Adding a Zoom link to your Canvas course

If you plan to use Zoom to deliver a synchronous (real-time) classroom experience, hold office hours, or some other activity where your students need to participate in a live Zoom meeting, you’ll need to get the link of your Zoom meeting (also known as the Join URL) to your students so they can open the meeting. Adding a Zoom meeting link to your Canvas Course is easy and can be accomplished three ways. Each depends on where you’d like your students to locate Zoom within your course. You’ll need the link to your Zoom Meeting before you can complete these steps.

Don’t already have a Zoom link? Follow these steps first.

1. Learn how to schedule a meeting in Zoom.
2. Learn how to schedule a recurring meeting in Zoom.
3. Then schedule a new meeting which will create a Zoom Meeting link (Join URL).
4. Copy the Zoom Meeting link to your clipboard– you’ll need it in the steps below. You may want to also copy the entire Zoom meeting invitation.

For all steps, consider adding the following with your Zoom link.

• Advise your students if they are to attend your Zoom meeting synchronously at the course’s defined meeting days and times.
• If you plan to offer student hours (office hours), be sure to create a separate Zoom meeting link. Consider enabling the Waiting Room option to queue students. Make it clear which Zoom Meeting link is which.
• Add the additional meeting information from the Zoom meeting invitation which includes the telephone dial-in numbers that students can use as an alternative if their computer or internet connection are experiencing problems.

Method 1: Course Navigation Menu (preferred)

You can add a persistent link to Zoom that shows up in the Course Navigation menu on the left side.

1. Go to your course in Canvas and click the Settings item from the Navigation Menu then click the Apps tab.
2. Move over the curved arrow icon and it should say Redirect Tool. Click this and then click Add App.
3. A new window will appear. In the Name field, enter a descriptive name, something like Zoom Classroom or Zoom Meeting. In the URL Redirect field, paste in the link to your Zoom meeting that you created. Check the two boxes labeled Force open in new tab and Show in Course Navigation.
4. Click the Add App button. This will add this app to your course. Click the Home link in the Navigation menu to refresh. Your new Zoom link will now be in the Navigation menu.
5. If you want to move the new Zoom link up or down in the list, click the Settings item from the Navigation Menu then click Navigation. Locate the Zoom link you just created and click and drag it to the desired location. Scroll all the way down the page and click the Save button to save you changes.

Method 2: Add Zoom Link on a Page

You can add the Zoom link to your Canvas course anywhere you can edit text with the Rich Text Editor such as the Syllabus, a Page, an Announcement, an Assignment, a Discussion post, etc. Follow these steps to create a link using the Rich Text Editor.

Method 3: External URL in Modules

If you use the Modules tool, you can add an external URL link directly in an existing Canvas Module. If you need to add a module, begin by clicking the + Module button.

1. Click the “+” (plus sign) to the right of the module title. A new window will appear titled Add Item to Module.
2. In the Add drop down menu, select External URL. In the URL field, paste the Zoom Meeting URL. In the Page Name field, you can enter a descriptive title like Zoom Classroom or Zoom Meeting. Check the box for Load in New Tab. Click the Add Item button.
3. Click the publish icon to the right of your newly created External URL to make it visible to students.