Using the Microsoft Education Integration in Canvas

Microsoft Education offers different integrations within Canvas in a single dashboard: Class Notebook, Teams Meetings, Teams, Reflect, and Assignments. This article will provide an overview and instructions for each.

Description 

Integrations are a way to utilize the tools and functionality provided by other vendors within your Canvas courses. The Microsoft Education integration is a replacement for Microsoft Teams classes and Microsoft Teams meetings integrations, which OIT will retire on August 22nd, 2025. Microsoft announced it will retire these older integrations on September 15, 2025, so we are removing them prior to the start of the fall semester to avoid confusion for instructors and students. 

Microsoft Education offers different integrations within Canvas in a single dashboard: Class Notebook, Teams Meetings, Teams, Reflect, and Assignments. This article will provide an overview and instructions for each.   

Environment 

Canvas in your web browser 

Solution 

• Step 1: Enable Microsoft Sync 
• Step 2: Set up Microsoft Education
• Step 3: Configure any of the following
  • Class Notebook
  • Teams Meetings 
  • Teams Classes
  • Reflect 
  • Teams Assignments

Enable Microsoft Sync 

Note: If you intend to cross-list or merge multiple courses in Canvas, you should do so before you enable Microsoft Sync, which will automatically create your Teams Class based on Canvas course enrollment.   

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.

Set up Microsoft Education 

Once you have completed other course set up activities, you are ready to launch Microsoft Education for your course. 

1. Log in to your Canvas course  
2. Select Microsoft Education from the Course Navigation menu  
3. Select Continue Setup 
4. Optional: If you would like to opt out of receiving email notifications about new features and service changes to the Microsoft 365 LTI app, select Notifications, and toggle off Email Notifications 
5. Select General 
6. Select the features that you would like to use.  
7. Choices include;  Class Notebook, Teams Meetings, Teams, Reflect, and Assignments. The OneDrive Integration has not been enabled within Microsoft Education yet in an effort to preserve previously embedded OneDrive content in Canvas. OneDrive will still be available using the standalone OneDrive integration.  
8. If you wish you change your selections later, identify and select your user icon (upper right course), and select Course Settings.   
9. Select Done 
10. Wait for your class to be set up – this may take a few minutes. You will see a dashboard showing tiles for the items you enabled (with the exception of Assignments) once your class has been set up. You may return to this dashboard at anytime by selecting Microsoft Education in your Course Navigation menu.  

Class Notebook 

If you enabled Class Notebook during Microsoft Education setup, you can create and manage a OneNote Class Notebook. This notebook can be used to distribute content, provide individual workspaces for students, and collaborate in real time. 

To access your Class Notebook, select Microsoft Education from the Course Navigation menu, and then select Class Notebook. From there you will be able to set up a OneNote Class Notebook. You can create custom sections or choose pre-made sections.  

Section types include:  

• Collaboration space: teacher and student can edit 
• Content library: teacher can edit and student can view 
• Teacher-only section: private space for teachers 
• Student-only section: private space for students 

Learn more about using Class Notebooks in your Canvas course.

Teams Meetings  

If you enabled Teams Meetings during Microsoft Education setup you can 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. 

If you select the option for Anyone can join, that option does not send a meeting invitation to Outlook calendars or Teams, it is only visible within the Teams Meeting section of Microsoft Education.
  
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.  

Learn more about Microsoft Teams meetings in your Canvas course.

Teams Classes  

Your Team will automatically be created based on your Canvas course enrollment when you enable Microsoft Sync. 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 (students) in your Canvas course. Student add/drops from the Canvas course will automatically update in the Teams Class.  

To access your Team, select Microsoft Education from the Course Navigation menu, and then select Teams from the dashboard. From there you will see your team and be able to open it in a new window.  

When you have your Teams Class configured to your specifications, don’t forget to Activate the Team to allow students to access it. You can activate your Team by selecting the Activate button on your Team icon from the dashboard. 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.).  

Learn more about using Teams Classes in your Canvas course

Reflect 

If you enabled Reflect during Microsoft Education setup you can use Reflect to create check-ins and gain wellbeing insights. To access Reflect, select Microsoft Education from the Course Navigation menu, and then select Reflect. 

Learn more about Getting Started with Microsoft Reflect in your Canvas course

Teams Assignments  

Microsoft Education Assignments brings the Learning Accelerators: Reading Progress, Math Progress. Search Progress and Speaker Progress along with multiple document submissions, Microsoft Forms, OneNote Pages, Flip Video recordings and all of the new generative AI features of Assignments to your Canvas course. The integration allows you to add Teams Assignments right into your Canvas course in the Assignments or Modules areas, and syncs the grades directly to your Canvas gradebook.

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

Adding a Teams Assignment to your Canvas Course  

In your Canvas course, select  Assignments  in the course navigation menu.  

•  Using the kebab (three dots) menu to the right of the +Assignments button, select Microsoft Education. 
• Select the assignment or learning accelerator you would like to use. 
  • Pro tip: From existing will allow you to select an assignment you have already created within your Team to link to your course.
• Follow the on screen prompts to create your assignment.
  • Pro tip:  Use the AI options to help create or modify your instructions.
• Select Save and you will see your assignment listed in Canvas
• Select the kebab (three dots) menu next to the assignments, to select Assign To if you would like to customize who the assignment is presented to.
• You will also need to Publish the assignment before it is visible to your students. 

You can also add a Teams Assignments from the Module page in your Canvas course.

• Using the kebab (three dots) menu to the right of the +Module button, select Microsoft Education.
• Select the assignment or learning accelerator you would like to use. 
  • Pro tip: From existing will allow you to select an assignment you have already created within your Team to link to your course.
• Follow the on screen prompts to create your assignment.
  • Pro tip:  Use the AI options to help create or modify your instructions.
• Select Save and you will see your assignment listed in Canvas
• Select the kebab (three dots) menu next to the assignments, to select Assign To if you would like to customize who the assignment is presented to.
• You will also need to Publish the assignment before it is visible to your students. 

View this Microsoft Support page for Assignment Basics, Details, and Features. 

Get Help from Microsoft 

• Contact - Microsoft Support for support with the Microsoft Education integration and any of its related features. 

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

• Use the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) ticket form to submit a help ticket 
• Visit the Technology Resources and Training page for available training 

Additional Resources 

• Video overview of AI Assignment Features  
• Self-paced Microsoft course on Teams Assignments  
• Microsoft Teams Meetings in Canvas  
• Microsoft Teams Classes Canvas Integration  
• Ohio University Help and Resources for Microsoft Teams  
• Merging Courses in Canvas (Cross Listing)  
• Canvas Experts Blog – Cross Listed Courses