Canvas: New Dashboard User Interface Coming

On December 11th, ITS plans to turn on the new user interface for the dashboard area of Canvas. The dashboard is the main landing page that appears immediately after you log into Canvas. This is the only page that will be affected- the appearance of courses themselves should remain the same.

Essentially, the new user interface (UI) moves the tabs/links traditionally found along the top of the Canvas screen to the left side of the screen:

The links for Courses, Groups, Calendar, Inbox, and Account have moved from the top area of the screen to the left side of the screen. Additionally, the middle area of the screen will now provide a more visual view for updates within courses you have favorited. The four tabs underneath each course "square" represent the four main Canvas features for student course activity: Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, and Files. 
A line beneath the tab indicates new activity (see the blue line under the Discussions icon for the first course in the above image; click on the image to enlarge).

For more detailed information about the new UI, please see the following article:

http://guides.instructure.com/m/4152/l/420619-how-do-i-use-the-dashboard-new-canvas-ui