Schedule Microsoft Teams Meetings from the Navigation Menu in Canvas
Important Notice: After September 15th, the Microsoft Teams Meeting option in the Course Navigation menu will be retired and a new version will be released. For this reason, we do not recommend using the following option for Summer 2025/Fall 2025 Courses
The Microsoft Teams Meetings app provides two methods to incorporate meetings into a Canvas course; The Navigation Menu and the Rich Content Editor (RCE). Each has its own conveniences. This guide will cover the Microsoft Teams Meetings app in the Navigation Menu. For steps on using Microsoft Teams in the RCE, view our written guide on the subject. The MS Teams Meetings app is a great addition to any online, hybrid course. Without leaving Canvas, course participants can:
- View past and upcoming course meetings.
- Schedule individual, group, or class-wide meetings for the course.
- Manage settings and options for their scheduled course meetings.
- Join MS Teams meetings related to the course all from within Canvas.
Follow the steps in this guide to learn how to incorporate MS Teams meetings in Canvas through the Navigation menu:
- If you are an instructor, before you begin: Sync your Canvas course with Microsoft.
- Open your Canvas course.
- Select Microsoft Teams meetings from the Navigation menu.
- Select + New meeting.
- Fill in your meeting details.
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IMPORTANT: Only invited participants will be able to see the meeting information and join.
- Make sure to invite attendees so they can view and join the meeting. Instructors can use the Add entire class option to conveniently add all course participants.
- Select Save.
In-Depth Walkthrough
Instructors - Before you begin, as an instructor, make sure you've synced your Canvas course with Microsoft. This process should take around a minute and is pivotal to maximizing the Microsoft Teams meetings integration in Canvas.
Step 1: Open Canvas
Within the Canvas course:
- Select Microsoft Teams meetings from Course Navigation. You may be asked to sign in with your Microsoft account.
- Click Sign in and you will then be redirected to the Cardinal Apps login.
Step 2: Schedule a New Meeting
To schedule a new MS Teams meeting in Canvas, select + New Meeting.
Note: The Microsoft Teams meetings menu in Canvas will not display any MS Teams Meetings scheduled outside of Canvas. It only displays meetings scheduled from within Canvas using the proceeding steps. Your menu may be blank at first.
Step 3: Scheduling a Meeting
In the New meeting window complete the details of your course meeting.
- Give your meeting a name.
- Select meeting attendees. These individuals will receive an invite and will see the meeting in their Microsoft Teams meetings area.
- Only invited participants will be able to see the meeting information and join.
- Instructors can use the 'Add entire class' option to conveniently add all course participants to the invite. To use this feature, make sure the course is synced with Microsoft.
- Assign a date, time, and length to your meeting.
- If your meeting repeats, change to the appropriate occurrence.
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Optional: Add your meeting to an existing channel in MS Teams (not recommended)
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Optional: Add a location to your meeting. By default, your meeting will be virtual and will create a link so this can be left blank.
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Optional: Add details for the meeting, such as the purpose, review items, or things participants should consider before joining.
Step 4: Saving and Viewing the Meeting
Select Save when you're ready to save and create your meeting. Your meeting will now appear for yourself and all invited course participants within the Microsoft Teams meetings tab in Canvas.
When it's time to join the meeting, open the "Microsoft Teams meetings" tab in Canvas and select the "Join" option next to the meeting.
FAQ
Will meetings scheduled in Canvas show on my Outlook calendar?
What will course participants see when they open the Microsoft Teams meetings tab?
When course participants, including instructors and students, open the Microsoft Teams meetings tab they'll see a list of all the MS Teams meetings scheduled in Canvas that they have been invited to. Course participants will not see any meetings that they were not added as attendees to. Due to this, it's recommended instructors leverage the Add entire class function when scheduling a course-wide meeting. Of course, if you wish to schedule a meeting for a single participant or a group, only those participants will see the meeting option.
How can I share a link or edit meeting options?
From the "Microsoft Teams meetings" tab, you can click on the three dots next to a meeting to access additional measures, including Meeting options and the Copy link function.
Why are course participants unable to see a meeting I scheduled in the menu?
Ensure the course participants facing issues were invited to the meeting scheduled from within Canvas. Only individuals invited to a scheduled meeting in Canvas will see the meeting on their menu. Learn how to troubleshoot participants not seeing Teams meetings in the Canvas menu.
How can course participants view recordings from these meetings?
Unfortunately, there's no way for participants to access recordings from the Microsoft Teams meeting navigation menu in Canvas. Course recordings can be accessed via two methods.
- The instructor can share the recording link in their Canvas course.
- Course participants can access the recording via the MS Teams application on mobile, desktop, or browser.
- Open the MS Teams app.
- Open the Chat tab.
- Locate the Meeting in the Recent menu and the recording in the chat log.
Can participants share a course recording with people outside of the course?
No. When participants open and view the recording they'll only have the option to share with 'Only people with existing access'. This means the link will only work for other course participants who were invited to the meeting.
