One of Canvas’s many useful features is Comments, allowing students and teachers to communicate any needed detail about the student’s assignment. Follow this guide to learn how to view comments posted by your teacher, as well as how to post comments yourself. You can access comments from the Dashboard, from a course Homepage, from the Grades menu, or from the Assignments menu. View the GIF at the bottom of this page for a brief overview of how to locate comments in Canvas.
Access comments from the Dashboard
The easiest way to view recent comments is from the Dashboard. When you log-in to Canvas, you will find yourself on your Dashboard, which lists each course you are enrolled in. Notice the list called Recent Feedback to the right of your screen. The most recent comments posted by your teachers will be listed here for each course. One of your teacher's comments under Recent Feedback may end with "....", this is because the comment is longer than Recent Feedback will show. To view the comment in full click on the title of the assignment ("Viewing Teacher Comments" in the example below).
Access comments from the Course Homepage
If you do not wish to view comments for every one of your courses, you can view a list of recent comments from one course only from that course's homepage. From either the Dashboard or the Courses menu—both can be found in the global navigation menu to the left of your screen—select the course you wish to view.
You will find yourself on your course's homepage. Notice the list called Recent Feedback to the right of your screen. The most recent comments posted by your teacher will be listed here. Again, this looks similar to the previous Dashboard view, but now is showing only the Recent Feedback for the course you selected.
Access comments from the Grades menu
To view comments in more detail, as well as add comments of your own, it's better to access comments from the Grades menu. Select Grades from the course navigation list to the left of your screen.
You will see a list of each grade earned in this course. Assignments that have been recently graded will be marked by a blue dot , indicating that there is a new notification for you to view.
If the teacher left a comment along with this grade, click the Comments icon to the right. A comprehensive list of comments posted to this assignment will drop down for your review.
Click the title of your assignment to pull up the Submission Details page. From here, you click on "View Feedback" on the top right of the page and will see another display of the comments posted to this assignment. You will also be able to add your own! Type something into the blank text box and click Save to post your comment.
You can also post a Media Comment or Attach a File as part of your comment. Check out our article on recording video or audio in Canvas for more help. (This article explains how to submit video or audio as an assignment, but the information will help with your comment too!)
Viewing annotations (Feedback)
If you submitted your assignment as a file upload, click View Feedback to pull up a preview of your assignment including any annotations your teacher may have left you.
Access comments from your Assignments
Finally, you can access comments from the Assignments menu as well:
Locate Assignments in the course navigation list to the left of your screen while you are in a course.
Find the assignment you wish to view comments for and click the title of that assignment.
You will see an overview of every comment posted to this assignment to the right of your screen. Click View Feedback for more details or to post your own comment.
That's that!
In case you need further assistance locating comments in Canvas, take a look at this brief overview of the process. You may also contact us for more help.