Canvas Basics

Welcome to UNM Canvas, our new learning management system (LMS) which is the platform being used by faculty and students at the University of New Mexico for fully online, hybrid and web-enhanced courses.

The Global Navigation Menu

For additional information please see Canvas’s documentation on the Global Navigation Menu. 

Account
The Accounts Tab allows you to customize how you receive Notifications from Canvas, add additional Content Methods, manage personal preferences, and adjust Feature Settings such as High Contrast UI and Celebration Animations. You can access your Kaltura Media page from here as well.

Dashboard

The Dashboard tab is the default page that you land on after logging into Canvas. It contains an overview of courses that you are enrolled in. It will break classes out by published and unpublished, and only lists current and future courses. Past courses can be found on the Courses tab. You are limited to 20 Courses on your Dashboard.

Courses

The Courses tab is the primary list of courses that you are enrolled in. Click on this tab then select > All Courses to be presented with the full list. The Courses tab breaks up future, current, and past enrollments. 

Calendar

The Calendar tab can is where you can view calendar events by day, week, month, or agenda list. The calendar also includes access to the Scheduler, which is an optional scheduling tool in Canvas. 

Inbox

The Inbox tab allows you to communicate through Canvas with other users enrolled in the same course. 

History

The History tab allows you to view your recent Canvas course page view history. It displays up to three weeks of your Canvas course page view history. 

Commons

The Commons tab is a community page that users can upload and download course Templates and other pre-built courses. We will later provide recommendations on how to use the Commons and how to properly name things in Commons to keep University resources organized. 

Help

The Help tab will contain links and information to access UNM Canvas help resources. This tab contains the UNM Canvas Support Team’s email (canvas@unm.edu), the Training Services Portal for Canvas videos and trainings. It will also contain a link to our UNM Canvas Support page and information about What's New in UNM Canvas.

Understanding Your Course Shell

• Links in the Course Menu with the eye () symbol next to it indicates students cannot see those items. To see the course from the student perspective, click the ”Student View” button located in the top right-hand corner.
• Start by organizing which links you want students to have access to. To do this, click on Settings in the Course Menu > Navigation > Drag Items below to disable them. The simpler the better. It is recommended by Canvas to hide everything except Announcements, Syllabus, Grades, and Modules.