Category: Instructional Tools News & Updates

Canvas: Push Notifications, Feature Options

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Implementation Date: January 16, 2021

In this Canvas Release, the changes below become part of the main Canvas environment. 

  • Push Notifications: The push notification has been simplified to push only certain types of notifications. Users can adjust notification preferences in their user profile or in the course notifications settings. Instructions for students and instructions for faculty. 
  • Feature Option Management: The buttons to manage feature flags have been changed to a dropdown menu and lock icon at the course and user levels. 

Read the Canvas Release Notes for more information on these changes.

Canvas Release: LaTeX, HTML Editor

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Implementation Date: February 20, 2021

In this Canvas Release, the changes below became part of the main Canvas environment. 

Additional features included in this update but not added to the ISU environment are listed below. These decisions are continuously revisited as Canvas adds further functionality.

  • Grading Period in CSV Headers: Grading Periods have not been enabled at ISU as they do not accommodate courses with non-standard start and end dates.
  • Import Override Scores in Gradebook: This adds the ability to import a CSV file to a Final Grade Override column in the Gradebook, which has not been enabled at ISU. 
    • Any Teacher, Co-teacher, or TA has the ability to enable the Final Grade Override column; it is not specific to the Instructor of Record.
    • Once enabled in a course it cannot be disabled.
    • If applied too early in the semester, students would see an inaccurate grade throughout the semester, which could potentially result in a student’s grade changing from an A to an F immediately prior to grade submission.
    • Final Grade override actions are not recorded in the Gradebook history so there is no record of who changed a student’s score or when.
  • View Ungraded as Zero: This feature allows an instructor to view student grades as if all ungraded assignments were worth zero points. This change is not reflected in the student’s view; the instructor and student see two different grades.
    • There is a warning when the option is first turned on but the setting persists until the instructor turns it off, with no additional warnings.
    • The only indicator that this is enabled is each Gradebook column will now include the words “Ungraded as 0” in the column header. This indicator can get lost in the clutter of posting policies and the unpublished status indicator.
    • A similar option previously existed in Canvas and caused significant issues during grade submission.

Read the Canvas Release Notes for more information on these changes.m

Canvas: Student View Button, Rich Content Editor, Minor Visual Improvements, Quiz Previews

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Implementation Date: February 17, 2021

This Canvas Deploy addresses the following issues: 

  • The Student View button now includes the text ‘Student View’, has been removed from the Course Settings page, and is now visible in smaller screen sizes, including browsers on mobile devices. 
  • The Rich Content Editor will now display embedded iframes inline and a download icon next to a file link. 
  • The People and Syllabus pages receive some minor visual changes to improve accessibility. 
  • Instructors’ quiz previews are no longer treated as student submissions and the option to lock questions after answering does not affect the quiz previews. 

Visit the Canvas Deploy Notes website for a full description of changes. 

Canvas Studio Webinar: 5 Steps to Increase Student Engagement

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When: June 24th – 11:00 a.m.

Join an expert panel of education leaders as they explore how to:

  • Create, deliver, and organize video content from multiple devices and sources
  • Embed quizzes directly into a video clip to gauge student understanding
  • Differentiate and assign videos to students to personalize learning
  • Facilitate discussions and feedback loops with videos for optimal engagement
  • Evaluate how students are engaging with video content …and more!
Register to attend

Release: Maintenance windows and deprecated features – Canvas (July 17, 2021)

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The July 17, 2021 Canvas Release contains information pertaining to the following: 

  • Maintenance windows begin. Starting July 15, regular maintenance windows will be implemented between the hours of 12:05 am and 4:05 am local time on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month. 
  • Deprecated features will be removed. The Classic Rich Content Editor (disabled at ISU in Dec. 2020) and SMS notifications (disabled at ISU in May 2020) will be completely removed from Canvas. 

The following feature will be enabled during our Fall 2021 technology updates, scheduled for August 16, 2021. 

  • SCORM Launch Links: Additional security measures will be added to ensure only users enrolled in the course where the SCORM content was uploaded will be given access. 

Additional features included in this update but not currently applicable to the ISU environment include: 

  • New Quizzes and Modules: New Quizzes display within the module for students. 
  • Microsoft Teams Sync: Pending approval of ISU’s request to participate in the beta implementation, course rosters can be synced from the Canvas course People page to Microsoft Teams. 

The LMS Enterprise Team will continue to review these Canvas features as they develop. 

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