Setting Up a Maizey Canvas Connector for a Non-Academic Course

Environment

U-M Maizey

Issue

How to set up a Maizey project in a non-academic Canvas course.

Resolution

Canvas courses come pre-provisioned with the U-M Maizey tool, allowing instructors to create a Maizey chat app that uses course content as a data source. The chat app can respond to student questions based on available course materials.

Background

• Users with the Canvas Teacher role can set up and manage the course Maizey.
• Indexed content: Announcements, Assignments, Files, Lecture Recordings, Modules, and Pages.  Please note, hidden and or locked content is not indexed.
• Supported file types: See Supported File Types for details.
• Cost:
  • U-M Maizey is currently available at no cost through June 30, 2027.  Departments are not currently charged during this no-cost period.
  • Short code requirement: Non-academic Canvas courses require a departmental billing shortcode when configuring (creating/publishing) a Maizey project.
  • After the no-cost period, costs are expected to vary based on the amount of data indexed and project usage. Pricing is subject to change.

Step 1: Before you begin

Before creating a U-M Maizey project in your course:

• Set up your course content as you want it to appear when Maizey is initially indexed.
  • If you add or update content later, you can manually reindex the data or wait for the weekly scheduled automatic indexing.
• Publish your course.
  • If Maizey is configured before the course is published, it may not be able to index course content properly.
• Have your departmental billing Short code available.
  • A billing shortcode is required to setup Maizey within a non-academic Canvas course, even during the current no-cost period.

Step 2: Enable the U-M Maizey tool in your course navigation

1. Open your Canvas course and click Settings.
2. Click the Navigation tab.
3. Locate U-M Maizey, click the three dots, and select Enable.
4. If desired, drag U-M Maizey to a different location in the course navigation.
5. Click Save.

The U-M Maizey tool now appears in the course navigation.

Step 3: Add a Billing Shortcode to your Maizey project

1. Click U-M Maizey in the course navigation.
2. You will see a Disabled Project message indicating that the project is disabled due to a lack of sufficient funds...
3. Click Close.
4. On the Details tab, click Edit Project.
5. Enter your departmental Billing Shortcode.
6. Click Modify.

Step 4: Reindex the Canvas course data

After adding the Short code, you may see the following message on the Details Tab.

• This Maizey Project is missing vector data; create or re-index a data source before use.

If this message appears:

1. Click the Data Sources link, located on the right side of the Maizey project Or, click the Data Sources Tab on the top menu bar.  
2. Under Canvas Link
3. Click Re-index.
4. A Re-indexing message will appear at the top right.
5. Click Data Source Task History to confirm status.
6. 
7. Publish the project once indexing is complete. 

Step 5: Publish the Maizey app

After indexing is complete to publish the maizey project:

1. Click Apps.
2. Click the three dots next to the app and select Configure App.
3. Click Edit App.
4. Under Published, turn the toggle on.
5. Click Modify.

Step 6: Verify Maizey in Canvas

1. Return to your Canvas course.
2. Click U-M Maizey.
3. The Maizey sidebar panel should appear.
4. Enter a few test prompts to verify that Maizey is responding based on the course content.

Edit Scheduled Maizey Reindexing (optional)

By default, Maizey schedules automatic reindexing of your course data weekly.

If you make changes to your Canvas course, you can either:

• Wait for the next scheduled automatic reindex, or
• Manually reindex the Canvas data source if you want the updated information available sooner.

You may change or delete the scheduled reindexing. Deleting it is not recommended because you will then need to manually reindex the Maizey project whenever course content changes.

Accessing your Course Maizey project  within the chat tool

Individuals with the Canvas Teacher role can access the Maizey project settings within the chat tool or directly via: https://umgpt.umich.edu/maizey.

To access settings from within the Maizey sidebar.

1. Click U-M Maizey in the course navigation.
2. Click the three dots in the upper-right of the Maizey side-bar panel.
3. Select Visit Maizey Project Settings. 

Additional Information

• When Maizey is configured for a Canvas course, the user ITS AI Canvas Student is added to the course roster and will have the Observer role. This role is necessary for Maizey to index course content and it should not be removed or changed.
• For individuals who are manually added to a Canvas course, there may be a delay of up to 12 hours before they can access a course Maizey tool. Canvas and U-M Maizey sync users every 12 hours.
• See ITS AI Services Pricing for current pricing, billing, quota, and spending-control information.
• Note: Maizey workshops and workshop recordings are available.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.