Alert on Students Falling Behind
Every morning, WebRun opens Canvas, identifies students who are behind on assignments or haven't logged in recently, drafts a warm check-in email for each one in Gmail, and posts a summary of at-risk learners to Slack for you to review.
How can I automatically identify and reach out to students who are falling behind in my course?
Every morning, WebRun opens Canvas, identifies students who are behind on assignments or haven't logged in recently, drafts a warm check-in email for each one in Gmail, and posts a summary of at-risk learners to Slack — so educators can intervene early without manually auditing every student's progress.
- At-risk students identified and contacted daily before they fall further behind
- Personalised check-in emails drafted without manual grade-book review
- Educator gets a Slack summary of who needs attention each morning
Built for online course instructors · higher education faculty · e-learning platform managers · corporate training teams
What does WebRun do on every run?
The exact actions WebRun takes, in order — in plain language, so you can adjust anything.
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WebRun signs in and gets to work
Opens
canvas.instructure.comin a real browser with your saved login — no setup, no API keys. -
1
Canvas — identify at-risk students
instructure.com
WebRun opens Canvas to identify at-risk students. - Open Canvas and navigate to the course's Grades and Analytics view
- Filter for students with missing assignments or who have not logged in for 5 or more days
- Capture each student's name, email, missing items, and last-active date
Done when Every at-risk student is listed with their name, contact, and what they have missed.
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2
Gmail — draft personalised check-in emails
gmail.com
WebRun opens Gmail to draft personalised check-in emails. - Open Gmail and compose a draft for each at-risk student
- Address them by name, reference the specific missing work, and offer a supportive nudge
- Save each message as a Draft — do not send until you have reviewed and approved
Done when A personalised draft email sits in Gmail for every at-risk student, unsent and awaiting approval.
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3
Slack — report at-risk list to you
slack.com
WebRun opens Slack to report at-risk list to you. - Post the at-risk list to your chosen Slack channel with each student's name and what they are missing
- Include a direct link to the Gmail drafts folder so you can approve and send in one click
Done when You have today's at-risk summary in Slack with a link to the ready drafts.
How is each run configured?
Secure by default
Connect once, stays signed in
WebRun signs in once and keeps each session in a persistent environment, so every run picks up right where it left off.
Every action is checked against this policy before it runs.
Questions, answered
Will it email students automatically?
Never. Every message is saved as a Gmail Draft and held there until you open it and click Send. Nothing goes to a student without your explicit approval.
How does it decide who is at risk?
It flags students with at least one missing assignment past the due date or who have not logged into Canvas in 5 or more days. You can adjust both thresholds in the plan.
What if a student has already been contacted?
It logs each drafted email so the next run skips students who already have an unread draft or have received an outreach in the past 7 days.
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