How Do I Use the Microsoft Education Tool in Canvas (Instructor Role)?

[Adapted from Ohio University IT Service Desk's post, Using the Microsoft Integration in Canvas.]

Summary

The Microsoft Education integration brings several Microsoft 365 tools into Canvas in one place. These include Class Notebook, Teams Meetings, Teams, Reflect, and Assignments. This integration replaces the older Microsoft Teams and Teams Meetings integrations, which Microsoft is retiring in September 2025. UHCL has only deactivated Teams Meetings and Teams Classes ahead of time to prevent confusion. The remaining Microsoft tools will be available until the end of the Fall 2025 semester, or until Microsoft deprecates them.

This article explains how to enable and use the Microsoft Education integration within your UHCL Canvas courses.

Content

Step 1: Enable Microsoft Sync

If you plan to cross-list or merge courses in Canvas, complete that step before enabling Microsoft Sync. Sync automatically creates your Teams Class based on Canvas enrollments.

1. Go to your Canvas course.

2. Select Settings from the course navigation menu.

3. Open the Integrations tab.

4. Toggle Microsoft Sync to On.

5. Select Sync Now.

Step 2: Set Up Microsoft Education

1. Log in to your Canvas course.

2. Select Microsoft Education from the course navigation menu.

3. Choose Continue Setup.

4. Optional: Disable email notifications for updates to the Microsoft 365 LTI app under Notifications.

5. Select General.

6. Choose the features you want to use: Class Notebook, Teams Meetings, Teams, Reflect, or Assignments.

   • Note: The standalone OneDrive integration remains available.

7. Select Done and wait for your class setup. You’ll see a dashboard with tiles for your enabled features.

Features

Class Notebook

• Create and manage a OneNote Class Notebook.

• Section types include:

  • Collaboration Space: editable by teacher and students

  • Content Library: editable by teacher, view-only for students

  • Teacher-Only Section: private to instructors

  • Student-Only Section: private for individual students

Teams Meetings

• Schedule Teams meetings with students directly from your course.

• Invitations appear in Outlook calendars.

• Note: Meetings do not automatically appear in the Canvas course calendar. To add them, create a Canvas Calendar event with the meeting link.

Teams Classes

• Automatically created when Microsoft Sync is enabled.

• Enrollment updates reflect Canvas add/drops.

• Be sure to Activate your Team before students can access it.

Reflect

• Allows instructors to create quick check-ins and monitor student well-being.

Teams Assignments

• Brings Microsoft’s Learning Accelerators (Reading Progress, Math Progress, etc.) into Canvas.

• Assignments created here sync with the Canvas gradebook.

• You can create new assignments or link existing ones from Teams.

• Assignments must be Published before students can see them.

Additional Resources

• Microsoft Support: Teams Meetings in Canvas

• Microsoft Support: Teams Classes in Canvas

• Microsoft Support: Assignment Basics

• Video: Overview of AI Assignment Features

Need Additional Help?

On behalf of OIT’s Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team, we hope this tutorial was useful. If you encounter any difficulties or have questions related to this procedure, please contact us via either of the following options:

• Contact our colleagues in OIT’s Support Center to have a help ticket created and assigned to the IDT team. You may contact the Support Center via email (supportcenter@uhcl.edu) or by telephone (281.283.2828).
• Contact the IDT team directly via an email to IDT@uhcl.edu.

Once we receive your inquiry, a member of the IDT team will contact you as quickly as resources permit.