Communicating with Students via Canvas

Allison McComb Updated by Allison McComb

Communicating with Students via Canvas

Within the course you're facilitating, you are the primary point of contact and subject matter expert on all content for our students. In order to keep them engaged and answer their questions to the best of our ability, we have the several systems in place - some of which are outlined below:

Announcements
The majority of the announcements in your course are pre-set. These announcements will be automatically set up for you at the beginning of your course and on a schedule for when they will be sent to students.

Tip: If there is a unique element to the course, or if you have something specific you would like to announce to the class, you are also able to create your own custom announcements to be sent to students.
These can include:
Projects that may need extra time/effort
Additional resources you may deem helpful
If you have a sudden change to your live session schedule
Nudging from the Gradebook
Using the Speedgrader in Canvas, you are able to have a quick and efficient way to see which of your students are on track, and who may be falling behind. If you notice that a student has not yet submitted any assignments and you are nearing the end of the course, you may send them a nudge directly from the gradebook.
Please visit this page for a visual guide on how to nudge students from the gradebook. This helps the overall student experience as they feel they have a facilitator who is invested in their success. It can positively drive our course completion rates, and your survey scores and satisfaction rates as well.
End of Course Survey
The End of Course announcement within your courses includes a reminder for students to complete the Course Exit Survey. This survey asks for their input on both course content and their learning experience, including the course facilitation. Some information on student surveys can be found in this article.

However, your primary means of communicating 1:1 with students will take place as direct messages via the Canvas Inbox. All of the back-and-forth communication between you and the student should take place within the Canvas Inbox.

Communicating Via the Canvas Inbox

Using the Canvas inbox as your sole communication method with students will help to corroborate any communication claims by you or the student that may arise, and ensures all communication is happening within the current open course section. It also helps to track any extension requests, approvals, and helps ensure all communication stays relative to the course.

No communication should occur between you and the student via email, and students should not have access to your Cornell email addresses. If a student does reach out to you relating to their course via another medium, such as email or LinkedIn, please copy and paste these messages into Canvas for both tracking purposes and to promote or remind the student to keep communication within Canvas. Please visit this page for a visual guide on how to navigate the Canvas Inbox.

If a student is reaching out outside of the Canvas platform regarding a course that has ended more than 7 days ago and you are unable to reach them via the Canvas inbox, please let them know to reach out to the eCornell Student Support team directly as they will best be able to assist. The Student Support team can be reached at ec_helpdesk@cornell.edu or 1-800-801-0287.

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