Homepage

Modules as Homepage

For most courses, we recommend leaving your Canvas course home page set to "Modules," which is the default home page in all courses. If each module is clearly named and contains a "module guide," students rarely need the additional guidance of a home page. When additional guidance needs to be given, we recommend using Canvas announcements.

Why Modules?

If you use modules as your homepage, you will not need to update a custom home page. You will not need to edit a homepage to ensure information is kept current when a new semester starts. For example, if your home page lists due dates for weekly assignments, it will need to be changed each week, or at the least, each time a course is taught.

Canvas can automatically shift assignment due dates semester to semester. If you simply ensure that actual due dates are correct in Canvas, these due dates will automatically be displayed in students' to-do lists, calendars, assignment pages, and syllabi. This prevents discrepancies that can occur when the due date that was manually typed out on a Canvas page is different from the actual due date set in the assignment settings.

Custom Homepages

Some teachers prefer to create custom homepages for their courses. Ensure there is a good reason for the homepage before creating one. Some instructors prefer changing the homepage each week to highlight certain content or to focus students' attention on that week's learning objectives or assignments. Custom homepages should be simple. Avoid including too much information on the homepage.

We recommend that you DO NOT create buttons or links to content students already have access to through the course menu, such as the syllabus, assignments page, announcements, etc. Doing so creates unnecessary redundancy in navigation. It also creates inconsistencies in courses.