Canvas Corner Volume 3: Creating a Canvas Welcome Page
Last week, we discussed instructor options for course home pages. The most popular option for a home page is using a welcome page, created using a Canvas Page activity and then setting that Page as a Front Page (discussed in last week’s Canvas Corner). Learning how to create an effective Front Page in Canvas can be a great way to brighten your course, use graphics as links to important sections of your class’s online “spaces” (like your syllabus, assignments, and modules page), include welcome messages, videos, and much more. The home page is the perfect place to personalize your Canvas course!
Previously, I mentioned that effective Front Pages can be found in NMC’s Canvas training courses, Passport to Canvas and Growing with Canvas. But you can also find amazing front page templates in the Canvas Commons, via Google search (simply type “Canvas Home Page Examples”), or by asking your Canvas-expert colleagues if you can borrow theirs! Of course, you also have the option to create a home page from scratch, using your own ingenuity, creativity, images, and skills as an amateur (or professional, in some cases!) graphic designer. Creating Pages in Canvas can be, dare I say, fun!
Today’s Canvas Corner video takes you on a tour of a few home pages created by our fall pilot group, shows you how to use the Canvas Commons to “adopt” a template front page, and discusses the basics of welcome page building creation. Since Moodle does not have home pages, this is one area of Canvas that invites you to go beyond what a Moodle-import provides, although elements of your Moodle courses could certainly be recycled on a Canvas welcome page. Explore the links below for further assistance on home page development.*
* Reminder: you’re not required to have a welcome page. You can set your home page to any of the 5 available options (Course Activity Stream, Pages Front Page, Modules, Assignments, or Syllabus).
RELEVANT LINKS FOR TODAY'S CANVAS CORNER:
Training Portal Links:
- Training Portal Home Page (First time? Click “Authorize” to enter)
- Creating a Canvas Course (70 minutes – to enter, you must first authorize your Training Services account)
Relevant Knowledgebase Articles:
- Setting a Canvas Front Page
- Canvas Commons (so many templates!)
- Video: Canvas Home Page from Scratch
- Video: Using Buttons on a Canvas Home Page
NMC Canvas Resources:
- Canvas Corner Playlist
- Moodle Minute Playlist
- Ed Tech Knowledgebase
- Growing with Canvas at Northwestern Michigan College (Instructor Training)
- Passport to Canvas (Student Training)
ABOUT CANVAS CORNERS
Canvas Corners will come out each week during the fall and spring NMC academic calendar. Each will begin with a short video where Ben will walk viewers through a straightforward, yet essential, Canvas feature or function. Below the video will be a description of that same feature or function, and then each post will conclude with pertinent knowledgebase links, relevant Training Services Portal courses, and other relevant links to assist you on your Canvas journey. If you have any suggestions for improvements to the Canvas Corner, please email me at bpost@nmc.edu.