Instructure and Microsoft Add Integration between Canvas and Office 365

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 07/21/16

A new integration aims to simplify the interoperability of various functions between Microsoft Office 365 and Canvas from Instructure. Both programs are cloud-based. The announcement came during this year's Instructure user conference, taking place in Colorado.

With the new integration, users will be able to:

  • Submit files directly from Office 365 into Canvas assignments;
  • Gain access to Office 365 documents through Canvas SpeedGrader to add feedback;
  • Link Office 365 documents anywhere the Canvas Rich Content Editor can currently be used;
  • Include Office 365 documents in course modules;
  • Enable collaboration of any type of Office document;
  • Create and grade assignments in a Microsoft OneNote Class Notebook and push those grades to Canvas; and
  • Use single-sign-on to gain access to Canvas with an Office 365 login.

"Teachers need these new capabilities for their education platforms, and we have continuously focused on providing the best technology we could design and build," said Mitch Benson, vice president of Canvas product, in a press release. "What happened next was that two of ed tech's most established forces connected and worked together to meet the expressed needs of these educators."

One school that intends to take advantage of the new feature is Greeneville City Schools in Tennessee. "Our schools rely heavily on Canvas and Microsoft for our daily educational functions, and these platforms have grown essential to the learning process of both our K–12 educators and students," said Beverly Miller, the district's chief technology officer, in a press release. "The integration of two of our most prominently used technologies will only help further streamline and enhance learning development within each classroom."

Added Eran Megiddo, corporate vice president of engineering in education at Microsoft, "We know teachers and students are strapped for time and we want to help them focus on what's really important: teaching and learning."

According to attendee Krys Zyak, who referenced the new Canvas and Office 365 integration in his Twitter stream, the company will soon release a similar capability for integration with Google Apps for Education.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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