In the Inbox, you can send a message to your student's teacher(s).
Notes:
- You cannot message users in multiple courses.
- You can also send a message to yourself, but messages can only be viewed in the Sent messages folder.
- You cannot send messages to users in concluded courses.
Open Inbox
In Global Navigation, click the Inbox link.
Compose Message
Click the Compose icon.
Note: The toolbar may appear different if the admin has enabled the auto-response or signature. For more information, visit How do I manage my Inbox settings as an observer?
Select Course
In the Courses drop-down menu [1], select the course where you want to send your message [2].
Add User
To add the teacher, you can search for the teacher in the To field [1] or you can use the Address Book [2].
Search for User
To search for the teacher, type the teacher's name in the To field. Canvas will automatically populate matching names. If multiple names appear, use the arrow key to select the user's name. Then press the Enter key. The teacher's name will appear in the To field, highlighted in light blue.
If you accidentally select the wrong user, press the Delete key (on a MAC keyboard) or the Backspace key (on a PC keyboard) to remove the teacher.
You can also hover over a user's name and click the white x to remove the user from the list.
Use Address Book
To select a user from the address book, click the Address Book button [1]. From the address book, locate the user's role [2] and then select the user's name [3]. Names are arranged by last name.
To navigate back to the address book, click the Back option [4].
Send Message
In the subject line field [1], enter a subject line for your message.
If you are sending your message to multiple users, but you do not want each user to see who else was included in the message, click the Send an individual message to each recipient checkbox [2]. If your message includes over 100 recipients (including you as the sender), this checkbox will be selected by default.
In the message field [3], type your message. All content is sent in plain text. Note that if you include a URL in your message, the URL will automatically become a clickable link after you send the message.
If you want to include an attachment or media file, click the Attachment or Media Files buttons [4].
When you are finished, click the Send button [5].
