Whether you are always on campus or are a fully online student, you use American River College’s learning management system, Canvas. All classes taken through the Los Rios Community College District require a corresponding Canvas shell. Each Canvas shell is at a minimum required to provide the class syllabus, gradebook and a means of contacting their professors
Fifty percent of LRCCD students report being enrolled fully in online courses, while 37% of students report being enrolled in a combination of in-person and online courses, according to Lori Hokerson, Universal Design and Accessibility Coordinator, in an email interview with The Current. While online students have access to their professors through the Canvas inbox or contact information provided in the syllabus, it can be hard to navigate Canvas without the ability to seek help in person. Since it’s an essential tool for studying at LRCCD, bridging the gap of Canvas navigation support is necessary for optimizing college success.
Getting to Canvas
To get to Canvas, navigate to the ARC or LRCCD homepage. Go to Student Login in the top right corner. Then go to Canvas. Enter your student ID number, also known as your W number, and your student password. If this is your first time logging into Canvas, you will need to set your password through a link sent to the Email used to apply for admission.
Navigating the Dashboard
Your Canvas dashboard will have each of your currently enrolled courses represented with a course shell. If you are using a PC, you will see different tabs for Canvas resources on the left-hand side, accompanied by a To-Do list on the right-hand side. If you are using the Canvas mobile app, you will see the tabs for different Canvas resources along the bottom of your screen.
Dashboard Organization
If you are using a PC and see past courses you are no longer enrolled in, and would like to remove them from your dashboard, go to the Courses tab. Click on All Courses at the top of the menu. On the Canvas mobile app, the All Courses section is in the top right corner. There you can star (select) and unstar (unselect) classes. Starred classes show on your dashboard, as well as assignments for starred classes showing in your To-Do list and Calendar tab.
You can edit the appearance and order of your course shells in your dashboard. Go to the three vertical dots at the top right corner of the course shell itself. There, you can nickname courses, change the course shell color, move the course shells into your preferred orders and remove courses from your dashboard.
You can add and remove color overlay effects to your Canvas shells on PC by clicking on the three vertical dots in the top right of your Canvas dashboard, then clicking on Color Overlay. If using the Canvas mobile app, you will click on the three horizontal lines stacked vertically in the top left of your screen. Under Options, click to remove and add color overlays. You also have the ability, under Options, to enable the display of course grades on your dashboard.
To-Do List
The To-Do list feature provides students the ability to see assignments from selected (starred) courses in an organized list format with the ability to add their own personal and academic goals. This gives students the opportunity to manually check off assignments as they go, or automatically when the corresponding assignment is turned in via Canvas. To check off an assignment or task manually on a PC, click on the three vertical dots in the top right of your Canvas dashboard, then go to the list view. There, you can click the box next to your assignment to mark it as complete. On the Canvas mobile app, you will go to the To-Do tab to check off tasks. To add your own personal tasks, goals and assignments to your To-Do list, go to List View and click the + in the top right corner, fill in the details, and click Save.
Calendar
The Calendar tab is a tool used to organize your semester and life responsibilities, giving students the option to see class assignments in a weekly or monthly format, as well as the Agenda view option. These features make it easier for students to plan for academic success throughout the semester. You can add personal events to your Canvas calendar by clicking on the + symbol in the top right-hand corner. From there, you will fill in all event information and click Submit.
Canvas Inbox
If you have any questions for your professor or need to get in contact with them for any reason, your Canvas Inbox is a great resource. Located in the Inbox tab, this tool allows you to send messages to staff and students via Canvas. To send messages in your Canvas inbox, click on the writing symbol. For PC users, the symbol will be in the top right-hand corner. On the Canvas mobile app, it appears as a + symbol in the bottom right-hand corner. By selecting the course and the recipient, you can attach files and send messages to both classmates and professors with ease. Other contact information varies by professor and will be provided in the course syllabus.
Account Details
Your Account tab for your Canvas dashboard is where you will find all your Canvas account information. Under Profile, you can add a profile picture, contact info, a biography, pronouns and any associated links. This information will be visible to staff and students through Canvas. You can change Canvas notifications settings by going to Account and clicking on Notifications. Click the notification icon beside each course activity to set the notification settings to one of the following options: Notify immediately, Daily summary, Weekly summary and Notifications off. It is recommended for academic success to choose Notify Immediately.
Navigating Course Shells
When you click on your course shell, you will see tabs on the left-hand side. These tabs contain the course information such as syllabus, assignments, modules, grades, discussions and announcements. All course shells are required to provide the course syllabus and grade book at a minimum, as well as a course homepage
Syllabus
Your class syllabus will be under the Syllabus tab, but some professors might post it to the course Homepage or list it in the Modules section. Your syllabus may include: the course description, class grading style, the professor’s contact information, late work acceptance details, class schedule details, required materials and textbooks, accommodation information, important dates for the semester, ARC student resources and any class-specific rules and guidelines.
Grades
To check any comments or grades on assignments, as well as your overall course grade, go to the Grades tab. To see your What-If score, click on an assignment’s grade and enter a score. This allows you to see how your overall grade could be affected by specific assignments, helping students to better plan out their academic success throughout the semester. To see the rubric for a specific assignment, click on that assignment in the Grades tab or find the assignments in the class modules. The Canvas mobile app can enable the display of course grades on your dashboard. To see instructions for enabling the display of course grades on your Canvas dashboard, see the Dashboard Organization section of this article.
Modules
Your course modules are a way for your professor to organize class lectures, resources and assignments into weekly coursework. Information on assignments can be found in the assignments tabs and throughout the modules for the course. Course discussion posts will show in the modules and in the Discussions tab, if the course provides one.
Class Announcements
All announcements will be posted in the announcements tab or sent to your Canvas Inbox. Here, your professor will send out important updates, class information and schedule changes, as well as thoughts to consider as you go over your weekly coursework. Notification settings for Canvas can be changed in your account settings. To see instructions on account or notification settings, see the Account Details section of this article.
Student to Student: Advice from on Campus
“Have an online calendar, such as Google Calendar, to really plan out each assignment, and assign days to do a certain number of assignments. Really stick to that.” – Karla Galban-Hernandez | Anthropology
“Check Canvas daily, even if you have on-campus classes, because lots of professors will utilize Canvas to let you know if class is going to be cancelled that day, or if maybe you’re switching to a different classroom.” – Jaime Snow | Psychology
“Space out your workload for the week. I have a planner where I keep every single thing that I need for the week, and that could be any reading homework, any videos I need to watch, as well as the assignments. I put them on my calendar to do them on specific dates before they’re due, so it’s not all at once and scary.” – Piper Bacon | Anthropology
“Don’t rely on your to-do list, especially for discussion assignments, because it might have several deadlines that won’t show on your to-do list.” – Esperanza Booher | Physics
ARC Campus Staff Advice
“It’s better to set up reminders and alerts for online students. And of course, check Canvas
at least twice a day, in the morning and before bed.” – Tiwalolu Adefolaju | Admissions and Records
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help, we’re here to help. I think there’s a shyness among students, where they feel like they’re bothering someone if they’re asking for help, but what I’m telling you 100% is we want to be asked. We want to be asked for help. We want to help.” – Michael Riordan | Library Technician
“There are exactly three spots on the main web page up at the top where it says ‘students’. If you don’t touch anything else on the web, those are the three things that you touch for the rest of your entire time at ARC, and you will have access to everything you need; those three spots open up the world.” – Corey Winfield | UNITE Center Concierge and Clerk 2
Additional Resources and Help
- Canvas Student Guide
- Los Rios Canvas Resources & Quick Guide Videos
- ARC Canvas 24/7 Support: (844) 589-3851
