Use various tools such as Announcements, Discussions, live Chat, Inbox/email, Groups or Collaborations in Canvas to keep in touch and encourage communication and engagement with your students. For more information check out the Getting Started with Canvas at Queens online course. (available on your Canvas dashboard or through Help) Lesson 5 Groups and Communications will guide you through all these tools.

Announcements: Watch this short 2 minute video tutorial Announcements Overview to learn how to use Announcements in Canvas. Announcements are used in Canvas to communicate important information to all students. Further information and guides.

Discussions: Watch this short 5 minute video tutorial Discussions Overview to learn how to use Discussions in Canvas. Discussions should be used in Canvas to encourage communication, participation and engagement between instructors and students. They will help to build a sense of community and can be used as graded activities. Further information and guides.

Chat: Watch this short 2 minute video tutorial Chat Overview to learn how to use live chat in Canvas. The Chat feature in Canvas allows staff and students to interact with each other in real time. Further information and guides.

Inbox/Email: Watch this short 4 minute video tutorial Conversations Overview to learn how to use the Inbox/email functionality within Canvas. Conversations are effectively your emails within Canvas (Inbox on the Global Navigation menu). This is where you can send and receive email communications between instructors and students. Further information and guides.

Groups: Watch this short 3 minute video tutorial Groups Creation & Management to learn how to use the Groups functionality within Canvas. The ‘People’ link within Canvas enables you to create groups of students within a Canvas course. When you create a group, you are essentially creating a digital space for those students to collaborate and communicate. Each Group has its own announcements feature, discussions area, content pages, space for files, opportunities to hold conferences and participate in real-time collaboration. Further information and guides.

Collaborations: Watch this short 2 minute video tutorial Create & Manage Collaborations in Canvas to learn how to use the Groups functionality within Canvas. Collaborations are used in Canvas to enable students to communicate with each other by being able to view and edit a shared document. Further information and guides.

Category: Keep Teaching with Canvas FAQs