When your class is online, you'll need to create opportunities for communication with students, since you won't be seeing them in person. Canvas has a lot of tools that can help you stay in contact with students, but we just recommend choosing a few forms of online communication and monitoring them closely. That way students will feel heard and questions can be answered as quickly as possible.

Announcements
Email & Canvas Inbox
Discussions
Online Office Hours (Zoom)

Announcements

Announcements are a great tool for communicating with your students in Canvas. Announcements can be used to communicate with students at the beginning of a course and for weekly updates. Announcements can be scheduled to go out at a certain date and time, or can be sent immediately. Additionally, recent announcments can be embedded on your home page.

Announcements Overview (4 minutes)

519 - Announcements Overview from Canvas LMS on Vimeo.

Tips for Using Announcements (3 minutes)

Maintaining communication with students via email is a common option, and its better than nothing! But the communication tools in Canvas might helpful to keep communication within each of your courses a little clearer and more organized.

Canvas Inbox

The Canvas Inbox, often referred to as 'Conversations', is not linked to your SMCCCD email account, but you will get copies of your inbox messages in your email (depending on your Notification settings). Therefore, messages initiated through the Canvas inbox can be answered and tracked through your email account. You can respond in your email and the message will be sent to the student through Canvas. Encouraging students to communicate with you through Canvas helps to track instructor-student contact in Canvas activity reports.

Conversations Overview (5 mintes)

115 - Conversations Overview from Canvas LMS on Vimeo.

Discussions

Discussions can be used for graded assignments, but they are also a great way to create communication space in your course. Things like a Student Lounge Discussion, where students can collaborate and support one another, or a Q&A Discussion, where students and the instructor can answer questions about the course, are great ways to give students multiple ways to contact you when they need help.

Discussions Overview (5 minutes)

516 - Discussions Overview from Instructure Canvas Community on Vimeo.

Online Office Hours (Zoom)

When you move your course online, you need to move your office hours online as well. Online office hours are another great way to get in touch with your students and give them an opportunity to speak directly to you and get help. Zoom is a great tool that the District provides, to support hosting online meetings and online office hours.

The last module in this Quick Guide, 3 - Host Synchronous Online Meetings & Office Hours, will take you through how to access Zoom, how to host a Zoom meeting and how to share a recording of your meeting if you need to.