Carry Slack cohort questions into a Canvas discussion
Keep cohort questions moving by placing a useful Slack question into the Canvas discussion where learners can continue it.
Trigger
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
Action
Create discussion entry
Tool to create a new entry in a canvas discussion topic. use when posting a message with optional attachments to a discussion topic.
Why this helps
When a question is noted for later, it can get lost between team chat and the next office-hours session.
- Preserve questions for the course community to discuss.
- Cut down on manual copying before office hours.
- Keep related questions in one Canvas thread.
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Slack and Canvas to Notis once through the portal.
- 2Create an automation in the portal or ask Notis conversationally.
- 3Write one instruction asking Notis to add a Canvas discussion entry when a Slack message clearly flags a question for the cohort discussion.
- 4Select Slack Channel Message Received, choose a run-report channel, and test with one real question.
Questions about this workflow
How does Notis know which discussion to use?
Include a clear course and discussion reference in the Slack message or in the prompt.
Can this work for office-hours preparation?
Yes. Describe which office-hours questions should be added to the Canvas discussion.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Slack to Canvas. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Slack 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 Channel Created Trigger
Triggered when a new channel is created in Slack.
Create an assignment
Creates a new assignment within a specified course in canvas lms.
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
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.
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
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.
Message Reaction Added
Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Create communication channel
Creates a new communication channel (e.g., email, sms, push) for an existing canvas user to receive notifications.
Message Reaction Removed
Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Create content share
Shares a canvas content item to specified users, if the sender has necessary permissions and receiver ids are valid.
Reaction Added Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_ADDED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack.
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.
Slack 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.