Notifications are messages triggered by different activities in your Canvas course(s). You can choose to receive each type of notification immediately, as a daily or weekly digest, or not at all.
We have found that Notification settings make a big difference to instructor satisfaction. For example, immediate notifications provide more information than daily or weekly digests.
Here’s a case study: Canvas allows students to leave a comment when they submit written assignments. Most of these comments are simple notes, such as that they enjoyed the activity. However, sometimes students say they need additional help, or have some other note that requires action on the part of the instructor.
In a digest, instructors would only see that a student submitted a comment. However, an immediate notification would display the complete comment. Receiving immediate notification saves the instructor time so they don’t have to log into Canvas to see when closer attention is needed.
This is just one of many situations in which choosing the appropriate Notification settings can improve instructor satisfaction and save time.
Important Things to Know About Notifications:
- You determine the frequency
- Your Notification settings can be customized at any time
- You determine where the notification is received
- There may be a delay in receiving notifications
- Your Notification settings are applied to all courses that you are enrolled in across UW System Canvas
- You should only use your campus email address
- Students can select their own Notification preferences
Recommended Settings
View our recommended Notification settings for instructors. This document explains how Canvas Notifications work in more detail, what Notification settings may be available to you, what triggers these notifications, and our recommended settings for instructors.
We highly recommend setting the following to Notify Me Right Away:
- Announcement
- Announcement created by you
- Invitation
- Late grading
- Submission comment
- Discussion post
- Added to conversation
- Conversation message
- Conversations created by me
- Administrative notifications (Send Daily Summary is acceptable)
How to Set Notification Settings
View the official Canvas Guide on how to set your Canvas Notification preferences as an instructor.
Ashaun Adler
My passion is developing instructional activities that make complex ideas simple and interesting to learn.
Outside of work, you can probably find me working on a craft project or learning something new. I enjoy trying new recipes, taking long walks, and playing board games.
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