Hi @cindihusk Welcome to the Canvas Community.
I'm wondering if the left hand menu you refer to is the far left one (global navigation menu) or the one to the right of that (course navigation menu)
If it's the global navigation the main difference will be that the icon will either have their names under them or not. If you would like to have the names or to remove them then simply click on the arrow at the very bottom left to change them.
If it's the course navigation menu then these can look very different, it depends on how the instructor has set it up for students to navigate. If you are an instructor here's a guide on how to change that menu How do I manage Course Navigation links?
As for changing the course Home page here's a guide for that. How do I change the Course Home Page?
Best of luck. Sing out if you need a hand.
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