Microsoft OneDrive

  • You can use Microsoft (MS) OneDrive to create a collaboration with a Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file. You can select individual users or multiple users as part of a collaboration. 
  • You can view all files in your OneDrive folder in Canvas. The OneDrive folder is accessed from the Course Navigation Menu.
  • You can create an online assignment in Canvas that embeds a document directly from your MS OneDrive folder. Accepted assignment types are: MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Quick Links

Important

  • At Johns Hopkins, access to MS OneDrive is available to all active JHED users so you need to have a JHED to use these integrations in Canvas courses.
  • The default option approved in the Collaborations menu is for OneDrive.  Additionally, OneDrive is also an option for Assignment types (formerly Office 365 Cloud Assignment).
  • For Groups for Collaboration for OneDrive as there is a known issue per Microsoft and Instructure on the Group Space Collaboration area.
    • This is when a member of the group tries to access Collaborations from the Group Space Navigation Menu, it indicates “launching this tool from this context is not supported”.

How does Canvas differ from Blackboard? 

  • We did not have a deep integration for Collaborations with OneDrive, OneDrive Access, OneDrive Assignment, and Team Classes.  Teams were created for courses via an SIS feed. 
  • To use OneNote, it is most easily accessed in the dedicated Teams class from Canvas.

What Canvas Roles Work With This Tool?

MS OneDrive is available to all active JHED users so you need to have a JHED to use these integrations in Canvas courses.

Possible Course RolesAccess Level
TeacherView and Create Collaborations for OneDrive, Connect to OneDrive, an add OneDrive Assignments
StudentView and Create Collaborations for OneDrive, Connect to OneDrive
Waitlisted StudentView and Create Collaborations for OneDrive, Connect to OneDrive
TAView and Create Collaborations for OneDrive, Connect to OneDrive, an add OneDrive Assignments
Grading TAView and Create Collaborations for OneDrive, Connect to OneDrive, an add OneDrive Assignments
DesignerView and Create Collaborations for OneDrive, Connect to OneDrive, an add OneDrive Assignments
ObserverView Only Collaborations for OneDrive, Connect to OneDrive
Guest FacilitatorView Only Collaborations for OneDrive, Connect to OneDrive
Leaders (used in Community Sites Only)View and Create Collaborations for OneDrive, Connect to OneDrive, an add OneDrive Assignments

How To Use

Collaboration Using Microsoft OneDrive in Canvas 

Overview

  • Collaborations allow students to work collaboratively on a given document. Students and educators can start a collaboration. 
  • The document under collaboration remains accessible to educators even if the educator is not added to the collaboration. 

Setting Up OneDrive Collaboration

  1. To start the collaboration, select Microsoft OneDrive from the dropdown.
  2. Choose your TypeDocument type, and insert Description.
  3. Tap or click Select Existing Document.
  4. Note: This opens OneDrive file picker. 
  5. Select the file to collaborate on and click or tap Select.
  6. Assign the collaboration to students and select Save.
In the Collaborations area in the Canvas course, you can create a new collaboration or view existing collaborations.
  • This creates the collaboration for selected users, including the educator. 
  • If you are using private mode of Safari browser, you will not be able to assign a collaboration to a group of students.  It is recommended that you user Chrome or Firefox to set this up.
  • If you are using Firefox browser, a dialog box may appear asking you to Resend or Cancel. You will need to Cancel to create the collaboration to continue.
  • Note, once you create the Collaboration, the new integration does not allow you edit permissions.
  • This works within Collaborations but there is known issue from accessing from Groups in Canvas. 

Accessing OneDrive Content in Canvas

Overview

You can view all files in your Microsoft Office 365 (OneDrive) folder in Canvas. The OneDrive folder is accessed from the Course Navigation Menu.

Notes on OneDrive Content Access

  • You can only view one OneDrive account at a time in Canvas. Make sure you are logged in to the account you want to view in Canvas.
  • If necessary you can log out of your account and authenticate with a different account.
  • OneDrive files cannot be accessed from course or personal files in Canvas.

Accessing Your Up OneDrive Content

  1. In Course Navigation, click the Microsoft OneDrive link.
OneDrive Link on the Canvas Course Navigation menu
  1. You may be asked to authenticate your account. Click the Log In button.
Sign in with Microsoft School Account
  1. In an external window, enter your JHED (Ex. [email protected]) and password.
  2. View the files and folders in your OneDrive folder.
  3. OneDrive displays file name and the date it was modified.  Files also display the file size.
A view of a user's OneDrive including "My Files" and any files in that area.
  1. To open a file, click the name of the file.
Within a OneDrive folder, existing files can be selected.
  1. View the file in Microsoft Word online. You can edit the document directly in your browser if necessary.
Viewing a sample Microsoft Word file from OneDrive

Creating a OneDrive Assignment in Canvas

How To Create a Cloud assignment with MS OneDrive Files

Overview

  • Cloud assignments are templated assignments. All students get their own copy of the assignment and can edit their own copy. 
  • When students submit the assignment, their own copy gets submitted and is available to the educator in the speed grader for assessment.
  • Microsoft OneDrive allows you to use Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) to provide assignment instructions to students or assignment templates for students to edit and submit.  

Setting Up OneDrive Assignments

  1. To include instructions about the assignment as an Office file within your assignment, select the Power Plug icon in the editor and select Microsoft OneDrive.  
  2. Note: For the first time, Microsoft OneDrive may not show up. In that case, you can choose View All and select Microsoft OneDrive from the popup.
  3. Select a file from the OneDrive file picker to embed or link the file.
  4. Note: Files with .xls extensions cannot be embedded. 
When creating an assignment in Canvas. On the menu there is an "apps" button with drop-down to connect to OneDrive.
  1.  To add a templated assignment, select External Tool as the Submission Type and select Find.
  2.  Note: After selecting Find, a popup should open.
Submission type dropdown with External Tool selected.
  1. Select Microsoft OneDrive to open the OneDrive file picker.
  2. Select the file you want to serve as the templated assignment and select Attach.
  3. Note:  It will attach the file and show the popup again. 
OneDrive enables users to pick a resource to attach using the external tool function
  1. Click or tap Select to confirm the selected file. 
  2. Select other options for Submission Attempts and Assign, then Save or Save & Publish.
When editing an assignment, there are a number of setting options, including "Submission Type" (external tools), Submission Attempts, and Assign. Each of these menu have additional options to choose from.

Important Reminders

  • After a Microsoft OneDrive cloud assignment is published, it should not be edited. If you edit it, a new document will be created and shared with students.
  • If the students have attempted the previous assignment and you share a new assignment, the previous work of the students will be lost. 

Best Practices and Accessibility 

Best Practices

Accessibility

Accessibility in MS Integrations

Additional Resources 

Click Through Demo: MS LTI Apps and Canvas