Student Help Resources
Canvas, by Instructure, is UNM’s new Learning Management System starting Summer 2022. It will replace UNM Learn. We have gathered some resources below for students to get familiar with Canvas. If you ever have a question, please feel free to reach out to UNM Canvas Support.
We also have a tutorial that walks students through some of the more common tools in an online course. To access the tutorial, visit Introduction to Canvas and Related Tools.
Not all courses use Canvas and when a student can access a course depends on a couple of factors. Please see “Why Can't I See My Course” for more information.
| Global Navigation | Course Basics | Course Activities | Third Party Tools |
|---|---|---|---|
Please read:
- Not all courses use all tools. Course design and online activities vary by course.
- Your course menu will also vary per course. If you do not see a tool in the left menu, it may be hidden. Many courses utilize a simple menu for students where most items (Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, etc.) can be found within the Modules tool.
- Some third-party tools that may be mentioned in the vendor’s documentation, such as Microsoft Office 365 and Google Drive, are not integrated with our instance of Canvas.
- Some things mentioned may not be the same as our instance. Some of our settings are configured to pull data from the Banner/LoboWeb Student Information System or to align with UNM business processes and student privacy concerns.
Accessing Canvas
- How do I log in to Canvas?
- What are the browser and computer requirements for Canvas? (Check your browser before classes start)
- How can I use Canvas on my mobile device as a student?
- How do I view a QR code to log in to the Canvas mobile apps as a student?
- How do I log out of Canvas as a student? Note: Will log you out of other UNM systems you use that are authenticated against Azure.
Global Navigation Tools
Global Navigation
Viewing/Accessing Courses
- How do I use the Dashboard as a student?
- Why Can't I See My Course?
- How do I view my favorite courses in the Card View Dashboard as a student?
- How do I view all my Canvas courses as a student? Note: Students cannot see Past Enrollments in our instance of Canvas.
Course Activity/Updates/To-Dos
- How do I view grades in the Dashboard as a student? (see also Grades in Course Basics below)
- How do I view the Global Announcements page as a student?
- How do I view global activity for all my courses in the Recent Activity Dashboard as a student? Note: We do not have the Conferences tool and instead use Zoom.
- How do I use the to-do list for all my courses in the List View Dashboard as a student?
- How do I add a to-do item in the List View Dashboard as a student?
- How do I view my recent page view history in Canvas as a student?
- How do I use the To Do list and sidebar in the Dashboard as a student?
Getting Help
Calendar
- How do I use the Calendar as a student?
- How do I filter the Calendar view by course as a student?
- How do I view the Calendar iCal feed to subscribe to an external calendar as a student?
- How do I add an event to my calendar as a student?
- How do I add a to-do item in the Calendar as a student?
Files
- How do I use Files as a student?
- How do I view my user files as a student?
- How do I move and organize files as a student?
- How do I rename a file as a student?
- How do I create a folder in Files as a student?
- How do I upload a file to my user or group files?
- How do I delete a file or folder as a student?
- How do I download a single file as a student?
- What types of media files can I upload in Canvas as a student? - It is not recommended to upload media files in Canvas. Use Kaltura instead.
- If your instructor is using the Groups tool in a course: How do I view group files as a student?
Inbox
- How do I use the Inbox as a student?
- How do I filter conversations as a student?
- How do I find my unread messages in the Inbox as a student?
- How do I star a conversation as a student?
- How do I send a message to a user in a course in the Inbox as a student?
- How do I attach a file to a message as a student?
- How do I reply to a message in the Inbox as a student?
- How do I reply to submission comments in the Inbox as a student?
- How do I delete a conversation as a student?
- How do I archive a conversation as a student?
- If your instructor is using the Groups tool in a course: How do I send a message to a user in a group in the Inbox as a student?
Profile and User Settings
Note1: Some fields, such as Name and Password, come from Banner/LoboWeb or other UNM systems and cannot be edited in Canvas. Please see this support page for changing your preferred name.
Note2: Web Services are disabled in our instance of Canvas.
- How do I add a profile picture in my user account as a student?
- How do I change the settings in my user account as a student?
- How do I change the language preference in my user account as a student?
- How do I change my first name to my affirmed/preffered first name in Canvas and other UNM systems?
- How do I select personal pronouns in my user account as a student?
- How do I set a time zone in my user account as a student?
- How do I add contact methods to receive Canvas notifications as a student? (see Note 2 above)
- How do I add an additional email address as a contact method in Canvas as a student?
- How do I manage my Canvas notification settings as a student?
- How do I manage notifications for a single course as a student?
- How do I manage new features in my user account as a student?
- How do I enable the high contrast user interface as a student?
Course Basics
Announcements
Course Navigation
- How do I use the Course Home Page as a student?
- How do I use the Course Activity Stream as a student?
- How do I use the Syllabus as a student?
Grades
- How do I view my grades in a current course?
- How do I use the icons and colors in the Grades page?
- How do I approximate my assignment scores using the What-If Grades feature?
Modules
- How do I view Modules as a student?
- How do I mark a module item as done for a module requirement?
- How do I choose an assignment path in a module?
Rich Content Editor
- How do I add and modify text in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I use the menubar in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I resize the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I insert a table using the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I use the HTML view in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I create hyperlinks to external URLs in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I edit and remove hyperlinks in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I upload and embed an image in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I embed images from Canvas into the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I manage alt text and display options for images embedded in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I upload and embed a media file from my computer in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I embed media from an external source in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I upload a document in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I use the Math Editor in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I link to a YouTube video in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
- How do I use the Accessibility Checker in the Rich Content Editor as a student?
Course Activities
Assignments
By default, courses are using the Assignment Enhancement (a new version of Assignments).
If you don’t see Assignments in the course menu, you may find the assignment on Modules or another page in the course if your course is using Assignments.
- How do I view an assignment in a course using Assignment Enhancements as a student?
- How do I view the rubric for an assignment in a course using Assignment Enhancements?
- How do I submit an online assignment in a course using Assignment Enhancements?
- How do I submit a text entry assignment in a course using Assignment Enhancements?
- How do I upload a file as an assignment submission for a course using Assignment Enhancements?
- How do I know when my assignment has been submitted in a course using Assignment Enhancements?
- How do I submit an assignment on behalf of a group using Assignment Enhancements?
- How do I view assignment feedback from my instructor using Assignment Enhancements?
Discussions
By default, courses are using the Discussions tool, and not the newer Discussions Redesign tool.
If you don’t see Discussions in the course menu, you may find the discussion in Modules or another page in the course if your course is using Discussions.
- How do I view Discussions as a student?
- How do I view the rubric for my graded discussion?
- How do I reply to a discussion as a student?
- How do I attach a file to a discussion reply as a student?
- How do I embed an image in a discussion reply as a student?
- How do I edit or delete discussion replies as a student?
- How do I view and sort discussion replies as a student?
- How do I mark discussion replies as read or unread as a student?
- How do I change discussion settings to manually mark discussion replies as read as a student?
Groups
- How do I view my Canvas groups as a student?
- How do I upload a file to a group?
- How do I create a discussion in a group?
- How do I close a discussion for comments in a group?
Quizzes
There are two quiz tools, Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes. Currently, instructors can choose either.
If you don’t see Quizzes in the course menu, you may find the quiz in Modules or another page in the course if your course is using either Quiz tool.
- How do I view Quizzes as a student?
- How do I view the rubric for a quiz?
- How do I take a quiz?
- How do I take a quiz in New Quizzes?
- How do I take a quiz where I can only view one question at a time?
- How do I take a quiz where I can only view one question at a time in New Quizzes?
- How do I answer each type of question in a quiz?
- How do I answer each type of question in New Quizzes?
- How do I resume a quiz that I already started taking?
- How do I submit a quiz?
- How do I view quiz results as a student?
- How do I view quiz comments from my instructor?
- How do I view my quiz results as a student in New Quizzes?
- How do I know if I can retake a quiz?
- How do I know if I can retake a quiz in New Quizzes?
- How do I submit a survey?
Third party tools
- How to use Kaltura
- How to use Zoom
- How to use Respondus LockDown Browser & Monitor
- How to access RedShelf (Inclusive Access Course Materials)
For other third-party tools, see External Apps
