Communicate with Students

Canvas offers two main methods to communicate with students:

Other means of communicating with students include Discussions, Nectir, and Chat.

In Canvas, click Announcements on the left Course Navigation Menu, then +Announcements in top right.
Enter Announcement Title and Content. Add images or links in the Rich Content Editor (RCE).
By default, Announcements are sent to all sections of the course. Choose section(s) from the Post to drop-down menu.

If desired, upload an attachment and select any additional options. Click Save.

Things to Know About Announcements:

Announcement/Inbox notifications will not be sent if the course is not published. Publish the course before sending the communication if you want students to receive a notification.
Once you click Save, the announcement will be available immediately (unless you enter an Available from date).
By default, announcement notifications are sent to students' UCSB email addresses and are available on the Canvas course Announcements page.
Announcement notifications are not sent retroactively to students who add the course after it has been sent. They can see the announcement on the Canvas course Announcements page or the homepage.

Instructors can use the Canvas Inbox to message one, multiple, or all students in the course.

- Select the course from the dropdown
- You can search for the user in the To: field or use the Course Roster button to select the user.
- The Course Roster allows you to send it to all Teachers in the course, all TAs in the course, or all students in the course.

Enter Subject and Message. Select Send an individual message to each recipient if you wish to send the message BCC. You can add files or media content. Click Send.

By default, inbox notifications are sent to students' UCSB email addresses and are available on Canvas via the student's Inbox.

Discussions