Using the Canvas Inbox for Student-Parent Communication

Using the canvas inbox for student-parent communication

 

What is the Canvas Inbox?

The Canvas Inbox is a messaging tool used to communicate within a course, a group, or with individual students and their parent observers. It provides a secure platform for students, teachers, and parents to interact, ensuring that all parties stay informed and engaged.

How Can You Use the Canvas Inbox?

The Canvas Inbox can be used to:

  • Send messages to teachers, peers, and parent observers.
  • Reply to messages from others in your course.
  • Filter conversations by course or type.
  • View and reply to assignment submission comments.

Communicating with Parent Observers

  • For Students: You can use the Canvas Inbox to send messages to your parent observer, ensuring they stay updated on your progress and any important information related to your coursework.
  • For Parents: As an observer, you can view and reply to messages related to your student's courses. This helps you stay engaged in their educational journey and communicate effectively with teachers.

Important Note: The Canvas Inbox can be accessed from both the Canvas Parent and Canvas Student apps. However, it is necessary to send the first message through the web-based Canvas platform (accessed via LaunchPad) due to app-based limitations.

Guide to Accessing the Canvas Inbox

  1. Open Inbox:

    • In Global Navigation, click the Inbox link. If the Inbox link includes a numbered indicator, it shows how many unread messages you have.

  2. View Toolbar:

    • The toolbar includes options to filter your messages by course or group and type (Inbox, Unread, Starred, Sent, Archived, and Submission Comments).
    • You can search for conversations by user and compose new messages using the Compose button.

  3. View Conversations:

    • Conversations are organized chronologically from newest to oldest.
    • You can manually mark conversations as read or unread and star important conversations for quick access.

  4. Manage Conversations:

    • Within each conversation thread, you can reply, reply-all, forward, archive, star, or delete the entire conversation.

Student / Observer Inbox Tutorial

Coming Soon!

 

Important Notes

  • Users display in the Inbox once they have an active enrollment in the course, and users cannot join a course unless it is published.
  • Once a course has concluded, you cannot message users in that course.
  • For detailed guidance on using the Canvas Inbox as a student, instructor, or observer/parent, visit the Canvas Community Guides Links to an external site. or check out the Canvas Support Center accessed from the question mark tab on the right side of your Canvas web browser window.

Learn More:

  • For detailed guidance on using the Canvas Inbox as a student, instructor, or observer/parent, visit the Canvas support documentation or watch the tutorial videos available on the Canvas platform.

Summary

The Canvas Inbox is a powerful tool for maintaining effective communication within the school community. By utilizing the Inbox, students, parents, and teachers can ensure that important information is shared promptly and efficiently, fostering a supportive educational environment.