February 16 Canvas Release

Posted on February 18, 2019 | Leave a comment

Canvas is updated every third Saturday with new features and fixes. The Macomb CTL posts highlights from the production release notes and related content to our blog at emacomb.com.  Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you have any questions about Canvas releases.

February 16 Release

Please view the New Feature Screencast for a demonstration of the updates in this release:

 

New Gradebook: Override Final Grade

NOTE: This update only applies for instructors who have opted into the New Gradebook.  By the end of 2019, the New Gradebook will replace the existing Gradebook. We’ll continue to update you as the deployment timeframe is announced.

Instructors using the New Gradebook now have the option to manually override the final grade as caculated by Canvas. To activate, check the Allow Override box on the Advanced tab of the Gradebook Settings screen (gear in upper right corner).

This will add an Override column after the Final Grade (Total) column.

Instructors may then enter a letter grade to override the Total grade. The letter grade will reflect the lower percentage of the range in your grading scheme.

Students will not know their final grade has been overridden.

 

Quizzes.Next: Reopen Student Assessment

NOTE: This update only applies for institutions who have opted into the Quizzes.Next LTI.  In the long term, Quizzes.Next will become the new standard Quiz engine for Canvas.

Instructors are now able to manually reopen quiz attempts for students, with the quiz returning to the last question where the student was active.

This is an improvement over the current Quizzes behavior, which allows the instructor to Moderate and give additional attempts, but each new attempt requires the student to begin the quiz again, losing their previous work.

 

Rich Content Editor: Thumbnail Images Restored

When using the Rich Content Editor to insert an image into a Canvas page from your Canvas files (i.e., the Canvas tab for Image Source), you will now see image thumbnails in your folder structure:

Thumbnails greatly simplify the process of finding a desired image. The thumbnail feature was temporarily down after a previous Rich Content Editor update.

The complete production release notes for this release are available on the Canvas LMS Community.

 

The next Canvas release will be deployed Saturday, March 9, with release notes available Monday, February 25.

 

Images on this page are from the Canvas Guides, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Agreement.

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January 26 Canvas Release

Posted on February 1, 2019 | Leave a comment

Canvas is updated every third Saturday with new features and fixes. The Macomb CTL posts highlights from the production release notes and related content to our blog at emacomb.com.  Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you have any questions about Canvas releases.

January 26 Release

Please view the New Feature Screencast for a demonstration of the updates in this release:

 

 

Rubric Comments Enhancement

Instructors may now add comments to rubric criteria directly from SpeedGrader.

This update will allow instructors to edit their rubric comments while using the same rubric to grade assignments in SpeedGrader.

Note that this update refers to comments on the rubric criteria, not comments on the student’s assignment.

 

Learning Outcome Mastery

NOTE: This update only applies for instructors and students who have opted into the Learning Mastery Gradebook.  Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you’d like to test this feature.

The total score for a particular learning outcome in a course will now be displayed if at least one of the assignments does not have hidden point values.

For example, because all asignments’ point values are hidden in the rubric for Week 7 Journal, you do not see X /5 – only Mastered or Not Mastered.

This change will make it easier to view a student’s progress towards mastery when at least one of the outcome’s assignments shows a point value.

 

Moderated Grading: Assignments Editable by Viewer

NOTE: The Moderated Grading feature is not yet active at the Macomb institutional level. Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you’d like to test this feature.

If your assignment uses Moderated Grading, any grader who is able to view the Grade Summary page will now able to edit the assignment.

This update will allow graders who have not been designated by the instructor as the final grader to edit assignments. This will simplify the process for nonfinal and noninstructor graders to modify assignment details throughout the course.

The complete production release notes for this release are available on the Canvas LMS Community.

 

The next Canvas release will be deployed Saturday, February 16, with release notes available Monday, February 4.

 

Images on this page are from the Canvas Guides, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Agreement.

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January 5 Canvas Release

Posted on January 10, 2019 | Leave a comment

Canvas is updated every third Saturday with new features and fixes. The Macomb CTL posts highlights from the production release notes and related content to our blog at ctl.emacomb.com.  Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you have any questions about Canvas releases.

 

January 5 Release

Please view the New Feature Screencast for a demonstration of the updates in this release:

 

Resource Previews in Commons

Canvas Commons now includes a preview of the content which is to be imported.

Now users can view the content of the Commons resource without having to import it to their own Canvas instance first.

 

Course Link Validator Enhancements

The Course Link Validator in Course Settings now specifies whether a link or image is either invalid or unreachable.

  • Invalid – file is corrupt or unopenable
  • Unreachable – indicates file may have been moved or deleted from its host server. Try to find an updated link.

This change is intended to give instructors and designers more useful information to resolve broken links more efficiently.

 

Settings: Course Dates Clarification

This is a design change only – all functionality and user actions on the Course Details page remain the same.

The change of language on this page is intended to clarify the difference between courses and the larger term in which they’re scheduled.

 

The complete production release notes for the December 8 release are available on the Canvas LMS Community.

The next Canvas release will be deployed on Saturday, January 26, with release notes available Monday, January 14.

 

Images on this page are from the Canvas Guides, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Agreement.

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Winter 2019 CTL Professional Development Brochure

Posted on December 13, 2018 | Leave a comment

We are pleased to announce the release of the Winter 2019 CTL Professional Development Brochure.

 

New workshops this semester:

Canvas Groups

Increase engagement in your course by assigning students to Canvas Groups to collaborate on assignments, presentations and projects. Within Canvas Groups, students may share files, message their group, and create announcements, pages, discussions, conferences and collaborations.

In this workshop you will:

  • Set up Groups
  • Create a Group Assignment
  • Visit a Group
  • Grade a Group Assignment

Collaborating in Canvas

Collaboration among students and faculty is possible in Canvas using either Google Drive or the Office 365 OneDrive. This allows students to simultaneously work on the same document with others in the class. A few examples of how this solution might be used are team projects, practice activities and peer reviews.In this workshop you will:

  • Create a collaboration in Canvas using Google Drive
  • Create collaborations in Canvas using Office 365
  • Interact as both a teacher and student using each interface
  • Reflect on the benefits / challenges of using collaboration tools

Quizzes

Explore Canvas Quizzes with your colleagues while working asynchronously on replacing your on-ground Scantrons or paper assessments with online quizzes or surveys! In this workshop, you will create online graded and non-graded quizzes and surveys using the Quiz tool. Hidden gems, such as the Moderate This Quiz feature, Quiz Analytics, Question Groups and Question Banks will be covered. As always, course facilitators are available for questions and feedback!

Rubrics

Rubrics can be a great way to communicate and manage expectations for an assignment and how your students will be assessed. You may already be using rubrics as a part of your grading process, but did you know that Canvas has a rubric feature that can expedite and ease your grading process?

In this workshop you will:

  • Design a rubric using measurable criteria
  • Identify rubric options and settings
  • Create a Canvas rubric
  • Grade using your Canvas rubric
  • Reflect on designing, creating and grading using rubrics

Please review the Professional Development Brochure and register for workshops in the Noncredit/Continuing Education area of WebAdvisor on MyMacomb. 

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November 17 and December 8 Canvas Releases

Posted on November 28, 2018 | Leave a comment

Canvas is updated every third Saturday with new features and fixes. The Macomb CTL will post highlights from the production release notes and related content to our blog at ctl.emacomb.com.  Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you have any questions about Canvas releases. 

 

November 17 and December 8 Releases

Please see the New Feature Screencast for a video demonstration of the updates in this release.

The screencast for the December 8 release will be made available closer to the release date.

 

Rich Content Editor: Embedded Image File Uploads
  • Students and instructors may now upload an embedded image/file directly into the Rich Content Editor.
  • Click the Embed Image button in the Rich Content Editor to use the updated interface:

  • Select the Canvas tab and you’ll be able to quickly embed files from Course Files and My Files.

  • From this screen, you may also upload new images from your device to My Files and embed them on the page.

 

Accessibility: Screen Reader Browser Support

Screen reader support for Internet Explorer 11 and Edge browsers has been discontinued. Firefox is the recommended browser for those using screen reading software to access Canvas.

 

Reorder Dashboard Course Cards
  • You may now move the course cards on your Dashboard. Click the Options menu (three dots) to see four choices for moving the card.

  • Cards can now be dragged and dropped as well, for easier placement.
  • Newly-added courses will appear at the bottom of the course card list.

 

HTML5 Supported in Media Recorder

The Record Media button in the Rich Content Editor now supports HTML5 for Firefox and Chrome browsers. You will see an updated interface for the Record/Upload Media dialog box:

Flash is still supported for Internet Explorer users, but you must verify that it is enabled.

  1. From the Settings gear, select “Manage Add-ons”
  2. Locate Shockwave or Flash from the publisher Adobe Systems Inc.
  3. If status is Disabled, click Enable button.

This update will make it easier for Chrome and Firefox users to use the Media Recorder. Previously, users had to manually allow Flash, which is blocked by default in Chrome and Firefox.

Full production release notes for the November 17 and December 8 releases are available on the Canvas LMS Community.

The next Canvas release will be deployed on Saturday, January 5, with release notes available Monday, December 17.

 

Images on this page are from the Canvas Guides, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Agreement.

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October 27 Canvas Release

Posted on November 2, 2018 | Leave a comment

Canvas is updated every third Saturday with new features and fixes. The Macomb CTL will post highlights from the production release notes and related content to our blog at ctl.emacomb.com.  Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you have any questions about Canvas releases. 

October 27 Release

Please see the New Feature Screencast for a video demonstration of the updates in this release.

Analytics Beta LTI
  • The Analytics Beta LTI tool will eventually replace the existing Course Analytics tool
  • Compare average and individual student grades across various assignment types
  • Interactive tables and graphs facilitate powerful data analysis
  • Activate Analytics Beta through Settings > Nagivation
  • Complete documentation on features
  • User Guide for Analytics Beta

 

Submission Status of Google Drive and Office 365 Uploads
  • The status of assignment uploads from Google Drive and Office 365 LTIs are now visible to both students and instructors

  • Exclamation point indicates upload failed, up arrow indicates a submission is queued for upload but has not finished

  • Instructors may view the same icons in the Gradebook
  • Icons also visible in SpeedGrader

 

HTML5 Option for Recording Media

Recording with the Rich Content Editor will no longer require Flash functionality.

 

Full production release notes for the October 27 release are available on the Canvas LMS Community.

The next Canvas release will be deployed on Saturday, November 17, with release notes available Monday, November 5.

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October 6 Canvas Release

Posted on October 10, 2018 | Leave a comment

Canvas is updated every third Saturday with new features and fixes. The Macomb CTL will post highlights from the production release notes and related content to our blog at ctl.emacomb.com.  Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you have any questions about Canvas releases. 

October 6 Release

Please see the New Feature Screencast for a video demonstration of the updates in this release.

 

Anonymous Annotation
  • Instructors may now add anonymous annotations to student submissions. This feature must be activated on the course level in the Feature Options tab of the Course Settings page:

Allow anonymous annotations in Course Settings page.

  • On the Edit Assignment page, you’ll now see a checkbox to anonymize the annotations for that assignment.

  • When students view their submissions in DocViewer, the instructor’s name will show as “Grader” on the annotations.

 

Rotate Documents in DocViewer
  • DocViewer now offers the capability to rotate pages within a document. See the new Rotate button in the Toolbar:

DocViewer document rotation

  • Instructors and students can rotate on a page-by-page basis to quickly fix documents with incorrect orientation.

 

Mark element in Rich Content Editor
  • The Mark HTML element, better known as highlighting, is now supported by the Rich Content Editor:

  • To use Mark highlighting, enter the HTML editor from the Edit Page screen and enclose the desired text with a <mark> highlighted text here </mark> tag:

 

Full production release notes for the October 6 release are available on the Canvas LMS Community.

The next Canvas release will be deployed on Saturday, October 27, with release notes available Monday, October 15.

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September 15 Canvas Release

Posted on September 19, 2018 | Leave a comment

Canvas is updated every third Saturday with new features and fixes. The Macomb CTL will post highlights from the production release notes and related content to our blog at ctl.emacomb.com.  Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you have any questions about Canvas releases. 

September 15 Release

Please view the New Feature Screencast for a video demonstration of the updates in this release.

Bulk Accept for Moderated Grading
  • This change affects only courses using the New Gradebook with Moderated Grading
  • The moderator can choose to accept all grades by a grader for all assignments in which that grader is the only grader for the student
  • Students with submissions graded by more than one grader will still need to be individually approved by Moderator

Moderated grading bulk accept

 

Last Date Attended in Student Profile
  • Instructors may now note the final date of attendance in a student’s Profile page
  • The date cannot be deleted once added
  • Allows instructors to easily see the last date of on-ground attendance from each student’s Profile page

Last date attended

 

Export All SpeedGrader Comments as PDF

  • Click the Download Submission Comments link in the SpeedGrader sidebar to generate a PDF containing all comments for the submission
  • Allows easy exporting, sharing, and printing of comments
  • Not available for muted assignments

 

Full production release notes for the September 15 release are available on the Canvas LMS Community. 

 

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Canvas Production Releases: August 25 and August 4

Posted on August 24, 2018 | Leave a comment

Canvas is updated every third Saturday with new features and fixes. The Macomb CTL will post highlights from the production release notes and related content to our blog at ctl.emacomb.com.  Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you have any questions about Canvas releases. 

August 25 Release

Please view the New Feature Screencast for a video demonstration of the updates in this release.

Dashboard List View and Mark as Done Module Requirements
  • Existing feature: Instructors can require the student to click “Mark as done” on a page
  • Change: The Mark as Done requirement now synchronizes with the recently-implemented Dashboard List View
  • When the student marks a page as done, the checkbox in Dashboard List View will be automatically checked.

Mark page as done

When the student marks the page as done, the checkbox in Dashboard List View will automatically be checked.

 

SpeedGrader: Anonymous Assignment Hidden Submission Details
  • SpeedGrader will hide submission details if an assignment is muted.
  • Upon unmuting the assignment, all details will show in SpeedGrader, including student names and submission time.

 

Student Learning Mastery Gradebook Outcome Icons
  • Only available in the New Gradebook
  • Clicking on the “i” icon allows students to quickly view information on their progress towards outcome mastery
  • Promotes the alignment of assessments with learning outcomes

 

Full production release notes for the August 25 release are available on the Canvas LMS Community. 

 

August 4 Release

Please see the New Feature Screencast for a video demonstration of the updates in this release.

Student To Do List View
  • The Student Dashboard now offers a List view for to-do items in each course.
  • Toggle List view by clicking the three dots near the top right of the Dashboard.
  • Students can add list items of their choice, and instructors can add graded and ungraded assignments to students’ to-do lists.

dashboard list view

Instructors can directly add modules, assignments, quizzes, or discussions to students’ to-do lists when creating or editing the page:

add to student to do

 

Google Docs and Office 365 Assignment Submission Processing Notification
  • Upload process for Google Docs and Office 365 submissions has been improved
  • Students can browse away or close the page without affecting the submission

Office 365 processing

 

DocViewer Comment Stacking
  • In DocViewer, related comment threads are now represented by stacking.
  • Initially shows the number of replies.
  • Click the comment box to expand all replies to the original comment

Docviewer Comments

Full production release notes for the August 4 release are available on the Canvas LMS Community. 

Future Updates

The next production release is scheduled for Saturday, September 15. Please see the Canvas Releases page for Production Release Notes, available on September 4.

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Canvas Production Release: July 14

Posted on July 17, 2018 | Leave a comment

Canvas is updated every third Saturday with new features and fixes. The Macomb CTL will post highlights from the production release notes and related content to our blog at ctl.emacomb.com.  Please contact us at ctlsupport@macomb.edu if you have any questions about Canvas releases. 

July 14 Release

Please view the New Feature Screencast for a video demonstration of the updates in this release.

 

Anonymous Moderated Grading
  • Requires enabling by Canvas admin  – contact CTL if interested
  • Anonymous Grading – graders are unable to view students’ names
  • Moderated Grading – instructor can set assignment submissions to be reviewed by one or more graders, and which grade should be made final
  • Please see the official Canvas documentation of this feature for complete details and discussion

Anonymous Moderated Grading

Instructor sees anonymous students and graders, with option to choose final grade

Anonymous and moderated

Assignment submissions can be moderated, anonymous, or both.

 

Non-Scoring Rubrics
  • Must be enabled by a Canvas admin – contact CTL if interested
  • Create a rubric without point values to promote learner engagement and interaction with ungraded activities
  • See the official feature documentation for further details

Non scoring rubric in Speedgrader

Example of instructor view of non-scoring rubric within SpeedGrader. Points column is used for verbal feedback.

 

Self-registered Courses: Pair Students with Observers
  • Observer does not need to know student’s username or password
  • Student can click Pair with Observer button to generate a six-digit code to share with their intended Observer (most often a parent, mentor, or guest) who enters the code in their own User Settings.
  • Please see the official Canvas document on the Observer role for more information on its permissions and restrictions.

Pairing code button

 

Full production release notes for the July 14 release are available on the Canvas LMS Community. 

 

Future Updates

The next production release is scheduled for Saturday, August 4. Please see the Canvas Releases page for Production Release Notes, available on Monday, July 23.

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