Canvas logo, MSU logo, and silhouettes of mountains

 

In D2L, email communication was sent to external email addresses and functions as a traditional email system, allowing users to manage messages outside of the LMS. In contrast, Canvas uses the Inbox, an internal messaging tool tied directly to courses, where all messages stay within the LMS but can send notifications to external emails if configured. There is no need to set up anything on your end.  

What is the Inbox?

The Inbox is a messaging tool used to communicate with a course, a group, an individual student, or a group of students. You can use the Inbox to communicate with others in your course. 

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 and its term date has passed, you can no longer message students in that course. 
  • If your institution has enabled personal pronouns and users have selected their pronouns, the pronouns display within message details and alongside names in the Inbox search fields. 

When would I use the Inbox? 

 Canvas inbox with several messages on the left side of the panel

Use the Inbox to: 

Learn more about using the Inbox. 

Note: You can adjust your notification settings to receive messages using external channels.