Using Microsoft Teams Integrations in Canvas

Description 

Integrations are a way to utilize the tools and functionality provided by other vendors within your Canvas courses. Microsoft Teams offers three different integrations within Canvas: Teams Classes, Teams Assignments, and Teams Meetings. This article will provide an overview and instructions for each. 

Please note that the Teams Assignment integration is coming May 8, 2025, and Microsoft recently announced changes to the Teams Meeting and Teams Classes integrations coming June 15, 2025. 

Environment 

Canvas in your web browser 

Solution 

Enable Microsoft Sync 

Before you can use any Microsoft integration (Teams Classes, Teams Assignments, or Teams Meetings) in your Canvas courses, you must enable the Microsoft Sync functionality. 

  1. Navigate to your Canvas course. 
  2. Select Settings from the course navigation menu. 
  3. On the Settings page, select Integrations. 
  4. Ensure the Microsoft Sync is set to on (the toggle switch should be pushed to the right). 
  5. Select Sync Now.

Teams Classes 

The Teams Classes integration will automatically create a team based on your Canvas course. The Teams Class will have the same name as your Canvas course. The membership of the Teams Class will be automatically populated by the enrollments (users) in your Canvas course. Student add/drops from the Canvas course will automatically update in the Teams Class. 

Please note: If you intend to cross-list or merge multiple courses in Canvas, you should do so before you create the associated Teams Class. 

Setting up a Teams Class via Integration 

  1. Enable Microsoft Sync (see above). 
  2. If you are cross-listing or merging your courses in Canvas, please do so first. 
  3. In your course navigation menu, select Microsoft Teams classes 
  4. You will be prompted to sign into Microsoft Teams, please follow the on-screen prompts to do so. 
  5. It will take up to 15 minutes to process. When complete, you will see your Microsoft Teams Classes tile. 
  6. Select Open to launch the Teams Class. 
  7. When you have your Teams Class configured to your specifications, don’t forget to Activate the Team to allow students to access it. 
    • Students will be able to access the Teams Class from the link within your Canvas course, or any way that they would normally access Teams (browser, app, etc.). 

Troubleshooting 

  • Make sure third-party cookies are enabled in your browser. 
  • Make sure that you have Enabled Microsoft Sync. 
  • If you can log into Microsoft Teams, but do not see your Class tile,select the … menu and select Go To Teams. This will open Teams in a new browser window, and you should be able to use the Teams navigation options to select your new Teams Class. 
    • Remember it will have the same name as your Canvas Course. 

Teams Assignments (Coming May 8, 2025) 

The Teams Assignment integration allows instructors to create assignments in Teams Classes, link to those assignments within their Canvas courses, and push the grades from the Teams Class Assignments to the Canvas course gradebook.  

Teams assignments include the ability to use: 

  • Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files 
  • Class Notebook pages 
  • Stream video recordings 
  • Microsoft Whiteboard 
  • Forms, quizzes, and polls 
  • And more 

When creating those Teams Assignments, instructors can leverage Microsoft’s generative AI tools, allowing instructors to save time creating their assignments. 

These AI-powered Assignment creation features include: 

  • Assignment instructions 
  • Rubrics 
  • Classwork modules 
  • Reading passage creation 
  • Comprehension questions 

This video from Microsoft provides an overview of these AI functions. 

Adding a Teams Assignment to your Canvas Course 

  1. In your Canvas course, select Assignments in the course navigation menu. 
  2. Using the three dots menu, select Teams Assignments. 
  3. Select Create. 
    • You can also navigate to Drafts or select an existing assignment that hasn’t been linked to the Canvas course yet. 
  4. This will open your Teams course in a new tab. Complete the steps to set up your assignment. 
    • Give it a name. 
  5. Select Assign.  
  6. Go back to the Canvas and select Refresh. 
  7. Select the assignment you have just created. 
  8. Select Link. 

Teams Meetings 

The Teams meeting integration within Canvas allows instructors to schedule Teams meetings with all or select students from within the course. The meeting invitation will show up in the instructor’s and recipient’s Outlook calendar, as with any normal Teams meeting invitation. In addition, the meeting will also appear within the Canvas Course, under the Microsoft Teams meeting link in the course navigation menu.  
 
It is important to note that the meetings do not appear in the Canvas course calendar. If you would like them to appear in the Canvas course calendar, you would need to manually add the calendar entry.  

Add a Teams Meeting to your Canvas Course Calendar 

  1. Create the Teams meeting and make a note of the date, time, and meeting link. 
  2. In your Canvas course, go to Settings and select Course Calendar from the right menu. 
  3. If you are teaching more than one course, ensure that the proper course is selected within the calendar. 
  4. Select the + and then select Event to create a new event. 
    1. Give it the title, date, time, and link from your Teams Meeting. 
    2. Select Submit. 

Get Help from Canvas

  • Live chat with Canvas support (Faculty) 
  • Get 24-hours/7-days a week Canvas support  
    • Dial the Canvas Support Hotline number located under "Get Help" in the Canvas Global Navigation Menu 
    • Contact OIT at 740-593-1222 for questions related to logging in, test courses/manually created courses, or third-party tools (Panopto, VoiceThread, Inclusive Access, etc.) 

Get Help from OIT

Additional Resources 

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