Compiling a List of New Features

[JordanGarciaNAU]

Good afternoon! I just started a new position as an instructional designer at a university which is in the stages of transitioning from Bblearn to Canvas. I was given a task to research what new features are being rolled out to Canvas and provide some insight on how it'll benefit our instructors.

I have spent some time on the Canvas Product Release page, but my question is-- how can I distinguish between changes that are being rolled-out to everyone (such as a UI update) versus features that need to be enabled on the admin side of things? Your input is greatly appreciated, thank you ! 

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Hi @JordanGarciaNAU ...

I think one thing you can look at are the individual sections of Release Notes.  This is just one example that I'll point out.  Take a look at Canvas Release Notes (2023-07-15) - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com).  If you go to the section on "External Tools" >> "Microsoft Teams Sync" ... or just go here: Canvas Release Notes (2023-07-15) - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com) ... this is a new Feature Option that can be turned on/off.  When I went into my "beta" environment, this Feature Option was available at the admin level.  However, it's not available yet in the "production" environment ... not until July 15, 2023.  I would recommend looking at those tables of info for each item in the Release Notes ... which should help you determine whether or not you'd want to turn something on for your entire account or not ... of course, being sure to do your own testing of the feature prior to making something available for everyone.

Hope this helps a bit!  Sing out if you have any questions.

[JordanGarciaNAU]

Thank you Chris that is very helpful information. I  really appreciate your response!