Your First Login to Canvas

Login Clip Art

When you first login to Canvas, you’ll notice a list of the courses you are currently enrolled in that use the Learning Management System (LMS). You will find 'course cards' listed on your Dashboard. This takes you to the Canvas DASHBOARD, which has information about all the courses you are taking. Click on the course you want to access and it’ll take you to the COURSE HOMEPAGE.

On the homepage, you’ll usually find a Welcome Announcement (like the one in this demo course) as well as important course announcements in what is called your COURSE ACTIVITY STREAM. Check the Announcements frequently for important updates and reminders about your class.

CANVAS has a feature where all of your recent course activity will appear in the CANVAS DASHBOARD when you first log on to the system, so that you don't need to log in to each individual course to see updates and announcements. This is called the GLOBAL ACTIVITY STREAM. In CANVAS you can also change your NOTIFICATIONS settings so that Announcements are sent to the email/device of your choice.

One of the first things you should do is look at (and print) the Syllabus. This will give you all the information you need about the class – textbooks, assignments, schedule, information about student services, etc. You'll be told where to find the course Syllabus and initial course information in a Welcome Letter, which is an email that your instructor sends you prior to the start of your course that contains login and contact information.  

Check out the SYLLABUS link in the Course Menu to get an idea of what an online syllabus might look like.

TIP - If you don't see your courses on your dashboard that you are enrolled in it maybe because:

  • Its more than 7 days before the start of the term.
    • Students have access to their courses on the 1st day of the term. In some cases instructors will allow students to view the courses up to 7 days prior to the start of a semester. For the majority of courses the 1st day you will have access is the 1st day of the term.
  • You just recently added the course.
    • Sometimes it can take up to several hours for the Course to show up in Canvas after you have added in it in LancerPoint. 
  • You just applied to the college.
    • New students can take up to 24 hours to show up in Canvas.