PrintMeaningful interactions among students and instructors are the hallmark of a successful online class. Canvas supports several types of communication, as described below. Registered students have Penn State email accounts (<Access Account ID>@psu.edu) that they need to monitor for any official communications that come from the University or from the Penn State World Campus.
Announcements
These are messages from your instructor that contain important information. Current announcements can be accessed through the Announcements link in Canvas. Announcements may highlight assignment due dates, changes to due dates, tips for how to do well on future assignments, and other essential course information. Announcements are made when the instructor needs to communicate with the class, including to notify the class of changes to due dates and the syllabus.
Communications from the University and from the World Campus
Occasionally, the University or the World Campus needs to communicate with students. To do so, they use the @psu.edu email address that each registered student has been given and not Canvas course email. In addition, a letter, in PDF format, that reports your final course grade will be automatically generated and sent to your @psu.edu email address. It is important that you regularly monitor your @psu.edu email account.
Setting Communication Preferences
Canvas Profile and User Settings let you control your personal information in Canvas. Take a few minutes to personalize your Canvas profile by following the instructions below. Follow the instructions on the Canvas Profile and User Settings page to customize important aspects of your profile including, but not limited to, your preferred email address(es) and text (SMS) contact method for course notifications, your time zone, and your profile picture.
You have the option to select how, when, and for what information you would like to receive notifications. This can be very helpful when keeping track of items such as discussion posts, assignment due dates, and exams. Visit the Canvas Notification Preference Support page (link is external) and follow the instructions for setting up your notification preferences.
Click on the 'Profile' link. Set your notification preferences.
To ensure that your Canvas email messages forward to your regular email account immediately, check the "Notify me right away" option (the checkmark) for each item under "Conversations" in Notification Preferences.
In the Time Zone drop-down menu, select a time zone for your course.
Consider downloading the Canvas App!