the Global Activity stream where you can see recent notifications, announcements, discussions, assignments, and conversations from all your courses (3). You can also ask questions and post to discussion forums through this link.![An image of the Global Activity stream. Under the Recent Activity heading, there is one Announcement, one Assignment Notification, and one Peer Review. Recent Activity in the Global Activity stream is indicated by a blue dot next to a megaphone. The number three next to the announcement indicates this is the third step in how you can view recent course activity.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/654e803dc786681270305d24/n/screenshot-2023-11-10-at-20626pm.png)
![An image of the To Do sidebar found in Recent Activity. There are three courses listed in the image. One of the courses is highlighted to show the course code short name, and another image is highlighted to indicate the course code.](//dyzz9obi78pm5.cloudfront.net/app/image/id/655e0863b4e3c3689250e76a/n/screenshot-2023-11-22-at-84451am.png)
4. The courses listed in the sidebar are displayed by the course code ((2), short name). The course code is listed under the name of the course (1).
Students can find additional information on customizing their Canvas dashboard or by contacting the Courseware team.
Questions?
Contact the Courseware team: courseware@wharton.upenn.edu