What makes an effective homepage?

What makes an effective homepage?

Canvas has several options for choosing an effective homepage for your course. They have different advantages:

  • Course Activity Stream demonstrates important recent activities inside the course, such as announcements, discussions, dues dates, etc.
  • Pages – Front Page features a customized page from your course which you designate to be the entry point.
  • Modules show a list of all modules inside the course.
  • Assignment List displays all graded activities inside the course.
  • Syllabus allows customizing the top of the page and automatically creates a list of all course assignments on the bottom part of the page.

Your choice will depend on the structure of your course. Many ISU instructors choose a front page or the syllabus as a way to present an organized, streamlined introduction to the course. Whichever homepage you choose, your students may find it useful if you show recent announcements at the top.

Consider using the Online Course Essentials (ONCE) with the ISU Course Template.

Additionally, follow these recommendations to keep the homepage simple and clean.

Instructional Tools News and Updates:
  1. Microsoft OneNote Learning and Teaching Technology Introduction Microsoft OneNote is a note-taking program for free-form information gathering and multi-user collaboration. It gathers users’ notes, drawings, screen clippings, and audio commentaries. Notes can be shared with other OneNote users, including through Canvas. Features Sort content across notebooks, sections,...