You can consider applying any and all of the following suggestions to your dashboard.

Colors

You can color code each child's course title by selecting a specific color to be associated with the subject of the course or which of your students is taking it.

Nicknames

You can rename each course title with a nickname. This can be whatever word(s) would help you easily recognize what the course is for. If you have multiple students, especially taking the same or similar classes, it may be helpful to include the student's name in the new nickname.

Arrangements

You can rearrange dashboard tiles to be displayed in any order you would like. Some observers may prefer to see courses displayed alphabetically. Some observers may have multiple students and prefer to arrange the courses in clusters based on which student the course is being taken by.

In Canvas, click on the Account tab in the left-hand toolbar and select Notifications option from the expanded menu. 

You can change your notification settings to fit your personal preferences. By default, the “Account” option is selected in the Settings for drop-down; this means that the settings selected will apply to all of the courses associated with your account. You may select a specific course from the drop-down if you would like to further customize your notification settings.

The email address that will receive notifications is listed below the Email column title.

You can hover over any of the notification titles to view details about what the information the email will include. 

Each notification setting is indicated with an icon in the Email column. You can hover over any of the icons to reveal what the icon represents. If you would like to change a setting, please click on the icon for the corresponding notification and select the desired option from the drop-down menu. Canvas offers the ability to be notified immediately, daily, weekly or not at all.

After selecting the Calendar icon in the left-hand toolbar, you can view the calendar events by week, month or agenda list based on your selection in the upper, right hand corner.

Only 10 course and group calendars will be shown at one time. You can choose which courses and/or groups are actively displayed by selecting and deselecting the options in the CALENDARS section located on the right side of the screen.

It is especially helpful to familiarize yourself with the significance of each icon used for each calendar entry.

The Canvas Inbox allows you to communicate with your student's teachers. 

To create a new message, click the Compose a new message icon along the header. In the Compose Message pop-up window, select which Course your message pertains to. If you are sending your message to multiple users, but you do not want each user to see who else was included in the message, check the Send an individual message to each recipient box.

You can manually type a teacher's name into the To field or search for them in the address book by clicking the icon. When using the address book, you can select the role of the user you wish to contact, like “Teachers,” to locate them.

Type a Subject line for your message and proceed to typing the message in the text field at the bottom of the window. If you include a URL in your message, the URL will automatically become a clickable link after you send the message.

If you would like to include an attachment or media file, click the Attachment or Media Files buttons.

When you are ready to send your message, click the Send button.

There are two different ways to view grades in Canvas.

Option 1: While on the Dashboard, click the View Grades button on the right side of your for a high-level overview of the student's grades.

Option 2: If you would like to see grade details for a specific course, click the Courses icon in the left-hand menu and select a course from the expanded menu. Then, select the Grades link from the list on the left side of the screen.

The grade summary at the top of the screen displays your student's Total grade for the course. You may choose to show or hide all scoring details, comments and rubrics shown in the Grades screen.

Below the assignment groupings and weights breakdown, you have the option to select/deselect the Calculate based only on graded assignments box. By default, this box is selected and your student's current course grade is displayed. The current grade is calculated by adding the score for graded assignments according to their weight in the course grading scheme. 

By default, assignments are listed chronologically by their due date on the Grades screen. To sort grades by module, assignment name, or assignment group, select the desired option from the Arrange by drop-down menu. To apply selected sort options, click the Apply button.

You may see various grade icons in the score column indicating the assignment type. Assignments that display a grade icon have not been graded by the instructor. Once the assignment is graded, the icon will be replaced by your student's score.

To print your student's grades, click the Print button.

You can log into the Canvas Parent app with a Canvas URL by completing the following instructions.

1. Open the Canvas Parent app.
   
2. Tap the Find School button.
   
3. Enter the name of your institution or school district. You can also locate your Canvas account by entering the full Canvas URL instead. When the full name appears in the search list, tap on it.
4. If you previously logged into the app, your Canvas URL will be displayed. To login again, tap the Canvas URL button with your name.
   
5. Enter your login credentials in the Email and Password fields.
6. Tap the Log In button.
   

You can log into the Canvas Parent app on an iOS device with a QR Code by completing the following instructions.

1. Open the Canvas Parent app.
   
2. Tap the QR Login button.
   
3. Your iOS device will prompt you to locate the QR code. Use a computer to access Canvas online.
4. Click on the Account icon in the left-hand toolbar and select the QR for Mobile Login option.
   
5. Tap the Next button in the top, right corner of your iOS device to proceed.
6. Hold the iOS device up to your computer screen to scan the QR code. You may have to grant permission for your device to use your camera.
7. Once the code is located, the app will update automatically, but it may take a few minutes.

By default, the Canvas Parent app opens to the Courses page for the student you are viewing. This page lists all of the students courses and the corresponding grade. If you would like to see more details about a specific course, tap on the course's name, like “Basic Written Communications" for example.

You will be able to see the student's course grade as well as a list of all assignments in the course. Each assignment is listed with…

• an icon that corresponds with the type of assignment it is,
• due date,
• submission status and
• your student's assignment score (if applicable).

To view the details of an individual assignment, tap the assignment name.

The Calendar tab in the bottom menu allows you to see events and assignments for one student at a time. If you have multiple students, you can navigate between their calendars by using the drop-down beside their name in the header. 

A dot below a date indicates a single assignment or event for that day. Multiple dots below a date on the calendar indicate multiple assignments or events for that same day.

You can select an assignment to set a reminder if desired. To do so, tap on the assignment listed at the bottom of the screen and toggle the Set a date a time to be notified of this event on. Then, a date and time will appear below for you to tap and customize further.

Checkout these instructions if you need additional support for your mobile device type:

• iOS
• Android

The Canvas Parent app allows you to manage alerts for your paired children's:

• Course grades
• Missing assignments
• Posted assignment grades
• Announcements

You can customize your alert settings by opening the user menu icon in the top, left corner and selecting the Manage Students option.

After tapping one of your student's name, enable (or disable) any toggle options by tapping on them. Theses options include (not) being alerted when an assignment is missing, when there are course announcements or when there are institution announcements. An enabled option will be toggled to the right and be filled with color.

You can also be notified of alerts when a course or an assignment is above or below a certain percentage. To enter the percentage, tap the numbers next to the corresponding criteria.

Once alerts are set up, you can view them for the selected student by tapping the Alerts tab in the bottom header. A number will appear in the top, right corner of the tab if there is at least one alert that you have not (marked as) read.

Unread alerts will have a solid dot in the top, left corner of the corresponding row. An alert will be marked as read once it is tapped on and opened. To delete an alert from your iOS screen, swipe the alert to the left and tap Dismiss. To delete an alert from your Android screen, tap the X in the top, right corner of the corresponding row.

To navigate to your Canvas inbox on the mobile app, open the user menu icon in the top, left. Then, select the Inbox option.

Messages are arranged in chronological order. Swipe the page from top to bottom to quickly refresh the page.

You can create a new message by tapping the Message icon, or you respond to a message by opening it an tapping the Reply icon.

The Message icon also appears in the bottom, right screen when viewing a course or assignment in the Canvas Parent app. Additional information can be found using the following links:

• Sending messages from a course screen (iOS) (Android)
• Sending messages from an assignment screen (iOS) (Android)