The main methods to send timely communications to students in Canvas are Announcements and Inbox. Announcements, as with Blackboard, let you send messages to everyone in the course either immediately or at a later date. Inbox lets you have a conversation either with students individually, with groups of students, or with multiple courses. Both announcements and inbox messages are sent through email by default, but any user, including students, can change their notification settings. There is no way in Canvas to be 100% certain that all students receive an email sent through Announcements or Inbox; therefore, all users are encouraged to check their notification settings.
Announcements
- Announcements Overview video
- What are Announcements?
- How do I use the Announcements Index Page?
- Canvas Instructor Guide: Announcements
- Announcements only trigger notifications if a course is published and it is after the start date. Students will only see those announcements inside the course once it's published.
- Attachments in announcements sent by email notification will create a link that requires students to log into Canvas to view the document. The document is automatically added to the Files index of the course.
- Announcements can be delayed to any date/time in the future. To receive an immediate notification as a reminder that delayed announcements were sent, modify your account notification to send Announcements Created by You to immediately.
- Announcements are sent to the course in which you create them. To send the same announcement to another course, copy it to that course.
- Embedded Kaltura videos will not show up in emailed notifications. All announcement notifications have a link to the announcement in the courses, which will display embedded Kaltura videos. Add wording within the announcement to let students know to view it inside Canvas to see the video.
Inbox
- What is the Inbox?
- How do I use the Inbox as an instructor?
- Canvas Instructor Guide: Inbox
- Inbox messages can only be sent to users if a course is published and it is after the course start date. If you try to send a message for an unpublished course, you will get an error message.
- Attachments in inbox messages sent by email notification will create a direct link to download the attachment without requiring further authentication. The document is automatically added to your account Files index.
- If messaging multiple students at once, consider checking Send an individual message to each recipient. This will create multiple copies of the message, so students cannot see others who were contacted with the same message.
- All users can reply to immediate email notifications of inbox messages to continue the conversation. The reply will be sent to the correct person’s email and keep a record in Canvas Inbox.
- To send an inbox message to multiple courses, go to the To field, find the first desired course, and select All in [course name]. Repeat for all desired courses.
- Students can also send messages to individuals or groups of students in their courses. Consider adding a message about the appropriate use of the tool in your syllabus.
Notifications
- Canvas Notifications resource document
- How do I manage notifications for a single course as an instructor?
- Each user controls their notification settings. This means students could turn off receiving notifications about announcements or inbox messages. Add a message in the syllabus or elsewhere in the course if you want to require certain notifications to be enabled.
Last modified: April 22, 2024