Setting Up Your Profile and Notifications in Canvas

To get ready for the course, there are a few things that you can do to prepare to get the most from this experience: 

How to Contact Your Instructor

The Canvas Conversations  Links to an external site.("inbox") tool allows you to communicate with your classmates, group members, and course  instructor from within Canvas. 

NOTE: Canvas conversation-messaging is not the same as email. Rather, it is an internal messaging system that gives you  the option to receive email, text-message, or other notifications when you receive conversation messages in your Canvas  inbox, or when you are added to a conversation. (For more about Canvas notifications, please see below Setting Your Notifications.

Setting up your Profile Picture

Your profile picture will be associated with your Canvas account. It is very helpful to have a profile picture so your classmates and instructor can connect a name with a face, and you can get to know each other. 

To add a profile picture, click Account and then click Settings. Next to your name, click the grey placeholder profile picture icon to access the dialogue box.

There are three ways you can select a profile picture to use:

• Upload a picture from your computer
• Take a picture using your computer's camera (not supported when using Safari or Internet Explorer)
• Import a picture from an existing Gravatar account

To upload a new Profile picture, click the Upload a Picture tab, then click the Choose a Picture link. You can also drag a picture form your desktop and drop it into the uploader. Canvas will automatically store a copy of the save profile picture in your personal files. When a new picture is saved in your profile, the new picture will override the existing picture file in your personal files.  You can also update your profile information to share your bio, links, and social media accounts. 

Resources: 

• How do I add a Profile Picture? Links to an external site.
• How do I edit my profile? Links to an external site.

User Settings & Notification Preferences 

Your user settings allow you to add additional emails, add a mobile number Links to an external site., connect to your Google Drive Links to an external site. account, and customize the frequency of your course notifications. 

For more information or help, read "How do I set my notification preferences?" Links to an external site. You may also check out the video below or watch a higher resolution at Notification Presences (EN) on Vimeo Links to an external site..