Link from Canvas to Your OWL Course


The OWL Link in Canvas enables your students to access course activities in OWL without logging into OWL. Students who use this Link automatically receive an OWL account and are added to the roster of your OWL section.

Grades are not synced between OWL and Canvas, but instructors who use the Canvas Gradebook can download grades from OWL as a .csv file, then import them into Canvas. For more, see Import Student Data to the Canvas Gradebook.

Important! You Must Recreate OWL Links Each Semester

Both Canvas and OWL use unique course shells each semester. If you reuse a Canvas course you taught during a previous semester, links to OWL will not be included in the import. You must create and configure a new OWL Link in the new Canvas course. 

Part 1—Request your Canvas and OWL Courses

  1. Request your Canvas course in SPIRE:
    Log in to SPIRE, then go to Faculty Home > Canvas Course Request. You will receive a confirmation email when your Canvas course is ready to use. For more information, see Canvas Course Request Overview.
  2. Request your OWL course:
    Send a request to owl-it-help@it.umass.edu. Make sure you indicate that you want to use a Canvas-OWL link for the course. You’ll be notified via email when your OWL administrators have created your course.

Part 2—Add the OWL Link to Your Canvas Course

Note: Every time you reuse a Canvas course from a previous semester, you will have to create and configure a new OWL Link.

  1. After you have been notified that your OWL and Canvas courses are ready, log in to Canvas and open your course.
  2. On your Canvas course page, click Modules.
  3. In the module section where you will add the link to OWL, click the +. The Add Item chooser will open.
  4. Select External Tool, then select UMass OWL from the list of tools.
  5. In the Page Name box, type "OWL Link".
  6. Check the "Load in a new tab" box.
  7. Leave the remaining fields as they are. Please do not make other changes on this page. Editing other fields could break the OWL link.
  8. Click Add Item. The OWL Link should appear under the Canvas module.

Part 3—Submit the Configuration Information

We need to manually configure your Canvas course to connect to your OWL section and match your Canvas instructor account to your OWL account. You need to fill out a brief form which collects this information.

  1. On your Canvas course page, click the Owl Link. OWL will open in a new tab or window (Note: Depending on your browser settings the window may open in front of, or behind the Canvas window). The first time you open the link, OWL displays the Unconfigured Link page.
  2. Complete and submit the Unconfigured Link form. (You will be asked for your name, email, OWL login, and OWL Course and Section.  You may also leave additional comments for the OWL administrators.) A confirmation message will display.
  3. You'll be notified by email when the OWL Link has been configured and is ready to use.
  4. Once you have received the confirmation email from OWL, when you or your students click OWL Link, the OWL course will open in a new window.