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Canvas Release Notes (2020-04-18)

Canvas Release Notes (2020-04-18)

Upcoming Canvas Changes

Ready Releases

Beginning 2020-03-28, Canvas teams will be modifying the release process to include additional updates on a weekly basis. Features included in these additional releases are designed to provide immediate solutions to institutions and are all opt-in via feature options. Please see the Ready Release Features page for additional details.

Ready Releases are a temporary process until further notice and will be in addition to regular monthly Canvas releases. Additionally, during this unprecedented time, features introduced as part of a regular release date will be opt-in feature options until July 2020 if supported—some Canvas features do not support feature option functionality. On 18 July 2020, all previously introduced features will become default for all institutions, unless otherwise indicated.

In this Canvas release (April 18), assignment menus in the Gradebook include a link to SpeedGrader. 

Additionally, TLS protocol support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1 will be removed from Canvas.

Feature Options

  • The Mute Notifications by Course feature option displays a notifications button in the Course Home Page and allows users to mute all notifications for the course.
  • The Limited Submission Attempts feature option limits the number of submissions that can be made for a Canvas assignment.
  • The Confetti for On-Time Submissions feature option generates a virtual celebration when students submit assignments on time.
  • The Rubrics in Course Navigation feature option moves the Manage Rubrics button from the Outcomes page to the Course Navigation Menu.

External Tools (LTI)

  • For institutions using New Quizzes, Multiple Answer questions allow instructors to award students partial credit with penalty if a student selects an incorrect response. This grading option will be the default for new Multiple Answer questions with an option to use Exact Match instead.

Release notes describe upcoming Canvas functionality and are subject to change.

Canvas release summary by user roleCanvas New Release ScreencastCanvas Release Collaborative Chat


Release Notes Change Log

New Features

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Notifications

Mute Notifications by Course

This feature can be enabled in Canvas through a feature option in Account Settings. Please view the content below for additional details. For more information about feature options, please see the Canvas Release Notes FAQ.

Configuration Details

Mute Notifications by Course Feature Options doc

Affected Canvas Areas

Course Home Page

Beta/Test Environment Support

Yes

Affects User Interface

Yes

Affected User Roles

All Users

Feature Enhancement Ideas

View existing Notifications feature ideas

Specified Tag for Feature Ideas

Notifications

Community Idea Contributions

https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/3663-notifications-by-course 

https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/1179-users-need-to-be-able-to-customize-notifications-at-the-c... 

Feature Video

 

 

Summary

Users can mute all notifications for a course where the user is enrolled.

 

Change Benefit

This change allows users to mute all notifications for a specific course.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

All Users

When course notifications are enabled, the Course Home Page displays a View Course Notifications button. The icon in the button displays the status of the notifications: enabled or disabled.

View Course Notifications home page button - student view

Course notifications are enabled by default. In the Course Notification Settings page, users can choose to disable notifications for the course.

Note: When course notifications are enabled, notification preferences must be configured in the Notification Preferences page. Granular course notification settings can be configured in a future release.

Course Notifications Page

Updated Features

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Assignments

On-Time Submission Celebrations

This feature can be enabled in Canvas through a feature option in Account Settings. Please view the content below for additional details. For more information about feature options, please see the Canvas Release Notes FAQ.

Configuration Details

Confetti for On-Time Submissions Feature Options doc

Affected Canvas Areas

Assignments, User Settings

Beta/Test Environment Support

Yes

Affects User Interface

Yes

Affected User Roles

Students

Feature Enhancement Ideas

View existing Assignments feature ideas

Specified Tag for Feature Ideas

assignments

Community Idea Contributions

https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/11044 

https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/11571 

Feature Video

 

Summary

Canvas generates a virtual celebration when students submit assignments on time.

Change Benefit

This change helps students engage with Canvas and encourages students to submit assignments on time.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

Students

Celebrations take place in Canvas for on-time submissions, which include both an initial submission and any resubmissions for any file type before an assignment due date.

student celebrations gif

If students prefer to not have Canvas display any celebrations, they can choose to hide all celebration animations in their User Settings page. 

Note: This feature option is included for all users and defaults to off. Students only need to adjust this feature option if the Confetti for On-Time Submissions feature option has been enabled and students want to opt-out of the animations.

User Settings Disable Celebrations option

Limited Submission Attempts

This feature can be enabled in Canvas through a feature option in Account Settings. Please view the content below for additional details. For more information about feature options, please see the Canvas Release Notes FAQ.

Configuration Details

Allowed Assignment Attempts Feature Options doc

Affected Canvas Areas

Assignments

Beta/Test Environment Support

Yes

Affects User Interface

Yes

Affected User Roles

Instructors, Students

Feature Enhancement Ideas

View existing Assignments feature ideas

Specified Tag for Feature Ideas

assignments

Community Idea Contributions

https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/1799-restrict-assignment-submission-attempts 

Feature Video

 

Summary

Submission attempts can be limited in Canvas assignments.

 

Change Benefit

This feature allows instructors to limit submission attempts for students.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

Instructors

By default, assignments can be submitted an unlimited number of times. However, instructors can choose to limit the number of attempts a student can make for an assignment by using the Attempts menu.

Submissions attempts option in assignment creation page

Students

When an assignment is limited in attempts, they’ll see the number of attempts they’ve made as well as the number of allowed attempts.

Student view that shows when submissions are limited

Gradebook

Assignment Header Menu SpeedGrader Link

Affected Canvas Areas

Gradebook

Affects User Interface

Yes

Affected User Roles

Instructors

Feature Enhancement Ideas

Existing Gradebook feature ideas

Specified Tag for Feature Ideas

gradebook

Community Idea Contributions

https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/12695-add-speedgrader-back-to-the-assignment-drop-down-menu 

Feature Video

 

 

Summary

Assignment menus in the Gradebook include a link to SpeedGrader.

 

Change Benefit

This change helps graders access SpeedGrader more easily. This change does not affect the Grade Detail Tray, which also includes a link to SpeedGrader.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

Instructors

Each assignment menu in the Gradebook includes a link to SpeedGrader. When selected, SpeedGrader opens to the first student according to the filter set in the Gradebook.

SpeedGrader link in gradebook assignments menu

New Quizzes

Multiple Answer Partial Scoring

This feature is used in conjunction with an external tool (LTI) in Canvas. Please view the content below for additional details. For more information about LTI tools, please see the Canvas Release Notes FAQ.

Configuration Details

New Quizzes LTI

Affected Canvas Areas

Quizzes

Affects User Interface

Yes

Affected User Roles

Instructors

Feature Enhancement Ideas

Existing New Quizzes feature ideas

Specified Tag for Feature Ideas

New quizzes

Community Idea Contributions

https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/2443-multiple-answer-quiz-question-partial-points-without-pena... 

Feature Video

  

Summary

Multiple Answer questions allow instructors to award students partial credit with penalty if a student selects an incorrect response. This grading option will be the default for new Multiple Answer questions with an option to use Exact Match instead.

Change Benefit

This change allows instructors to award partial credit when Multiple Answer questions are auto-graded. This change also provides parity with Classic Quizzes behavior, contributing to a smoother migration to New Quizzes.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

Instructors

In addition to the Exact Match grading option for Multiple Answer questions, instructors can choose to award partial credit with a penalty. When this option is retained, students are awarded points for every correct answer selected and deducted points for every incorrect answer selected.

New Quizzes Partial Credit option in Multiple Answer questions

Clarification about each grading type is located in the Grading Help menu. Documentation about how to create a multiple answer question is also included in the Learn More reference link.

Grading explanations for partial credit and exact match

Existing New Quizzes Multiple Answer questions will retain the exact match scoring.

Newly created Multiple Answer questions will default to using partial credit but can be switched to exact match if desired.

Students

Students are not directly shown the grading option used. However, along with their total score, they can view their selected answer(s) and any missed options in the question.

Student quiz results showing missed options

Rubrics

Course Navigation Rubrics Link

Configuration Details

Rubrics in Course Navigation Feature Option

Affected Canvas Areas

Course Navigation, Outcomes

Affects User Interface

Yes

Affected User Roles

Admins, Instructors

Feature Enhancement Ideas

View existing Rubric feature ideas

Specified Tag for Feature Ideas

Rubrics

Community Idea Contributions

https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/13491 

Feature Video

  

 

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 & Behaviors

Admins

At the account level, the Rubrics button already exists in the Account Navigation Menu, but the Manage Rubrics button has also been removed from the Outcomes page.

Instructors

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

Rubrics link in course navigation menu

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

Outcomes page without the Manage Rubrics button

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

Platform/Integration

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Browsers

TLS Protocol Changes

Summary

Support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1 will be removed from Canvas.

Change Benefit

This change ensures all customers are using the highest encryption protocols to protect user interactions with Canvas. TLS 1.0 and 1.1 protocols support usage of ciphers that do not sufficiently secure web traffic by modern standards and can easily be decrypted.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

Admins

Users who rely on browsers to interact with Canvas should test their applications using the beta environment to ensure correct functionality, as support for TLS 1.0 and 1.1 will not be available after 20 June 2020. Users who rely on TLS protocols should ensure they are using the latest version of each supported Canvas browser. Users may be affected if applications are parsing page content or using a script against Canvas APIs. Background regarding these changes can be found in Deprecating TLS 1.0 & 1.1.

Release Notes Change Log

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Date
2020-04-14

Changed—Updated Features

  • Rubrics: Course Navigation Rubrics Link changed to opt-in feature option
2020-03-30

Added available feature videos (from screencast) to feature sections

Changed—Updated Features

  • Assignments: On-Time Submission Celebrations changed to opt-in feature option
2020-03-23Release Notes Published

Change Log

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