Each instructor can choose whether to use Canvas for their courses. If you are unsure if Canvas is being used in your course, please contact your instructor.

In Canvas, you will encounter two menus:

  1. The Global Navigation Menu allows you to access your settings, profile, notifications, inbox, and courses. 
  2. The Course Navigation Menu helps you navigate within each course.
Canvas global navigation menu

Upon logging into Canvas, you will be taken to the Canvas Dashboard. The Global Navigation menu appears on the left side of the screen. This can be used to navigate to your courses and set important account preferences and notifications.

This menu contains the following icons in order from top to bottom: Account, Dashboard, Courses, Groups, Calendar, Inbox, History, and Help.

  • Account brings you to your Canvas account, where you may set up your profile and notification preferences.
  • Dashboard is the default view when you enter Penn Canvas for the first time; this is a great page to bookmark for easy access. The Dashboard displays information alerts from the university, courses you are currently enrolled in, your to-do list, calendar, and recent feedback.
  • Courses allows you to see a list of the courses in which you are enrolled. Click Courses > All Courses to view additional or concluded courses and to select which courses appear on the dashboard.
  • Groups appears when you have been added to a group in a Canvas course. By clicking the Groups button, you can select which group you would like to access. Selecting a group leads to a shared area where you and your group members can collaborate.
  • Calendar displays all of your courses’ due dates. Use the toggles on the right side to show or hide information from specific courses.
  • Inbox is a messaging system that you can use to communicate with your instructor and other students in your classes. Please note that this is separate from Penn email. Your instructor will tell you if they prefer to be contacted through Canvas Inbox or Penn email. You can also set up message forwarding to have Canvas Inbox messages forwarded to your Penn email.
  • History enables you to find pages you have recently viewed in Canvas.
  • Help gives you access to additional support materials, important support email addresses, and updates. This is also where you can report an accessibility issue.

Course navigation menu

Canvas course navigation menu

On the Canvas Dashboard, courses appear as small squares. After clicking on a course, you will see a new course navigation menu next to the global navigation on the left, a content area in the middle of the screen, and an additional menu on the right side of the screen.

Instructors can customize the left side Course Navigation menu in each course, so the available items and their order may be different in each course you take. Common elements you can access from the Course Navigation menu include the Syllabus, Modules, Quizzes, Grades, and Assignments.

We recommend selecting the Modules button if it is available; this is how many instructors organize their course materials into lessons.

The middle of the screen contains course content. The first screen that appears when you enter the course is the course homepage, which may be an informational page, the syllabus, or a list of modules. Instructors will often provide a welcome message and information about where to navigate next to get started on the course materials.

The right side of the screen contains options to assist you with the course, such as View Calendar or View Course Notifications. This area also contains the to-do list for items that are coming up soon.

Please note that not everything appears on the to-do list for every course. Always read the course syllabus for details about due dates and course requirements.

In some courses, there may be a search bar at the top of the screen for searching inside the course. You will also find a button for a tool called Immersive Reader, which changes the page layout to make it easier to read pages that contain a lot of text.

Additional Resources

Getting Help

Please contact your Local Support Provider or submit a request to canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.