Canvas MCP Server

# Canvas MCP for Educators Welcome! This guide will help you set up Canvas MCP to enhance your teaching with AI-powered course management tools. ## What Can Canvas MCP Do for You? Canvas MCP provides AI-powered assistance for common teaching workflows: - **Assignment Management**: Track submissions, identify missing work, analyze completion rates - **Grading & Rubrics**: Manage rubrics, grade submissions, provide feedback - **Student Analytics**: Monitor student performance, identify at-risk students, track engagement - **Peer Review Management**: Track peer review completion, analyze review quality, send reminders - **Discussion Facilitation**: Monitor discussions, respond to students, analyze participation - **Communication**: Send targeted messages, create announcements, automate reminders - **FERPA Compliance**: Built-in data anonymization for AI-safe student analytics ## Prerequisites - **Python 3.10+** installed on your computer - **Claude Desktop** - Download from [claude.ai](https://claude.ai/download) - **Canvas Account** with instructor/TA permissions ## Installation ### 1. Clone the Repository ```bash git clone https://github.com/vishalsachdev/canvas-mcp.git cd canvas-mcp ``` ### 2. Install Dependencies ```bash # Install uv package manager (faster than pip) pip install uv # Install Canvas MCP uv pip install -e . ``` ### 3. Get Your Canvas API Token 1. Log in to your Canvas account 2. Go to **Account** → **Settings** 3. Scroll down to **Approved Integrations** 4. Click **+ New Access Token** 5. Give it a purpose (e.g., "Claude AI Teaching Assistant") 6. Click **Generate Token** 7. **Copy the token immediately** - you won't see it again! ### 4. Configure Canvas MCP Create a `.env` file in the `canvas-mcp` directory: ```bash # Copy the template cp env.template .env # Edit the .env file and add your credentials ``` Your `.env` file should look like this: ```bash # Canvas API Configuration CANVAS_API_TOKEN=your_token_here CANVAS_API_URL=https://canvas.youruniversity.edu # MCP Server Configuration (optional) MCP_SERVER_NAME=canvas-mcp # Privacy Settings (IMPORTANT for FERPA compliance) ENABLE_DATA_ANONYMIZATION=true # Anonymizes student data before AI processing ANONYMIZATION_DEBUG=false # Set to true for debugging only # Optional: Institution name for display INSTITUTION_NAME=Your University Name ``` **Important Configuration Notes:** - Replace `https://canvas.youruniversity.edu` with your actual Canvas URL - **Set `ENABLE_DATA_ANONYMIZATION=true`** for FERPA-compliant student data handling - The anonymization system converts student names to anonymous IDs (e.g., "Student_abc123") before sending data to AI ### 5. Configure Claude Desktop Add Canvas MCP to Claude Desktop's configuration file: **macOS**: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` ```json { "mcpServers": { "canvas-api": { "command": "canvas-mcp-server" } } } ``` ### 6. Test Your Setup ```bash # Test the Canvas API connection canvas-mcp-server --test # View your configuration canvas-mcp-server --config ``` You should see: ✓ API connection successful! ### 7. Restart Claude Desktop Close and reopen Claude Desktop. You should see the 🔨 hammer icon when you start a conversation. ## FERPA Compliance & Privacy ### How Data Anonymization Works When `ENABLE_DATA_ANONYMIZATION=true` is set, Canvas MCP automatically: 1. **Converts student names** to anonymous IDs (e.g., "John Smith" → "Student_abc123") 2. **Masks email addresses** (e.g., "john@university.edu" → "student_abc123@masked") 3. **Filters PII** from discussion posts and submissions (phone numbers, SSNs) 4. **Maintains consistency** - same student always gets the same anonymous ID 5. **Preserves relationships** - you can still identify patterns and trends ### De-Anonymization Mapping The system creates local mapping files that let you correlate anonymous IDs with real students: ``` local_maps/ └── course_BADM_350_mapping.csv ``` This CSV file maps anonymous IDs back to real names - **keep it secure and never commit to version control**. ### Privacy Best Practices - **Enable anonymization** - Always set `ENABLE_DATA_ANONYMIZATION=true` - **Secure your token** - Never share or commit your Canvas API token - **Protect mapping files** - Keep `local_maps/` folder secure (it's in `.gitignore`) - **Local processing only** - All data stays on your machine; nothing sent to external servers - **Review before sharing** - If sharing Claude conversations, ensure student data is anonymous ## How to Use Canvas MCP ### Quick Start Prompts for Educators **Assignment Management:** - "Which students haven't submitted Assignment 3 in BADM 350?" - "Show me submission statistics for the latest assignment" - "List all assignments in my Spring 2025 courses" **Student Analytics:** - "Which students are falling behind in BADM 350?" - "Show me performance analytics for Assignment 5" - "Who needs academic support based on recent grades?" **Peer Review Management:** - "How many students completed their peer reviews for Assignment 2?" - "Show me peer review completion analytics" - "Identify students who haven't completed peer reviews" - "Analyze the quality of peer review comments" **Grading & Rubrics:** - "Show me the rubric for Assignment 4" - "List all rubrics for BADM 350" - "Create a rubric for the final project" (provide criteria) **Discussion Facilitation:** - "What are the active discussions in my course?" - "Show me recent student posts in the Week 5 discussion" - "Which students haven't participated in discussions?" **Communication:** - "Send a reminder to students who haven't completed peer reviews" - "Create an announcement about tomorrow's exam" - "Message students who are missing Assignment 3" ### Understanding Tool Calls When you ask Claude a question, it uses various "tools" (🔨 icon) to fetch data from Canvas. For educators, common tools include: - `get_assignment_analytics` - Submission statistics and performance - `list_submissions` - Student submission status - `get_peer_review_completion_analytics` - Peer review tracking - `send_peer_review_reminders` - Automated student messaging - `list_discussion_topics` - Discussion management - `create_rubric` - Rubric creation ## Available Educator Tools ### Assignment Management - **list_assignments** - View all assignments for a course - **get_assignment_details** - Detailed assignment information - **list_submissions** - Student submission status - **get_assignment_analytics** - Performance and completion statistics ### Grading & Rubrics - **create_rubric** - Create new rubrics - **get_rubric_details** - View rubric criteria - **associate_rubric** - Link rubric to assignment - **grade_submission_with_rubric** - Grade using rubric ### Student Analytics - **get_student_analytics** - Multi-dimensional performance analysis - **identify_at_risk_students** - Flag students needing support - **get_peer_review_completion_analytics** - Peer review tracking ### Peer Review Management - **list_peer_reviews** - View peer review assignments - **get_peer_review_comments** - Extract review text and metadata - **analyze_peer_review_quality** - Quality metrics and analysis - **identify_problematic_peer_reviews** - Flag low-quality reviews - **assign_peer_review** - Manually assign reviews ### Communication & Messaging - **send_conversation** - Send messages to students - **send_peer_review_reminders** - Automated reminder workflow - **create_announcement** - Post course announcements - **send_peer_review_followup_campaign** - Complete analytics → messaging pipeline ### Discussion Management - **list_discussion_topics** - View discussion forums - **get_discussion_entry_details** - Read student posts - **reply_to_discussion_entry** - Respond to students - **create_discussion_topic** - Start new discussions ### Course Content - **list_courses** - View all your courses - **get_course_details** - Syllabus and course info - **list_pages** - Access course pages - **get_page_content** - Read page content ## Example Workflows ### Monday Morning Check-In ``` You: "Give me a status update on my courses" Claude will: 1. List your active courses 2. Check recent assignment submissions 3. Identify missing work 4. Flag students needing attention ``` ### After Assignment Due Date ``` You: "Assignment 3 was due Friday in BADM 350. Who hasn't submitted?" Claude will: 1. Get submission statistics 2. List non-submitters (anonymized if enabled) 3. Suggest sending reminders ``` ### Peer Review Management ``` You: "Check peer review completion for Assignment 2 in BADM 350" Claude will: 1. Analyze completion rates 2. Identify incomplete reviews 3. Assess review quality 4. Suggest follow-up actions (reminders, manual assignments) ``` ### Grading Session ``` You: "Show me the rubric for Assignment 4 and recent submissions" Claude will: 1. Display rubric criteria 2. Show submission list 3. Help you grade efficiently ``` ## Tips for Best Results 1. **Use course codes**: Be specific (e.g., "BADM 350" instead of "my course") 2. **Combine requests**: "Show submissions and analytics for Assignment 3" 3. **Ask for summaries**: "Summarize student performance in BADM 350" 4. **Leverage anonymization**: Work confidently knowing student data is protected 5. **Automate repetitive tasks**: Use messaging tools for reminders and follow-ups ## Advanced Features ### Automated Peer Review Follow-Up ``` You: "Run a peer review follow-up campaign for Assignment 2" This will: 1. Analyze completion 2. Identify incomplete reviews 3. Send targeted reminders 4. Generate a report ``` ### Student Performance Analysis ``` You: "Analyze student performance trends in BADM 350" Claude can: - Identify struggling students - Track assignment completion patterns - Suggest interventions - Generate support lists ``` ### Bulk Communication ``` You: "Message all students who haven't submitted Assignment 3" Claude will: - Identify non-submitters - Draft appropriate message - Send bulk communication ``` ## Troubleshooting ### "Connection failed" or "Authentication error" - Check your Canvas API token in `.env` - Verify Canvas URL is correct - Ensure token has instructor permissions ### "No students showing" or "empty results" - Verify you have instructor/TA role in the course - Check if students are enrolled - Ensure assignments have submissions enabled ### Anonymization Not Working - Set `ENABLE_DATA_ANONYMIZATION=true` in `.env` - Restart Canvas MCP server - Check `local_maps/` folder is created ### Need More Help? - [Open an issue](https://github.com/vishalsachdev/canvas-mcp/issues) on GitHub - Check the [main README](../README.md) for setup help - Review [CLAUDE.md](./CLAUDE.md) for technical details ## Contributing We welcome contributions! See the main [README](../README.md) for guidelines. ## Support For questions or issues: - GitHub Issues: [canvas-mcp/issues](https://github.com/vishalsachdev/canvas-mcp/issues) - Documentation: See [README.md](../README.md) and [CLAUDE.md](./CLAUDE.md) --- Happy teaching! 🎓