Ways to Communicate with your Class

There are multiple ways to interact with students in your course using tools available in Canvas: Announcements, Discussions, and Conversations.

Please note: your Canvas course must be published and in an active term to use these tools. You can open your class early by following these instructions.

Announcements

Announcements are a way for instructors to communicate with all students about course activities. Announcements are posted in the Announcements area and are also emailed to students. To create an announcement click on Announcements in the left hand menu, then click on + Announcement on the top right hand side.

How to: Create an Announcement

Discussions

Discussion forums are for focused and threaded discussions, which allows both instructors and students to start and contribute to as many discussion topics as desired. Discussions may be whole class discussions or group discussions. To create a new discussion, click on Discussions in the left hand menu, then click on + Discussion on the top right hand side.

How to: Create a Discussion in Canvas

Conversations (Inbox)

Conversations is a messaging (e-mail) tool used instead inside of Canvas to communicate with a course, a group, an individual student, or a group of students. To send a message to your class click on Inbox in the far left hand menu (global navigation) or click on the Home link in your course, then click on Course Inbox on the top right hand side.

How to: Send E-mail in Canvas