Enable M-Connector in Canvas

The Canvas M-Connector bridges your Canvas course with U-M GPT. Instructors must turn on the Canvas M-Connector separately for each course. You can choose whether it is available to teachers only or to everyone enrolled in the course.

Turn On for Teachers Only

 

Choose this option when only users enrolled with the Canvas Teacher role should be able to use the Canvas M-Connector with the course’s supported materials.

  1. Open your course in Canvas.
  2. Click M-Connectors in the course navigation menu.
  3. Under Who can use M-Connectors with this course, turn Teachers on.
  4. Leave Everyone else off.
  5. Verify that the page displays the following confirmation message:
    "Teachers only — students and other roles are blocked. Only users enrolled in Canvas with the Teacher role can use the Canvas M-Connector with the course’s supported materials."

Tip: You can expand "Teachers in this course" or "Teachers with access" to review the specific individuals included in this access setting.

Turn On for Everyone

 

This setting turns on access for teachers, students, teaching assistants, and all other course roles.

  1. Open your course in Canvas.
  2. Click M-Connectors in the course navigation menu.
  3. Under Who can use M-Connectors with this course, turn Everyone else on.
  4. Verify that the page displays the following confirmation message:
    "M-Connectors is on for this whole course."

Note: When Everyone else is turned on, teachers are included automatically. The Teachers switch is turned on and locked. To limit access back to teachers only, you must turn Everyone else off.

Additional Information & Parameters

 
  • Immediate Effect: Changes to these settings take effect immediately and can be adjusted at any time.
  • Role Permissions: The Canvas M-Connector works strictly within each person’s existing Canvas role and permissions. It does not provide access to courses or content the person could not otherwise access.
  • "Teacher" Role Specificity: The Teachers setting applies only to users formally enrolled in Canvas with the "Teacher" role. Teaching assistants and other instructional roles are categorized under "Everyone else".
    If another course team member needs teacher-only M-Connector access, a course instructor must assign that person the Teacher role in Canvas (only when appropriate for the person’s course responsibilities, as it provides broader course permissions).
  • When Turned Off: When both Teachers and Everyone else are off, the Canvas M-Connector refuses requests involving the course’s full materials.
  • Personal Tools: Even when access to full course materials is off, students can still use personal-schedule tools to look up their own upcoming assignments, to-do items, and calendar events.

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