As we begin a new academic year, we’ve introduced a range of updates to Canvas designed to make your learning experience more intuitive, accessible, and engaging.
On this page, you’ll find an overview of the latest features and improvements available to students in Canvas for 2026/27, along with guidance on how they can help you manage your learning more effectively throughout the year.
New Look for Assignments and Feedback in Canvas
You may notice some changes to the way assignments, submissions, and feedback are displayed in Canvas. These updates are part of our ongoing efforts to make it easier for you to track your progress, access feedback, and get the most from your learning experience.
One of the most useful improvements is that you can now view feedback for all of your submissions to an assignment, not just the most recent one. Using the new Attempt drop-down menu within an assignment, you can switch between previous submissions to view the feedback, annotations, comments, and marks associated with each attempt. This makes it much easier to revisit earlier feedback, see how your work has developed over time, and identify areas where you’ve made progress.
You will also see features such as the Progress Tracker and View Rubric, which work alongside the enhanced assignment view to give you a clearer picture of your progress. Together, these tools can help you better understand assessment expectations, reflect on feedback, and take a more active role in your learning journey.
In addition, if you store your work in Microsoft OneDrive, you can now submit files directly from your account. When submitting an assignment, select More from the submission options and choose Microsoft Education to access your OneDrive files without needing to download them to your device first.
What's New?
- A refreshed assignment and feedback experience in Canvas.
- The ability to view feedback on all submission attempts.
- A new Attempt drop-down menu to switch between submissions.
- Improved visibility of progress and marking criteria through the Progress Tracker and Rubric features.
- The option to submit files directly from Microsoft OneDrive using More > Microsoft Education.
We encourage you to take a few moments to explore these enhancements the next time you submit or review an assignment.
To learn more about Assignment Enhancements, visit the Canvas Student Guide: Assignment Enhancements (Canvas Student Guide)
Portfolio
Canvas Portfolio is a feature that allows you to create a digital showcase of your learning, achievements, and personal development throughout your studies. By collating evidence from your courses and experiences, you can build a portfolio that demonstrates your knowledge, skills, and progress over time. Your portfolio can help you reflect on your learning journey, celebrate your achievements, and create a professional record that can be shared with tutors, placement providers, or potential employers where appropriate. It gives you greater ownership of your work and allows you to present your experiences and accomplishments in a meaningful and organised way.
What can Portfolio be used for?
You can use Canvas Portfolio to:
- Showcase examples of your best coursework, projects, presentations, or assignments.
- Reflect on what you have learned from specific modules, placements, or learning activities.
- Record personal achievements, awards, certifications, or extracurricular activities.
- Demonstrate the development of key skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and digital skills.
- Document placement experiences, including tasks completed, feedback received, and skills gained.
- Collect evidence of professional development to support future job, placement, or postgraduate applications.
- Create a personalised showcase of your work that highlights your strengths, interests, and career goals.
For example, you might upload a project report and add a reflection explaining what you learned from the experience, include evidence from a work placement to demonstrate professional skills, or gather examples of assessments from different modules to show your academic progress over time.
By maintaining a Canvas Portfolio throughout your course, you can build a rich record of your achievements and experiences, making it easier to recognise your progress, prepare for future opportunities, and demonstrate your capabilities with confidence.
View this blog post for further information on how to use Canvas Portfolio.
Microsoft 365 Education
We have updated the Microsoft integration in Canvas. It is now easier to upload assignments directly from your OneDrive account, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF files. Remember that Canvas saves a copy of your file at the time of submission, so any changes made in OneDrive afterwards will not be included. Please check your submission status in Canvas to confirm your work has been successfully submitted.
