Latest revision: 2022-01-25

During periods where you only log in to Canvas sometimes, it can be practical to be notified by e-mail if something has happened in your courses. You can change this settings as often as you want to so that it always fits your current work situation.

The appearance of the notification icons has changed since the movie was recorded. The same functions are available but the icons look like the examples below.

You decide

You can decide if Canvas will notify you at various events and how often you want these notifications. This is done by making a general setting under Account - Notifications. You can, after that, make specific settings for different courses if you want to.

TIP: Be relatively restrictive about what you choose to receive general notifications about and increase the frequency of the specific courses you have reason to keep a special eye on. You can always change notification settings if your needs change.

General notification settings

How to find notification settings

1. Click on Account.

2. Click on Notifications.

You choose how often you want to be notified by marking an icon.

Notifications options

Bell = Notify immediately
Calendar day = Daily
Calendar = Weekly
Crossed out bell = Notifications off

We highly recommend you choosing the Bell (= immediately) on conversations so that you do not miss if students want to contact you. Adjust other settings according to your tasks and your way of working.

Notifications for discussions

Course notifications

Go to the course's start page and click on the button View Course Notifications. Here, you can either completely turn the notifications off for the chosen course or change the settings so they fit your way of working in that specific course.

Notification settings for conversations cannot be set through a course. They are set through Account - Notifications.

View course notifications

The notification settings follow the general settings you have chosen in your profile, but you can change these for single courses by clicking on View Course Notifications. You can find this button in the menu on the right hand side of a course's start page.

When the course notifications are opened, the following overlay, which consists of i.a. Course activities, Discussions, Scheduling and Conferences, will be shown.

Notifications for course activities

Notifications that you receive via e-mail
Notifications that you receive via the Canvas app
Notifications are sent once a week
No notifications for these activities
Notifications are sent immediately
Notifications are sent daily

Notifications for discussions

If you have chosen to receive notifications for discussions, it will only apply to those discussions you have created or been active in. If you want to follow a discussion that you have not participated in, you will need to subscribe to it. See this in Canvas Community: How do I subscribe to a discussion as an instructor?

Get notified in your phone with push notifications

If you have downloaded the Canvas app to a mobile phone and have logged in to Canvas there, you will also have the opportunity to choose push notifications to receive a notification in you phone. Remember to allow receiving notifications from the app in your phone's settings.