New Support Resource & Admin Communication Tool

By Canvas @ Yale | Friday, August 23, 2024

Community Guides

The Poorvu Center’s Educational Technology team is excited to announce starting August 26, all Yale community members in Canvas will be able to take advantage of the new Community Guides resource, powered by Impact.  

The Community Guides, which will float in the blue Global Navigation menu, provide all users with direct access to Canvas support guides that are suggested for you based on the role you have in a course and the page you are on when launching the Community Guides tool. Utilize the top-level Canvas topics or the search bar to swiftly locate resources on Canvas @ Yale without leaving the platform to get answers. 

Canvas page with the Community Guides button highlighted in the bottom-left corner and the Community Guide interface open with guides listed.

Community Guides resource floats at the bottom of the Global Navigation menu and can be launched to search or find relevant canvas support guides.

Admin Communication Messaging Through Impact

The Educational Technology team will also begin leveraging Impact to provide more direct, targeted communication in Canvas for users to assist with bringing attention to helpful functionality or remind users of features they may find of use at different points in the semester. All messages are configured and shared from the Poorvu Center’s Educational Technology team. Communication to users through Impact is not available for instructors or other academic support staff.

Users can dismiss any message / notification they receive by clicking the “Don’t show this again” checkbox when closing out the message.

This support communication may appear in the form of a: 

Pop-Up Modal

Pop-up image on a Canvas course page with information about Extended Course Description

Communication from the Educational Technology team to Canvas users that opens a pop-up message on specific Canvas course pages with relevant information.   

Hint Message

Hint message associated with the Unpublished button on a course page.

 A hint message that appears when specific course elements load on the page to provide direct information for users about an action that can be taken.

Systray Notification

Systray message opened in the bottom-right corner of the Canvas dashboard with information about publishing a course site.

 A systray notification that appears in the bottom of Canvas pages with helpful information for specific users.