Canvas for Elementary Feature Comparison
This document discusses the current functionality available in Canvas for Elementary compared to the standard Canvas classroom.
Additional functionality may continue to be added as indicated in the feature timeline. Specific development updates can be found in the Instructure Product Roadmap.
Canvas for Elementary Feature Comparison
The following tables show the current functionality available in the production environment for Canvas for Elementary compared to the standard Canvas classroom. Additional functionality will continue to be added per updates in the Canvas for Elementary User Group.
Feature Support |
Standard Canvas |
Canvas for Elementary |
|
User Roles |
Admins Students (K12, HE) Instructors Observers |
Admins Students (K6) Teachers Observers |
|
Terminology Changes |
Courses Dashboard Course Nickname Syllabus Front Page |
Subjects Home Friendly Name Important Info Subject Home |
|
Custom Theming |
Account, Subaccounts |
Account, Subaccount, Subjects |
|
Available in *.beta.instructure.com |
✓ |
✓ |
|
Available in *.test.instructure.com |
✓ |
✓ |
|
Enable for subaccounts |
✓ |
✓ |
|
Compatible with Blueprint Courses |
✓ |
✓ |
|
Compatible with Course Templates |
✓ |
✓ |
|
Supports SIS Enrollments |
✓ |
✓ |
|
Available on Canvas mobile apps |
✓ |
✓ |
|
Grading Period Support |
✓ |
✓ |
|
Groups Support |
✓ |
✓ |
Dashboard |
Standard Canvas |
Canvas for Elementary |
|
Default Dashboard |
Set by institution |
Home View |
|
Teacher Options |
Course Card View, List View, and Recent Activity View |
Classic View (Card View, Recent Activity View) or Home View |
|
Student Options |
Course Card View, List View and Recent Activity View |
Home View only |
|
Course Card Details |
Displays course name, course code, and icons to access assignments, announcements, discussion replies, and files (if available in the Course Navigation Menu) Indicator also display for new assignments, announcements, and discussion replies |
Displays course name, # of items due today, # of items missing, and most recent announcement (if any) |
|
To Do List |
||
|
Teacher Roles |
Dashboard Sidebar |
Home To Do Tab |
|
Student Roles |
Dashboard Sidebar |
Home Schedule Tab Subject Schedule Tab |
|
Important Dates Sidebar |
x |
Home Sidebar |
Course Setup |
Standard Canvas |
Canvas for Elementary |
|
Course Navigation Menu |
||
|
Teacher Roles |
Announcements, Assignments, Collaborations, Conferences, Discussions, Files, Grades, Modules, People, Pages, Outcomes, Quizzes, Rubrics, Settings, Syllabus, LTI Tools |
For Homeroom Course: Announcements, Files, Grades, Important Info (Syllabus), People For Individual Subjects: All supported Course Navigation Menu links in Standard Canvas |
|
Student Roles |
Displays links that are made available for viewing in the Course Navigation Menu (via Course Settings) |
x Use Modules and/or Schedule Tabs |
|
Default Font |
Lato Can be changed to Balsamiq Sans via the Canvas Elementary Theming feature preview, but this preview also simplifies the Course Navigation Menu for students |
Balsamiq Sans |
|
Course Home Page |
One Page— |
Up to Six Tabs— |
|
Home Page Announcements |
Option to show X Number of Announcements Shown on the Home Page in Course Settings |
Most recent announcement only, but previous announcements can be viewed |
|
Pages |
Displays the View All Pages button for students (if Pages is available in the Course Navigation Menu) |
Always hides the View All Pages button for students |
|
Course Nickname |
Course Nickname Changes can be made on a per-student basis and displays in the Dashboard, Course Navigation Menu, course breadcrumbs, and notification emails |
Friendly Name Set by teacher and displays for all students in Subject Home, Navigation Menu, breadcrumbs, and notification emails |
|
Course Card Image |
Set by teacher and displays in Course Card Dashboard for all students |
Set by teacher and displays in Home View Dashboard for all students Also displays in subject home as course banner (if banner is not set) |
|
Course Banner |
x |
Set by teacher and displays in subject home page |
|
Course Color |
Changes can be made on a per-student basis and displays in Dashboard and Calendar |
Set by teacher and displays for all students in Dashboard and Calendar |
|
LTI Tool Placement |
Course Navigation Menu |
Subject Resources Tab |
Last update: 2021-10-18
