Due to the nature of ISU's license with Canvas, ONLY employees and students of the University may be enrolled in these sites. For this reason, ISU has adopted several alternative tools, like Teams and Comevo, to allow non-ISU-affiliated members to join. These alternative options also allow for organizing committee work, housing documents, and other resources. Canvas Special Use Sites include all of the roles found in regular course sites (Teacher, Student, TA, etc.). Canvas SUS is better for:

• Groups with only ISU students or current employees
• Communication to the group via announcements, discussions, or messages
• Presenting or sharing academic/lesson materials or assessments
• Discipline-specific resources for faculty and/or students
• Asynchronous instruction/communication

ISU Tech Support staff can create a blank "shell" in your Canvas account, which includes the same basic layout as for-credit courses.

• You, as the "Teacher" of the course, can add or remove users and give them various levels of permission as needed.
• This includes adding additional Teachers who can help you co-administer the site and its content. 
• You will need to populate the site with new content.

Requesting a SUS

If you wish to use Canvas for your project, please use the link below to request a site from the Technology Support Center. 

Request a Canvas Special Use Site

Microsoft Teams is better for:

• Groups that include non-ISU members
• Communication via chat
• Sharing of Office 365 documents (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Resources for administrative units, working teams, committees, or task forces
• Live virtual meetings

Consider using Microsoft Teams if:

• You need a centralized place for planning, communication, announcements, and sharing documents and other resources.
• You need to work with users outside of Illinois State University.

Requesting a Microsoft Team

If you are interested in Microsoft Teams, use the button below to request access through the Technology Support Center. 

Request a Team

Comevo may be a good alternative if you need to deliver non-course-related training to staff, students, or external users. It can be used either on its own or in conjunction with Microsoft Teams.

• Comevo allows the delivery of step-by-step lessons, featuring text, images, and other media.
• Illinois State employees, students, and external guests can use Comevo lessons.
• It allows for the creation of email notifications and certificates of completion. 

An example of a Comevo site is the public-facing Student Technology Orientation.

Requesting Comevo access

If you are interested in Comevo, use the button below to request access through the Technology Support Center. 

Request Comevo Access