To change the course navigation sidebar in Canvas, you primarily adjust which links are visible to students and their order. This allows you to streamline the student experience and highlight the most important sections of your course.
Canvas has two main "sidebars":
- Global Navigation: The dark gray bar on the far left that is always present, offering links like Account, Dashboard, Courses, Calendar, and Inbox. This sidebar cannot be customized by instructors.
- Course Navigation (also known as the Course Menu): This is the sidebar specific to an individual course, located directly to the right of the Global Navigation. It lists links such as Home, Announcements, Modules, Grades, etc. This is the sidebar you can customize.
Customizing Your Course Navigation Sidebar
Instructors have full control over which items appear in the Course Navigation for students and in what order. This is done through the course settings.
Step-by-Step Guide to Adjusting Course Navigation:
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Access Course Settings:
- Navigate to your specific Canvas course.
- In the Course Navigation menu (the sidebar you want to change), click on Settings at the very bottom.
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Go to Navigation Tab:
- Within the Course Settings, click on the Navigation tab. This tab displays a list of all available navigation links for your course.
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Rearrange or Hide/Show Items:
- To Rearrange (Change Order):
- Locate the item you wish to move.
- Simply click and drag the item's name to your desired position in the list. You can drag items to the top to make them more prominent.
- Items in the top list are visible to students.
- To Hide from Students:
- Find the item you want to hide.
- Click and drag the item from the top list (visible to students) down to the bottom list (hidden from students). Alternatively, click the three vertical dots next to an item and select "Disable."
- Items in the bottom list will not be visible to students, though instructors will still see them with an "eye" icon indicating they are hidden from students.
- To Show to Students:
- If an item is currently in the bottom list (hidden), click and drag it back up to the top list. Alternatively, click the three vertical dots next to a disabled item and select "Enable."
- To Rearrange (Change Order):
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Save Your Changes:
- After you have rearranged or hidden/shown items as needed, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
- Click on the "Save" button. Your changes will not take effect until you save them.
Practical Tips for Course Navigation Customization:
- Prioritize Essential Links: Place the most frequently used or important links (e.g., Home, Announcements, Modules) at the top of your navigation.
- Simplify for Students: Hide any navigation links that you are not actively using or that might confuse students (e.g., Conferences, Collaborations, Outcomes, Files, Pages, Syllabus if it's integrated elsewhere). This creates a cleaner, less cluttered interface.
- Student View Verification: Always use the "Student View" button (available on your course's Home page, near the top right) to see how your course navigation appears to students after making changes. This ensures the student experience is as intended.
- Module-Centric Design: Many instructors prefer to hide most navigation links and guide students primarily through the "Modules" section, where all content and activities are organized logically.
Understanding Navigation Item Visibility
| Icon/Indicator | Visibility to Students | Description |
|---|---|---|
| (No icon) | Visible | The item is enabled and will appear in the Course Navigation menu for students. |
| (Eye with a slash) | Hidden | The item is disabled and will not appear in the Course Navigation menu for students. Instructors still see it, often grayed out. |
| (Warning icon) | Visible, but no content (or specific conditions apply) | The item is visible to students, but there is no published content within it, or access is restricted (e.g., hidden Modules until a certain date). Students may see it but won't be able to access anything useful. |
For more detailed information, refer to the Canvas Guides on managing course navigation links.
