6.2 Understanding sections & hierarchy

Canvas is used as a substitute for textbooks and printouts, so it might be useful to imagine your content as the chapters and pages of this book. Think about how the content would be grouped and labelled if it were to be turned into a textbook. It is a good idea to see your Canvas course as having three main sections:

1. Homepage: this is the front page and the first few pages of your textbook. It will contain the key practical information to guide students to the right places. It shouldn’t include a lot of information, but more give directions to where to find said information.
2. Modules: these are the chapters of your textbook. They shape your course and guide students through the different stages of their learning.
3. Pages: they work in the same way as pages in a textbook, so they provide students with the content they need. In general, it’s a good idea to break down content into several pages, instead of having pages with large amounts of text, images or videos.

There are other optional sections, such as assignments, announcements and discussions, but these are added as and when needed.

1. Assignments: this is where you create and manage tasks that students need to complete for assessment. These can include quizzes, papers, projects, or group work.
2. Announcements: this section is used to share important updates with students. Announcements appear on the course homepage and can be set to send notifications to students via email. They’re useful for providing reminders or course updates.
3. Discussions: this section allows students to engage in asynchronous conversations on course-related topics. Discussions can be structured for Q&A, group work, or reflective activities.