These are the latest Canvas system updates that will become available from 20 June 2020. Please click on an update to expand and view the information. If you have any questions please submit a support ticket via the help menu in Canvas.

Please note that system updates are subject to change and may be subsequently updated.

Update 1 - Rubrics: Course Navigation Rubrics Link. This update is available for the following Canvas Roles: Teacher, Teaching Assistant and Course Designer.

Summary

The Manage Rubrics button has been removed from the course-level Outcomes page and added to the Course Navigation Menu.

Change Benefit

This change allows course rubrics to be accessed more quickly. Additionally, the workflow is more intuitive as outcomes are not required within a rubric.

Affected User Roles & Behaviours

Instructors

Rubrics can be accessed through Rubrics in the Course Navigation Menu;

Rubrics Link

Instructors who open the Outcomes page no longer view the Manage Rubrics button.

Outcomes Page with No Rubrics Button

Note: Rubrics can still be viewed in concluded courses but only in a read-only state.

Other related guides for Instructors

· How do I add a rubric in a course?
· How do I manage rubrics in a course?

Update 2 - Assignments: Due and Availability Date Bulk Edit. This update is available for the following Canvas Roles: Teacher, Teaching Assistant and Course Designer.

Summary

The Assignments page supports editing all assignment, discussion, and quiz dates in a single page.

Change Benefit

This change allows assignment dates to be adjusted at one time in the same location.

Affected User Roles & Behaviours

Instructors

The Assignments Settings menu includes an option to Edit Assignment Dates. This option displays all existing assignments in a single page arranged by due date. Assignments with the same due date are listed in alphabetical order. The full name of an assignment is included in the hover text for the assignment.

Dates can be selected via the Calendar icon or by typing a date directly in the text field. Currently times cannot be adjusted within the page and are set to the default of 11:59 pm.

Edit Assignment Dates Page

For assignments with multiple due dates, all due dates display below the Everyone Else date, and the student, section, or group is right-aligned in the assignment name column. Only due dates and availability dates can be edited in this page—details such as changing the specific group or section assigned to the assignment must be edited directly within the assignment.

Assignments with Differentiated Due Dates

Once all dates have been adjusted, changes must be saved via the Save button. The status of the page updates can be viewed in the status percentage bar, which displays the percentage of changes saved to the page.

Assignment Date saving page with percentages showing how much has been saved

The saving date process also validates availability dates, due dates, and course and term dates. If the date validator discovers individual errors, the error is displayed immediately near the due or availability date with the error.

Due Date Adjustment Errors

Other related guides for Instructors

· How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?
· How do I add or edit details in an assignment?

Update 3 - Courses: Instructor Publishing Improvements. This update is available for the following Canvas Roles: Teacher, Teaching Assistant and Course Designer.

Summary

The Dashboard, Courses menu, and All Courses page display both published and unpublished courses.

Change Benefit

This change helps instructors see what courses are unpublished in various Canvas locations.

Affected User Roles & Behaviours

Instructors

The Dashboard, Courses menu, and All Courses page all indicate if any courses are unpublished.

Dashboard

The Dashboard displays two sections: published courses and unpublished courses. Unpublished courses display at the bottom of the Dashboard.

Note: The Dashboard only displays favourited courses for the current term or course dates.

Dashboard showing unpublished courses

If an instructor has been given the Course State – Manage permission, courses can be published directly from the Dashboard without having to open the course. The existing behavior for publishing courses still applies—Canvas will display the window to select a home page if no Modules exist in the course.

Unpublished course with Publish button

Once published, the course displays in the Published Courses section.

Courses Menu

From Global Navigation, the Courses menu also displays courses as published and unpublished. Once a course is published, the Unpublished heading is removed, and the published course is listed along with the other published courses.

Note: The Courses Menu only displays favourited courses for the current term or course dates.

Courses Menu showing unpublished courses

All Courses Page

In the All Courses page, unpublished courses are identified with a gray background if they are within the current term or course dates and display at the end of the section. Unpublished courses in past or future enrollments also display at the end of the section, but they are not indicated with the gray background.

Once the course is published, the gray background is removed.

All Courses page showing an unpublished course

Other related guides for Instructors

· How do I publish a course?
· What are the different states of a Canvas course?

Update 4 - Commons: Category Templates. This update is available for the following Canvas Roles: Teacher, Teaching Assistant and Course Designer.

Summary

Instructors can identify a resource as a Template or Open Textbook content type. Additionally, the Filter includes options to search for either of these content types.

Change Benefit

This change allows instructors to easily locate Template or Open Textbook content types. Previously these content types could only be located by using search terms.

Affected User Roles & Behaviours

Instructors

The Share page includes a new category called Content Type. When an instructor searches for templates, the Filtering option displays both content types. Existing resources are identified as templates or open textbooks based on their titles and tags.

Commons Filter Menu with New Options

Other related guides for Instructors 

· How do I use Commons?
· How do I preview resources in Commons?

Update 5 - Conferences: User Display Name. This update is available for all Canvas Roles.

Summary

BigBlueButton Conferences display a user’s display name instead of full name.

Change Benefit

This change aligns consistency with names displayed throughout Canvas.

Affected User Roles & Behaviours

All Users

When users log into a BigBlueButton conference, their name displays in the conference as their display name. Previously the Conferences interface displayed a user’s full name.

Other related guides for Instructors and Students 

· How do I create a conference in a course?
· How do I join a conference?
· How do I use the Conferences interface as a moderator or presenter?

Update 6 - Conferences: Locked Notes. This update is available for all Canvas Roles.

Summary

Shared Notes are locked to users by default.

Change Benefit

This change allows moderators to manage who can contribute to shared notes.

Affected User Roles & Behaviours

All Users

When users log into a BigBlueButton conference, the Shared Notes link is shown as locked by default.

For viewers (students), the shared notes interface displays a message notifying that they need permission to edit the shared notes. Permission can be granted by a moderator (instructor) using the Users settings icon, selecting Lock Viewers, and unlocking Edit Shared Notes.

Other related guides for Instructors and Students 

· How do I create a conference in a course?
· How do I join a conference?
· How do I use the Conferences interface as a moderator or presenter?

Update 7 - Conferences: Remove Users. This update is available for all Canvas Roles.

Summary

Moderators can remove users from a conference and prevent the user from rejoining the session.

Change Benefit

This change allows moderators to manage conference attendees.

Affected User Roles & Behaviours

Moderators

Moderators can remove a user from the conference from the Users settings icon and selecting Remove Users. A confirmation window displays, verifying that the moderator wants to remove the selected user. A checkbox is also included, which allows the moderator to prevent the user from rejoining the session if needed.

Other related guides for Instructors and Students 

· How do I create a conference in a course?
· How do I join a conference?
· How do I use the Conferences interface as a moderator or presenter?

Other recent updates: Canvas Integration - Turnitin LTI.


10 June 2020: Code no longer automatically replaces certain text within Feedback Studio comments. This update is available for the following Canvas Roles: Teacher, Teaching Assistant and Course Designer.

If an instructor were to include an ampersand (&) or the word “prompt” within their inline comment on a student’s paper, it would appear as &amp; and < respectively. This has now been resolved and these phrases and symbols can be used as normal.

Other related Turnitin guides 
· Turnitin within Canvas – Staff Guide
· Using Turnitin within Canvas – common queries from Staff and Students
· Turnitin within Canvas – Student Guide
· Full Turnitin LTI Release Notes