When helping students navigate Canvas, please be aware that the student dashboard view may look very different from your own. Canvas offers students a customizable dashboard experience that allows them to arrange, add, and remove various dashboard widgets according to their preferences. 

In the new student dashboard view, students can rearrange widgets to prioritize the information that is most important to them. For example, they can move announcements to the top of the dashboard, position coursework where it is easier to access, or add widgets such as the To Do list, Inbox, or recent grades. Students can also remove widgets they do not want displayed. A list of a student’s courses remains accessible through the Courses link at the top of the Canvas homepage, so students cannot accidentally remove access to their courses by customizing the dashboard (thank goodness!). Students who prefer the traditional Canvas dashboard can also switch back to the familiar dashboard view at any time.

For instructors, there is another reason to pay attention to this development: a similar customizable dashboard experience may become available to instructors soon (stay tuned). In the meantime, instructors who become familiar with the student dashboard will be better prepared to assist students and understand why two people looking at Canvas may see very different information on their respective dashboards.