The "Inbox" tool on the Canvas global navigation menu (left side of the screen) is used for "Conversations" with other users, including your instructors. You will often see it referred to as "Conversations" in the Canvas help documentation and in other places like the Notifications page. It is the internal messaging tool used in Canvas instead of regular email.

How is the Inbox different than regular email?

Conversations sent through Canvas are very similar to standard email, in that there is a To: field, a Subject: field, a message body, and attachments. However, the Inbox is an internal tool within Canvas, making it easy to send message to other users in your courses without having to know any email addresses.

Can I receive an email to my school/personal email address instead?

You can change your Notification settings in Canvas (Account > Notifications) so that an external email is sent as well. Change the following Notification options:

Added to a Conversation
Conversation Message - a new message is received in your Canvas Inbox
Conversations Created By Me - you send a message from the Canvas Inbox; this basically carbon copies your external email

Messages are delivered to email from the reply-to address of "notifications@instructure.com". Replies are delivered back to the Canvas messaging system and will be stored there.

How do I contact my instructor if I have been dropped from the class or the class has closed at the end of the term?

If you printed/saved a copy of the course's syllabus, check there to see if the instructor listed another contact method such as their @snead.edu email address.
If the instructor is a full-time employee of Snead State, go to the Snead State website, click the Student Panel (cap & gown icon) on the left side of the page, and use the "Faculty & Staff Directory" to locate the instructor's contact information.
Go to Snead State's website, click on the "Academics" or "Career Technical/Workforce" link at the top of the page, click on the division/department link, and look for the contact information for the Division Director that oversees the course's subject area. For example, to locate the Division Director for a BUS course you would go to Academics > Business and scroll to bottom of the page.