Teaching and Learning Resource Center

Carmen Notification Preferences

There are three steps you'll need to complete to set up your email and notifications within the CarmenCanvas Inbox messaging system.

Inbox allows users to send messages within Canvas to each other. You can access the Inbox from the global navigation, available in all courses.

Instructors: See Communicating with Students for additional instructional information.

Step 1: Add Email Addresses

By default, all notification emails are sent to your official Ohio State email address (lastname.#@osu.edu).

When another user sends you a message within Canvas, you will receive an email copy if you have set up your Notifications to do so. You can then reply to the Canvas message from the email notification or from within the Canvas Inbox. 

UX Tip

You can only reply to the message from your email if you have added that email address to Canvas. If you reply to the notification message from an address not added to Canvas, your response will not go through.

Before doing anything else in Canvas, we highly encourage all users to add your lastname.#@buckeyemail.osu.edu address and any other email addresses from which you would like to reply to messages.

Caution

If you signed-up for notifications but are not receiving them, be sure you have confirmed your email address.

See the Canvas article on adding additional email addresses to your Canvas account

Step 2: Set Up Notifications

All users can set their own notification preferences. Students are encouraged to select their notification preferences in order to receive updates on course announcements, grades, and assignment updates.

Caution

Some notifications may contain confidential information. Selecting to receive notifications at an email other than your institution-provided address may result in sending sensitive course and group information outside of the institutional system.

If you would like to receive an email copy of the messages you send in Canvas, set up your notifications to receive notifications for Conversations Created By Me.

You can set the following notifications:

  • Content type (e.g., grades, announcements, discussion posts, etc.)
  • Frequency of notifications
  • Where the notifications are sent (e.g., text message or additional email address)
  • Push notifications to mobile devices

See the following Canvas guides for directions setting your notification preferences: 

Instructors

Students

 

Step 3: Safelist Canvas Emails

In some cases, Canvas notifications may filter into your Junk or Spam folder. Notifications are sent from the following address: notifications@instructure.com.

If this happens, you can add Canvas to a list of "Safe senders," which automatically places all Canvas notifications into your inbox.

UX Tip

If you are forwarding your email to a provider other than BuckeyeMail, be sure to check the Spam folder for Canvas notifications. See your email provider's documentation for relevant information about  "safe senders" to ensure you receive emails from Canvas.

To add Canvas to BuckeyeMail's list of "Safe senders":

  1. Login to buckeyemail.osu.edu
  2. Click the gear icon in the upper-right corner of the page. Additional options appear.
  3. Click View all Outlook settings at the bottom of the pane. 
    Image
    View all Outlook settings to add email to safe list.
  4. Click Mail from the left-hand sidebar, if you are not already there.
  5. Click on Junk email from the middle column. 
  6. Click on the + Add button
  7. Enter notifications@instructure.com into the Safe Senders and Recipients box.
  8. Click Save.
    Update mail and junk mail settings to safe list Canvas emails.
     
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