Is there a way to edit the options students view in the home page?

[elprofejimenez]

When students log on to my course, they see various options on the left side. Syllabus, Modules, Pages etc. I don't want most of those. Instead I want to create a whole new option or at least be able to rename the sections. So instead of people having to click on Modules or Pages or whatever, they could instead see Papers, Video resources, Witness Testimonies, Primary documents etc. on the left side. Is that possible? And if so, how can I do it?

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @elprofejimenez,

You can show or hide the various items on the left-hand menu, as shown in the  How do I manage Course Navigation links? - Instructure Community - 1020  guide.  You can't really change the names of existing menu items though.

One "hack" for this is to use the external app "redirect tool" to add a menu item with a custom name, but as a Canvas admin, I generally don't recommend doing that as those menu items would break when doing a course import in the future and oftentimes confuse students more than help them, especially when they are in multiple courses and expect similar menus and functionality in the courses.  This is, of course, my own opinion, so you're free to experiment with this on your own.

Hope this info helps!

-Chris

[elprofejimenez]

ok, so from what you just wrote, it looks like I can't add menu items. This is probably the most basic level of functionality I would expect from a program like this one and the fact that it doesn't have it is extremely frustrating. I'm sure you're not the person in charge of a decision like this one but I hope this feedback is so common that Canvas will allow this in the future.

Thank you for your response.

Thank you

[NoahBoswell]

Hey @elprofejimenez - in addition to what @chriscas  mentioned above, you should be able to add apps and menu items via your course settings. If you go to Settings > Apps you should be able to see the menu of external apps. You can then search up ReDirect tool, and click add, and just enter the URL and name you want it to have and redirect to, and you just have to check off the Course Navigation option so it appears on your course's side-navigation.

And you're right, us Community Coaches do not have the power to make decisions like those, however we're always willing to help to make the best out of a frustrating situation.

Please feel free to reach out with any additional questions or concerns! I hope this helps reduce some frustration.

All the Best,
Noah B.