Student App

Navigating Canvas ModuleStudent App

Important Information to Know

Canvas has a free iOS and Android student app that you can download to your device. The app is a great tool with many useful features, however, we don't recommend that you take an online course completely from your mobile device if possible. If you need access to a laptop or wifi hotspot, you can rent them from the library. Check MyEvCC (Links to an external site.) for details.

You can download the student Canvas app from the Google Play (Links to an external site.) or Apple (Links to an external site.) app store. 

• Not all Canvas features are supported on the app at this time.
• If you are missing your current courses in the app or having trouble viewing items that you can see in the desktop version, uninstall and reinstall the app to make sure that you are using the current version. 
• If you are using a mobile browser rather than the app, please note that mobile browsers are not supported by Canvas, and features may not function as expected compared to viewing Canvas in a fully supported desktop browser. 
• Since mobile devices tend to have smaller screens, it is a good idea to customize your dashboard as much as possible by "favoriting" courses that you need access to and "unfavoriting" courses that you don't.  You can do this in the "Courses" tab under "All Courses" by using the star icon to the left of your courses. 

How to Use the Canvas App

As mentioned, the app doesn't have all the features that the desktop version has. We recommend using the app for the following activities and features in Canvas:

• Viewing what’s due by viewing the calendar. Take a quick look at what’s due in your courses while on the go. Although not all dates appear in the mobile app To-Do List, they should all appear on the Calendar.
• Viewing grades and assignment feedback. Get notified as soon as grades are posted, if you have push notifications enabled.
• Reading and sending messages to instructors and other students. You can quickly message other people in your courses. If you have push notifications enabled, you can get notified when you receive messages. If you are adding an attachment to your message, you may want to use the browser version of Canvas.
• Reading the course syllabus, announcements, readings, and commentaries. If you have the mobile app, you can review this week’s readings, announcements, and commentaries from your phone wherever you are.

We recommend using the desktop for the following activities and features: 

• Submitting assignments. If you are submitting multiple files or submitting something lengthy (i.e. report), you are better off submitting your assignment using the browser. This is also the best way to ensure that your instructor can view your submission.
• Participating in discussions. Discussions can be difficult to view and navigate on a small screen. We recommend using a browser for this activity so that you can see the discussion prompt while you are writing your reply to the discussion.
• Taking quizzes and exams. It’s easier to navigate through quizzes and exams in a browser. Because most exams are typically worth a lot of points and you may only get one chance to complete them, we recommend using a browser.

Adapted from: Canvas Student Tip: Canvas App. vs Browser by  (Links to an external site.)Ashaun Adler (Links to an external site.)

Want to learn more?

Canvas Student iOS Guide Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)

Canvas Student Android Guide