Microsoft Teams and Canvas...

GideonWilliams · ‎05-05-2019

We have 1-1 Surface Pro devices so students and staff are big users of the stylus and OneNote. Increasingly noticing an either Canvas or OneNote situation happening when ideally it should using BOTH as and where the software best suits the purpose with transition back and forward when needed/directed.

The stylus set up for Canvas has been implemented for teachers marking assignments. Despite a number of improvements it is still glitchy (to use that popular student term). Read @jfenton ‌ great post here - Thoughts on Stylus Support in SpeedGrader

Much more work is needed to give staff the confidence to use it and this is where OneNote definitely has the edge. If there were a way for students to move "seamlessly" between one and the other from the same location then it may be the first steps to getting the most effective use from both platforms.

Recently started looking at Microsoft Teams (via the Microsoft Educators Community) and rather impressed by what I see. I like the convenience of the one location where it might be possible for you or students to access all resources you need.

When Teams was announced it did so rather mischievously with a video that included a Canvas icon in the PowerApps collection. 3+ years down the line, there is still no movement on integration. Teams now offers integration with Moodle VLE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHlPt22nKoE if you are interested.

So I tweeted about this and got a very positive reply from Justin Chando, the Principal Product Manager of MicrosoftEDU:

So, CALLING ANY OFFICE365, GROUPS AND ONENOTE USERS, can I have your suggestions please for integration with Canvas and I will send the link to this post or collate the responses and send to him

Who knows what might happen....?

My own requests would be as follows:

Integration with Teams Site as opposed to Office365 - Teams integration would make workflow better in Canvas
Users in a team able to embed documents directly into Canvas - all documents are live
File repository system in Canvas become redundant - no need to upload files or create PDFs
Ownership of document and document access is set by the Team site and not by individuals - if a user leaves a school then all the files links made in Canvas STAY as opposed to what happens now
OneNote ClassNotebooks set up accessible via Teams

18/01/20 Note: Since writing this post there has been some movement (pretty much on the Microsoft side if truth be told). Point 5 is possible and parts of Point 4. Still a way to go!

29/04/20 Note: Lots of rumours and speculation but nobody any the wiser...

Bobby2 · ‎05-05-2019

Goodness me, that would be lovely @GideonWilliams

Teams is slowly taking over our world also.

Wouldn't it be delicious if it integrated.

gibbonsd · ‎05-06-2019

Faculty members keep asking when Teams will be integrated.

Maeve_McCooey · ‎05-07-2019

This sounds great @GideonWilliams I agree completely with you on the one location for users to access their content/tools. It would also be great if the Canvas O365 LTI integration could:

- use the sign-in details for users who have already signed into Canvas using O365 and eliminate the need for multiple logins.
- create a mirrored Canvas Account, Course, User hierarchy structure through association with a blueprint - similar to what is created/associated when creating an assignment using the Turnitin LTI integration. Ideally this could be trigged through association with a blueprint with the Teams integration enabled.
- calendar sync between O365/Exchange/Outlook/Teams and Canvas.

The dream goal would be to bring the best bits of Teams to Canvas and vice versa, streamlining the user experience and reducing the duplication of administrative activity. #o365‌ #msteams‌ #office365 lti‌ #office365‌

DaleDrees · ‎05-07-2019

This would be great for our school @GideonWilliams ‌!

tlesteves · ‎05-13-2019

Teams offers a great way for students to connect with faculty, advisers and classmates through the chat function. If they could seamlessly connect to this through Teams, it would be great. A workaround that I have used in the meantime is to add a tab in my Teams team (the nomenclature is a bit awkward) for their Canvas site, so if they work from Teams they can access Canvas, although it would be better if it were actually integrated.

tnaylwar · ‎05-28-2019

This would be a great integration for our school district! @GideonWilliams ‌

PSU_Tony · ‎05-28-2019

Having Teams integrate with Canvas in a GOOD LTI would be great. OneNote's LTI was terrible. The O365 LTI (built by Instructure) is a little better, but pretty weak feature wise. Hopefully Microsoft isn't just going to wait around for Google's CourseKit to storm the castle.

Kevin_W · ‎06-03-2019

Just came across this post!

First of all...I'm a fan of any and all integration that could take place with Teams/Canvas. I'm currently deep into Teams implementation for all admin/faculty groups here on our campus. I keep coming across more uses for classroom and canvas integration.

Just speaking with a coworker and he suggested a tab in Teams that would give access to courses without leaving Teams. All the files and the O365 integration right at the fingertips as well! Exactly like you suggested, Tammy!

Other items where Teams could help us out:

Simultaneous Dual Camera meetings in Teams - We are launching conferencing carts for instruction. These carts will be going in schools/classrooms in our county for our dual enrollment population. We would like to run these via Teams but the cart where the instructor is will require dual cameras running simultaneously. Teams doesn't offer this solution. Zoom does. If we could schedule these meetings via a Teams/Canvas integration with multi-camera support that would be amazing. Would love students to be able to (more) easily access these class meetings via Canvas through Teams.
Screencasting. I have an instructor that would like to walk the room and have the ability to take a picture of a student math problem/answer (via mobile device) and put it up on the classroom display and annotate it for the class. The workaround: I have them create a meeting in Teams and access it with both the teacher station and their mobile device. Then they can share their mobile device screen to the meeting. If a student needs to share, the Instructor can invite them to the meeting and the student can then share their screen as well. This is a little clunky. Not much of a Canvas integration item for this one but might be worth noting for the microsoft edu rep. Could probably also use the meet now feature in a channel.

On a related note, I had a meeting with CircleIn today and it seems like a lot of what is done in CircleIn can be accomplished using Teams/Channels...obviously without some of the features (points, push recommendations...) but we'd also be saving a lot of money.

We'll be contacting Microsoft on our end, too.

GideonWilliams · ‎06-03-2019

Many thanks for this comprehensive post @Kevin_W ‌

hasan_yildirim · ‎06-05-2019

Great Work, this would be an game changer. as the collaboration within MS Teams is far superior. Please use my previous comments also. Let me take this oppurtunity for clearing out that it is not only ms teams but also publishing right from Word and PowerPoint would be great.

Kevin_W · ‎06-05-2019

Similar to the add-ins students have to turn-in directly from Word & PowerPoint?

GideonWilliams · ‎06-06-2019

I have recently signed up to this free online conference on Team via - https://events.collab365.community/events/teams-virtual-summit-2019/

Here is an introductory video that explains some of what Teams is- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFQszYALS_A and might be of interest to Heads of Department/Faculty.

Bobby2 · ‎06-06-2019

Super helpful - as always @GideonWilliams

GideonWilliams · ‎06-06-2019

I do think the way forward is closer alliance/allegiance - works well for Teams and Moodle (at first sight)

The either OneNote or Canvas continues to concern me in a way that say Canvas and an ePortfolio software would not

Need to get Microsoft products and Canvas talking EFFECTIVELY to each other and supporting both teacher and student needs. Perhaps the best way is through a Teams platform?

Bobby2 · ‎06-06-2019

Some Microsoft options play beautifully in Canvas. Others are a bit 'iffy'. Now that some collaborations quirks are clearer they are getting more uptake. Some teachers are making the most of the Class Notebook beautifully, others find it too clunky. Depends on the purpose and how much the user perseveres sometimes.

I'm reluctant to sing Teams praises too much as some people are tempted to use it as a stand alone LMS and ignore the huge potential within Canvas.

PSU_Tony · ‎06-06-2019

Which ones play beautifully? I must have missed those. Also, Teams may be "taking over the world", but Google is now seriously entering the higher ed market. Should be interesting. Especially for those universities that are fine with O365 and G Suite.

GideonWilliams · ‎06-06-2019

Not seeing Teams as an LMS but I am conscious that many see Canvas and Class Notebook as an either/or situation. I am all for multiple products provide there is effective integration between them. What disappoints me the most is where the potential is lost by not following the process through. Google Integration with Canvas being a point in question.

I want the Teams integration to make workflow better in Canvas. Users in a team can embed documents directly into Canvas. Documents are live. No need to have the File repository system in Canvas. Document ownership is set by the Team Site and not by individuals. So if a user leaves a school then all the files links made in Canvas STAY as opposed to what happens now.

Bobby2 · ‎06-06-2019

I totally get where you are coming from @GideonWilliams . Your point about when users leave is a particularly important one also. All sorts of hassles there.

GideonWilliams · ‎09-05-2019

Many thanks to sarafriz‌ for a post comment to this website - https://microsoftteams.eventbuilder.com/TeamsEducationEvent and the free Learning Management Systems and Microsoft Teams – a better together story webinar

The discussion about Teams and Canvas appears at about 11:30 mins (to 17:00 mins) but the entire webinar is well worth a watch.

Looks rather exciting, especially the OneNote demo and Canvas - all in the same location..! @benjamin_bradsh ‌

Well worth watching beyond the 17:00 min mark to see how Moodle is integrated with Teams - a hugely powerful and well developed integration and what I think Canvas need to replicate (or make better!)

Thanks Sara

DaleDrees · ‎09-05-2019

Thanks for the update @GideonWilliams on Teams!

johnsenp · ‎09-05-2019

My teaching team would like the ability to directly access SharePoint from Canvas when uploading a Cloud Assignment. Across our team, we share the same documents that are all stored in a SharePoint. At this point, we all have to individually copy the desired file into our own individual OneDrives before uploading as a Cloud Assignment. This creates multiple copies of the same document in different locations that all have to be individually managed. It would be much more efficient if we could all upload the single shared document from our SharePoint.

GideonWilliams · ‎09-07-2019

The Moodle integration is very well developed (besides the Office365 integration). It would be good to find out whether this is possible. If so it would be a massive step forward. I am particularly interested in the AI help bot application which is shown towards the end of the video about supporting users in Moodle. WOuld be amazing to have this functionality within Canvas.

gmorris1 · ‎11-21-2019

This would be nothing short of magical and miraculous! We need this! We want this! We must have this!

leavoj · ‎01-17-2020

I would like to follow this thread as well. I am new to canvas. I am finding it ok with having the assignments recorded. But It would be nice to have the teams, or even a feed able to embed into a canvas page. This was I can include daily assignments without having to create a separate page linking to that specific assignment and can adapt my lesson my on the fly. I can use it to also give a schedule for the students to adhere to each specific day rather than put on the board.

GideonWilliams · ‎01-18-2020

Great that you have added your voice here. Integration is most definitely the way forward. Important that we get the best out of all tools and not have them seen as either/or!

r_francois · ‎01-29-2020

Point 2 would be great. Give access to files in teams (sharepoint) and have live access to the same document. If the "office 365" link can give access to the personal one-drive ant google drive this should not be so difficult for the documents in MS teams would it?

I hope the integration will be possible for us shortly. office365‌

Stef_retired · ‎03-16-2020

@GideonWilliams ‌ and everyone else participating in this conversation, we've now implemented a Microsoft Teams Meetings LTI for Canvas. You'll find instructions for setting it up in Microsoft Teams Meetings in Canvas .

Bobby2 · ‎03-16-2020

This is BRILLIANT stefaniesanderse. We implemented it today. Wahoooo.

spraguem · ‎04-01-2020

I do not need to integrate Teams Meetings into Canvas. My university already has WebEx, which is quite capable for live meetings. Many others also have Zoom for that purpose. What I would like to have is a way to integrate Teams channels into Canvas. My courses have a lot of group work, and the chat and file storage functions in Teams are easier to use and more responsive in real-time interactions than Canvas discussions. It would be nice to have this work with Canvas groups.

Kevin_W · ‎04-01-2020

I second this! The use of Teams for course group work was just starting to take hold before the pandemic and now with campus closed the use has exploded. Instructors are using private groups in most cases. We were once told from a microsoft engineer that Teams would never live in Canvas, it would be the exact opposite with Canvas living in Teams. One way or another, it would be great!

GideonWilliams · ‎04-02-2020

I still have lots of questions about the integration (which I have now turned off after testing). Think that it is a different model for K12 use and concerned that there are a number of issues still to be addressed.

As far as I can see the integration just sets up a link in your course with Teams. There is no specific location for the meeting - which is where the problems begin. As the link is not tied to a channel or group it just sits in a Chat area. I still don't know what permissions the students have when they access this and I wish this was much clearer in the notes as K12 is not the same as University/College/Post-18

I have contacted my CSM for further clarification.

drimmer · ‎04-28-2020

Hello, @GideonWilliams !

I'm baaaaaack!

Yes, Canvas has called me home after a very long absence - who would have guessed it would take a global pandemic to encourage my students online? Anyway, we're teaching online with Zoom and Teams. I immediately asked to use Canvas because all my resources are still here waiting for me like a loyal dog...but we weren't supposed to teach them to use too many new things (Zoom was enough...) but I needed some way to receive work and return marked work, so I got them on Teams because they already have Office365 log-ins and they wouldn't have to learn new username/password info.

So...Teams is rubbish compared to Canvas - and I hoped there was some nifty Canvas-LTI-Teams-combo-integration happening; I need them to submit their work (and get it back) in Teams but I want the better quality grade book of Canvas, so I'd like to mark and store marks in Canvas that students can see in Teams - is that possible do you think?

Also, how are you?

Thanks,

Dawn

Renee_Carney · ‎04-28-2020

Welcome back! We have sincerely missed you!

drimmer · ‎04-28-2020

Sure, I've not had a Teams chat yet, but I'm confident my new Zoom skillz have put me in good stead for advancing further into the cyberworld...

drimmer · ‎04-28-2020

And I've missed Canvas...

*yellow emoji face with heart eyes*

drimmer · ‎04-28-2020

Wednesday 29th 11am BST?

DM me to arrange!

mbuonato · ‎04-30-2020

Has anyone converted a classnotebook to a teams notebook and kept the teams and canvas integration or is it one or the other?

GideonWilliams · ‎07-01-2020

https://skooler.com/moodle-by-skooler/ Teams with integrated Moodle LMS...

View Moodle course assets in Teams
Moodle Calendar in Teams
Automation of Teams from Moodle course
....so its possible!

GideonWilliams · ‎08-03-2020

Update on new features on Microsoft Teams via @mbuonato ‌ Q&A Microsoft Teams & Classnotebook

Nothing specific about Canvas but an interesting mention of integration developments with D2L LMS and this from BrightSpace press release - Brightspace Now Integrates with Microsoft Teams | Press Release | D2L

DanielleRose · ‎01-30-2021

Here is an integration that will automate the creation of teams in Microsoft Teams based on your Canvas Courses and it automatically synchronises all the teachers and students from Canvas to Teams. It can also create Teams meetings for online classes automatically and put the meeting links directly in Canvas. Link here.

GideonWilliams · ‎01-30-2021

Thanks @DanielleRose this looks rather interesting. How did you come across this? Have you got this installed at your institution?

Ive copied in @stephen_taylor for a look see.

stephen_taylor · ‎02-01-2021

@GideonWilliams I know that Canvas is working towards having this natively on it's systems. You can use the API and the SIS data to automate it for you which is what it seems LearnX is doing with it.