Canvas Collaborations allow multiple users to work together on the same document at the same time using Google Docs or EtherPad. Collaborative documents are saved in real time, meaning a change made by any of its users will be immediately visible to everyone.
This feature is analogous to the Course Wiki feature that was previously used in Course Portal. If Collaborations are enabled for your course, follow these instructions to create a new collaborative document:
1. Click the Collaborations link in the Sidebar of the course.
2. Click the Start a new collaboration button.
3. Click the Collaborate Using drop down menu to choose the tool you wish to collaborate with, either Google Docs or EtherPad.
Note: Each collaborator will need a Google account and will need to authorize Canvas to access his or her Google account to use Google Docs to collaborate.
Also, Etherpad has a unique deletion policy: if your pad has been revised less than 20 times, then it will be deleted after 2 weeks of inactivity.
4. Name the document, create a description, and select who you wish to collaborate with.
5. Click the Start Collaborating button to create the document.
For more information on Canvas Collaborations, visit these Canvas Guides .