Create Canvas discussion topics from email
Turn good questions from your inbox into engaging course discussions.
Trigger
New Outlook Message
Triggered when a new message is received in the Outlook mailbox.
Action
Create discussion topic
Creates a new discussion topic in a specified canvas course, allowing comprehensive configuration of its content, type, publication settings, engagement features, and associations.
Why this helps
Discussion ideas get lost in email and never become reusable course content.
- Capture ideas immediately
- Create consistent discussion prompts
- Reduce content setup time
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Outlook and Canvas once in Notis.
- 2Create an automation named Email to Discussion Topic.
- 3Tell Notis to turn qualifying emails into a discussion topic in the specified course.
- 4Pick New Outlook Message as the trigger and choose a report channel.
- 5Test it with one prompt email.
Questions about this workflow
Can Notis set publication preferences?
Yes. Include whether the topic should be published or held for review.
Can it rewrite the prompt for students?
Yes. Ask Notis to make the wording clear and student-ready.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Outlook to Canvas. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Outlook triggers
Canvas actions
Recurring trigger
Notis starts this workflow on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or during business hours.
Create account notification
Creates a global notification within a canvas account, ensuring `end at` is after `start at` and any specified `notification roles` are valid.
Webhook trigger
Notis starts this workflow when an external tool or custom backend sends an HTTP request.
Create appointment group
Creates a new appointment group in canvas for schedulable time slots within specified course or group contexts.
New Contact Added
Triggered when a new contact is added in the Outlook contacts.
Create an assignment
Creates a new assignment within a specified course in canvas lms.
Calendar Event Changes
Triggered when a new calendar event occurs (created, updated, or deleted) in the Outlook calendar.
Create assignment override
Creates an assignment override to adjust due/unlock/lock dates for an assignment in a course, targeting specific students (requires `title`), a group, or a course section; at least one target (`student ids`, `group id`, or `course section id`) is required.
New Calendar Event
Triggered when a new calendar event is created in the Outlook calendar.
Create Calendar Event
Creates a calendar event with options for recurrence (finite `rrule` series only), section-specific timings, and blackout dates within a specified context.
New Outlook Message
Triggered when a new message is received in the Outlook mailbox.
Create communication channel
Creates a new communication channel (e.g., email, sms, push) for an existing canvas user to receive notifications.
New Sent Message
Triggered when a new message is sent from the Outlook mailbox.
Create content share
Shares a canvas content item to specified users, if the sender has necessary permissions and receiver ids are valid.
Create conversation
Use to send messages in canvas by creating a new conversation or adding to an existing one; an existing conversation with the same recipients (and matching scope/filter, if specified) may be reused unless `force new` is true.
Connect any two apps with Notis in the middle.
Outlook and Canvas, or any other combination from 1,000+ integrations.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Save your first hour today.
7-day trial of any paid plan, with 20$ of usage included.
No card. Works with personal or business Canvas.