A Note on Notifications
On the user Dashboard, which is the first page that users see when they log in, Canvas displays indicators of the changes that have taken place in their courses. This includes recently graded items and announcements. The Inbox button also lets users know if other users have sent messages via the Conversations tool, which is a communications tool internal to Canvas.
Notifications is the tool that sends these indicators via email and/or text message. They are sent at a frequency and method chosen by the user. It is a great help to students (and instructors too!) when we are relieved of the burden of having to decide how frequently to log in check activity in our courses. Notifications are available to students and instructors, and each user can choose how to receive notifications from Canvas. That includes using an alternate email address, which might be great news for students who do not want their extant email addresses made irrelevant when they enroll at a college that provides them with one.
By giving users more control over how they receive notifications from Canvas, its internal communication tool (Conversations) becomes usable. As long as instructor encourages students to check their notification preferences, the Conversations tool can be used confidently by instructors (and students) to initiate contact with their classmates. The Conversations tool in accessed via the Inbox link in Global Navigation.
By default the preferences related to Conversations is to receive a notification as soon as possible to the email address that is related with your account, so if you do not check your preferences you may still receive notifications via email. Take a moment to check your notifications preferences now.