Modules - avoid double navigation
Double navigation
Canvas has many, many, many functions. Perhaps you are not using them all in your course? To make it easier for your students to navigate, interact and communicate in your course in the way you intend you might need to simplify and remove everything that is unnecessary.
How can you then identify what is necessary and what is not in your course? One way to check is to see your course from the student perspective with the student view. Here below is an example.
In the view above there is a double navigation since the student can access pages, task, quizzes, Files and Discussions both through the course navigation as well as through the modules. This will create confusion - especially in the mobile app.
You can easily remove these items from the course menu.
Simplify your course menu
Close the student view if it is still open.
- Go to Settings in the bottom of the navigation
- Click on tab Navigation at the top of the window. You will now se a long list in two separate parts that will mirror your course menu. The upper one shows the items that are visible for your students and the lower ones are hidden.
- Grab an item (for instance pages - they are almost always necessary to hide) and let go at the lower part of the list. Continue until you are satisfied - remember - less is more!
- Click on save below the list.
The resulting page will look something like the example below. Black words in the course navigation is visible for students and grey ones are hidden. Exceptions are Settings and personal items such as Studio, students will not be able to see these.
Please note that you can still click on and work with the grey words in the course navigation. In the example above we know that Conferences (e-meeting tools), Collaboration and Announcements are hidden, since they will not be used in the course.
Check the student view
In this example only three items are left in the navigation
- Home, which leads to the modules.
- Grades - this is where the students finds their feedback
- People - this is where the students and teachers are listed.
Your navigation does not have look the same, but take some time to reflect on what your students really need to see - the more functions, the more complicated it will be.
Do you have questions about the course navigation or want someone to just take a look? Contact us on canvas@education.lu.se.
Would you like to learn more? Check our Canvas workshop calendar, sign up for the självstudiekurs or access Canvas instructor guide! Links to an external site.