This article reviews considerations regarding the use of Course Navigation links in your Canvas course site.
- Table of Contents
The Course Navigation next to the Canvas global navigation bar creates a Menu for your students, creating links that allow them to move among the different parts of your course.
In most cases, headings in black text indicate links that are enabled for students. Headings in gray text indicate links that are disabled for students. Instructors, designers, and TAs can still access any of the gray links. You can control which course navigation links are enabled for students.
While we can't tell you exactly what options to expose to students in your Course Navigation, we can give you some recommendations that will lead to an optimal learner experience.
This guide explains the unique behaviors of each navigation option, including reasons for our recommendation to show or hide. For additional information on managing course navigation links, review Managing Canvas Course Navigation.
Recommendations for Course Navigation Links
Choosing which pages to enable for your students depends entirely how you organize your course content and how you use your course for learning. The overall question you will need to ask is whether or not your students need to have a direct link to materials within the Course Navigation or if there is a better way for them to access the content through other ways (e.g., having it linked on a page or delivered through a module).
In our user testing of Canvas, students preferred fewer links instead of more links to be made available in the Course Navigation. Mainstream web usability research also shows this idea, finding that users prefer fewer than 7 links in the Course Navigation.
Course Navigation Links to Consider Enabling
Announcements
When you use the Announcements feature in Canvas, you automatically enable this link in the Course Navigation for students. Announcements can also be set up to show up on your home page by following the instructions at Show Recent Announcements on Course Home Page. If you leave it on in your course, students will also see notifications for new Announcements on the Canvas dashboard course tile. Access Announcement Overview for more information on the Announcement Tool.
Google Drive
This Course Navigation link allows you access to your Google Drive right in the course interface. If you and/or your students frequently use Google Drive, you may want to leave this navigation link on. For more information on viewing Google Drive files review Google Drive Files in Canvas as an Instructor and Google Drive Files in Canvas as a Student.
Grades
Leave this link on so that students can access their course grades. For more information on how students view grades on canvas, review Viewing Grades in Current Course.
Home
We strongly recommend that you enable Home for students to optimize their experience within your course site. The Home page allows users to quickly reorient themselves to the landing page for the course. You can customize your Homepage to create a customized workflow for your students.
Library Course Page
Libraries Course Page can create a page of course readings and resources and then make that page available to your students. Enabling this page gives students quick access to a list of hyperlinks that lead directly to the library's resource. Contact the Library Course Reserve Staff for further information on how to integrate U of M Libraries resources into your Canvas course.
Modules
If you organize your course content using Modules, enable this link on the Course Navigation so that students can quickly scan all the content of any published Modules. If you do not use Modules to deliver your content, be sure to disable the link.
People
Students can use this link to obtain contact information for other students in the class. No private student data is shown to students when accessing this link. Giving students access to the People tool also allows students the ability to form their own Groups and access Group spaces. Students can also access Groups through the global navigation bar's Groups button. For more information on how students can use the people tool, review the People Page as a Student.
Syllabus
This link takes students to the Canvas Syllabus tool. We recommend that you use this tool and enable this page for students. For more information on the Syllabus tool, review Using the Syllabus as a Student. If you do not use the Syllabus tool, be sure to disable it in the Course Navigation to avoid confusion.
Course Navigation Links Recommended to be Disabled
Assignments
Canvas allows you to alert students of upcoming assignments through many places in the course site other than the Assignments Course Navigation link (review Assignment Overview for Students for more information on assignments).
By organizing all course content through either Modules or Pages, you are able to better control the time and context of when students get access to all graded assignments. However, there may be times when you want to leave the Assignments course navigation link on for students, such as when you want to:
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Allow students to sort all class assignments by date or by type (type of assignment will be broken down by assignment groups/gradebook categories if those are set up).
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Show any assignment, graded quiz, graded surveys, and graded discussion all in one place (for example, in place of using the Syllabus tool, which also will create this list).
Attendance
This link provides options to monitor and track student attendance. Review Roll Call Attendance for more information on this tool.
Chat
This link allows instructors and students to communicate in real-time using text. Review What is Chat for information on using Chat in your canvas site.
Collaborations
Enabling this link in your Course Navigation provides students the ability to form any collaboration area at any time with anyone in the class. If you do not want students to be in charge of creating their own groups and collaboration spaces, you can disable this link. Students will have access to any group collaborations that you create for them from the Groups button in the global navigation. For more information, watch Student - Collaborations Overview (2:22).
Zoom
Enabling this link in your Course Navigation provides students with a centralized location to go for zoom links. Instructors can schedule and create zoom meetings within the Zoom page within Canvas. For instructor information on hosting Zoom meetings through canvas, review Canvas: Host a Zoom Meeting.
Discussions
We recommend that this link be disabled for a few reasons:
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These links take students to a list of all the graded and ungraded discussions in the course.
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There will be a duplicate listing of graded discussions that will already be listed under the Assignments link and anywhere else that a graded discussion with a due date will show up (To Do list, Syllabus, Calendar).
Files
We strongly recommend disabling Files in your Course Navigation for a few reasons:
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Files appear as a list with no context, e.g., content descriptions, headers or hyperlinks.
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You have little flexibility in reorganizing and reordering files, and this content is not easily searchable.
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You will need to be very careful to monitor what files are visible to students and what files are not published to students.
Instead of giving students access to the Files link, use Modules or links to files within course pages and assignment instructions to lead students to the resources they need.
Pages
We recommend that you disable the Pages link for a few reasons:
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That link will take students to a list of all published pages in alphabetical order instead of the order in which you want students to go through the pages.
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The alphabetized list is not searchable.
Instead, link to pages via the home page, within modules, or within other pages in the order that students would need the information on the page.
Outcomes
Turn off this link unless you plan to use Outcomes. Review What are Outcomes to learn more about this navigational item.
Quizzes
We recommend that this link be disabled:
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This link takes students to a list of all graded and ungraded quizzes/surveys in the course.
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There will be a duplicate listing of graded quizzes and surveys that will already be listed under the Assignments link and anywhere else that a graded survey/quiz with a due date will show up (To Do list, Syllabus, Calendar).
Course Navigation Links That Do Not Appear for Students
Send or Export Final Grades
You will use this link when you are ready to report final grades to PeopleSoft. Review Canvas: Prepare and Submit Grades for information on submitting final grades to PeopleSoft. Even though this navigational link appears in your course navigation, students do not see it.
Multi-Tool
The Multi-Tool opens up some additional functionality to mass change due dates, review Using the Due Date Modifier for information on enabling and using the Multi-Tool. This tool can also be used to build modules more quickly, and build templates. Information on using Design Tools can be found at Design Tools for Canvas. Even though this navigational link appears in your course navigation, students do not see it.
UDoIT
The UDoIT accessibility checker is a feature that helps check your site for accessibility issues. We recommend that you enable UDoIT and use it in your course site. Please review UDoIT Accessibility Checker for information on using the tool. Your students will not see this tool in the Course Navigation area.
Settings
This link is for anyone with instructor or editing rights to the course. Even though this navigational link appears in black color in your course navigation, students do not see this link.
Course Navigation Links for Integrated Tools
There are more Course Navigation links available in your course site from integrated tools that have been added to our Canvas environment. Certain integrated tools only appear for certain colleges or departments, based on licensing agreements.
The list of integrated tools below are available to all University Canvas users and will be available as Course Navigation links. This list will change often as more tools are added. For more information on other navigational links that appear in your Settings under the Navigation tab, see the Learning Tools Overview for more information on integrated tools. You can also request that integration of a new tool be considered at Request New Tool Integration .
Cengage
Cengage MindTrap provides access to a publisher's platform, including digital text, interactive multimedia, assignments, and quizzes. Cengage - SAM is an interactive online learning environment that helps students master Microsoft Office and computer concepts essential to academic and career success. Students observe, practice and train, then apply their skills live in the application.
iClicker Registration
This student response system integration enables students to register a device and allows instructors to synchronize the student roster and gradebook in Canvas with class session data within iClicker software. Learn more information about this tool here.
LockDown Browser
Students use the Respondus browser for a secure testing environment within Canvas. Instructors manage Respondus LockDown settings from the LockDown Browser Dashboard in Course Navigation. Review the iClicker Overview for more information on using iClicker.
McGraw-Hill Connect
This link allows single sign-on access to McGraw Hill's interactive resources and textbooks.
Media Gallery
A single searchable place to store media (video, audio, video quizzes, and YouTube links) for your course in the Kaltura platform. See Canvas: Add Media Gallery (Kaltura) to a Canvas Course for more information on adding the media gallery to your canvas page.
MyLab and Mastering
This link allows single sign-on access to Pearson's interactive resources and textbooks.
SCORM
Use this to add SCORM packages to your course as graded or ungraded assignments. Delivers a variety of SCORM packages as graded or ungraded activities/assignments. See SCORM in Canvas for more information.
Secure Exam Proctor
This enables the use of Proctorio, a fully automated, scalable remote proctoring system. Proctorio utilizes machine learning and facial recognition to monitor students during online exams. See Add Proctorio to a Quiz for more information.
Student Rating of Teaching
This link allows students to rate instructors and give feedback. Review Student Rating of Teaching for more information on the Student Rating of Teaching(SRT) Surveys.