Notification Preferences in Canvas

Notification preferences are the frequency with which you receive certain notifications from Canvas at your external email address or in a secondary application. Instructure sets the default settings to match the preferences of the majority of Canvas users. Depending on your class size or how often you plan on logging into Canvas, you might want to adjust the settings to suit your needs better. You can opt for fewer or more notifications at any time.

On This Page

Adjust Notifications for All Classes

1

Log into Canvas and click on the user profile image in the top, left-hand corner, then click on Notifications

Canvas page with user profile selected and Notifications link highlighted

 
2

Click on the icon to the right of the activity for which you want to adjust the notification

Adjustments save immediately; no need to save manually.

notification icon selected showing the options notify immediately, daily summary, weekly summary, notifications off

Adjust Notifications for One Class

To add settings that will override the global settings for a single course:

1

From the course homepage, click on the View Course Notifications button on the right hand side

Canvas course page with View Course Notifications button highlighted

 
2

Click on the green pill slider to disable notifications for this class

notification icon selected showing the options notify immediately, daily summary, weekly summary, notifications off

Or, click on the icon to the right of the activity for which you want to adjust the notification

Adjustments save immediately; no need to save manually.

Types of Notifications

Conversations

  • Notify immediately will mean you get an external email for each message sent in Canvas. You will be able to reply from your email inbox to messages sent to you within Canvas.
  • Daily summary or Weekly summary will mean you get one email a day or a week that can prompt you to log into Canvas to reply to student messages.
  • Notifications off is a good choice if you want to keep messages in Canvas and you plan on logging into Canvas daily.

Discussions

  • Notify immediately will mean you get an external email for each discussion post sent in Canvas. If you have a large class, this could make for a flooded email inbox. Immediate notification is a good option if you are only using discussions for a Q & A (not assignments) and you want to know right away if students have posted a question.
  • Daily summary or Weekly summary will mean you get one email a day or a week that can prompt you to log into Canvas to reply to student messages.
  • Notifications off is a good choice if you mainly use discussions as assignments and only need to read posts when you are grading. If you are worried about netiquette issues in the discussions, it’s a good idea to check in daily, or get a daily summary notification, and address any problems you see.

Receive Notifications at a Different Email Address

If you use Zoom for any of your classes, you need to have your @usu.edu email address (or @aggiemail.usu.edu if you don't have an @usu.edu email) set as your default email in Banner and in Canvas. However, if you would like to receive notifications at a different email address, you can add that other email address to your Canvas account and set the notifications to your @usu.edu email address to off. See How do I add an additional email address as a contact method in Canvas as an instructor?

Additional Resources