Canvas Release Notes (2018-10-06)
Upcoming Canvas Changes
October 4–8: Analytics Beta LTI (Beta Environment)
Beginning October 4, Analytics Beta will be added as an LTI tool in all Canvas beta accounts. Production availability will be part of the following Canvas release. For full details about this feature, please see Canvas Release: Analytics Beta (Course Grade).
October 27: Developer Key Management and Scoping Feature Option Enforcement
On October 27, the Developer Key Management and Scoping Feature Option will be enabled for all Canvas institutions and applies to Canvas admins. For details about this feature, please see Canvas Production Release Notes (2018-07-14).
In this Canvas release (October 6), rubrics can be created without point values and Quizzes.Next supports restricting students from viewing their results. Section-specific discussions include an updated workflow. DocViewer supports manual image and document rotation.
For students, the List View Dashboard includes Peer Review assignments, and the Alerts tab displays both new and dismissed alerts.
For admins, the Moderate Grade permission has been removed as a Canvas permission.
For all users, right-to left language support is enabled by default for all supported languages. Various Canvas areas include non-functional interface updates.
LTI Tools
- For institutions using Quizzes.Next, Quizzes.Next supports restricting students from viewing their results after submitting an assessment.
Feature Options
- For institutions using Anonymous Grading, assignments that have enabled anonymous grading as part of the assignment settings do not display the SpeedGrader settings option to hide student names.
- For institutions using the Learning Mastery Gradebook, improvements have been made for a simplified user experience. As part of the rubric creation process, results can be set to be hidden from the Learning Mastery Gradebook. Additionally, admins can create custom ratings for all courses using the Learning Mastery Gradebook.
- For institutions using the Student Learning Mastery Gradebook, the Gradebook includes an improved interface. When students view the rubric from their Grades page or from the Submission Details page, they can view the instructor’s selected ratings for each criterion. Additionally, all aligned items are displayed in an outcome, both assessed and unassessed.
Release notes describe upcoming Canvas functionality and are subject to change.
- Follow the Canvas release notes space to be notified of updates
- For all release changes, view the Release Notes Change Log
- If you notice any contrary functionality compared to the outlined behavior in these notes, please file a Canvas support case according to your institution's support protocol
- Other questions? View the Canvas Release Notes FAQ
Feature Options
The following feature options are addressed in this release:
- Account: Allow RTL users to see RTL interface (enforced), Non-Scoring Rubrics (enforced)
- Course: Anonymous Grading, Anonymous Instructor Annotations (added), Learning Mastery Gradebook, Student Learning Mastery Gradebook
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- Feature Options
- UpdatedFeatures
- Account Settings
- Anonymous Instructor Annotations Feature Option
- Dashboard
- List View Dashboard Dismissed Alerts
- List View Dashboard Peer Review Items
- Discussions
- Section-Specific Discussions Workflow Update
- DocViewer
- Document Rotation
- Grades
- Non-Scoring Rubrics Feature Option Enforcement
- Languages
- Right-to-Left Language Support Enforcement
- Outcomes
- Student Learning Mastery Gradebook Unassessed Aligned Outcome Items
- Permissions
- Moderate Grade Permission Removal
- Quizzes.Next
- Restrict Student Results Option
- OtherUpdates
- Announcements
- Profile Initials
- People
- Profile Initials
- Rich Content Editor
- Mark Text Element
- SpeedGrader
- Anonymous Grading SpeedGrader Options
- User Navigation
- Profile Initials
- Platform/Integration
- API
- API Change Log
- External Tools
- Embedded Assignment LTI Launch Points
- Fixed Bugs
- Accessibility
- Assignments
- Gradebook
- Statistics
- API
- Users API
- Calendar
- Event Attendees Label
- Calendar iCS Host URL
- DocViewer
- Highlight Color
- Quizzes
- Public Course Anonymous Submission Quiz Statistics
- SpeedGrader
- Saved Comment Truncation
Updated Features |
Account Settings
Anonymous Instructor Annotations Feature Option
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.
Location to Enable Feature | Account Settings, Assignments |
Configuration Details | |
Affected Canvas Areas | SpeedGrader (DocViewer) |
Beta/Test Environment Support | Not Supported |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | Instructors, Students |
Summary
In Assignments, the Anonymous Instructor Annotations option is enabled by a course-level feature option. This assignments-based feature was introduced in a previous release.
Change Benefit
This change enables the Anonymous Instructor Annotations option for instructors who want to create anonymous instructor annotations in their course assignments.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Instructors
When this feature option is enabled, instructors can view the option in assignments to create anonymous annotations and comments in DocViewer-supported submissions`.
The Anonymous Instructor Annotations option only affects DocViewer in the SpeedGrader submission window. When Anonymous Instructor Annotations is enabled, DocViewer comments do not display an instructor's name.
Students
When the Anonymous Instructor Annotations option is enabled in an assignment, annotations and comments in a student’s submission do not display the name of the instructor or grader.
Feature Idea Contributions
https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/4643-hide-names-of-graders-aka-anonymous-gradersCanvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
- View existing Anonymous Instructor Annotations feature ideas
- For new ideas, please tag the idea with annotations_anonymous
Dashboard
List View Dashboard Dismissed Alerts
Location to Enable Feature | Card View Dashboard |
Configuration Details | N/A |
Affected Canvas Areas | Card View Dashboard |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | All Users |
Summary
In the List View Dashboard, the Alerts Menu displays both new and dismissed opportunities.
Change Benefit
This change allows students to view opportunities that have been dismissed from the menu.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Students
In the List View Dashboard, students can view the Alerts Menu and view new opportunities and dismissed opportunities. New opportunities can be dismissed at any time. Dismissed opportunities are only removed if they are fulfilled according to the label in the opportunity, such as submitting an assignment.
Feature Idea Contributions
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
- View existing Dashboard feature ideas
- For new ideas, please tag the idea with dashboard
List View Dashboard Peer Review Items
Location to Enable Feature | Card View Dashboard |
Configuration Details | N/A |
Affected Canvas Areas | Card View Dashboard |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | All Users |
Summary
Peer Review assignments are included as to-do items in the List View Dashboard.
Change Benefit
This change allows students to view and complete peer review assignments in the List View Dashboard.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Students
In the List View Dashboard, students can view and complete peer review assignments. Peer review assignments indicate the peer review that must be made by the student and display the peer review icon. Peer reviews can either be due on the same day as the initial assignment, or it can be due after the due date.
Feature Idea Contributions
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
- View existing Dashboard feature ideas
- For new ideas, please tag the idea with dashboard
Discussions
Section-Specific Discussions Workflow Update
Location to Enable Feature | Discussions |
Configuration Details | Sections Menu and/or Graded Checkbox |
Affected Canvas Areas | Discussions |
Beta/Test Environment Support | Yes |
Permissions | Assignments and Quizzes - add / edit / delete Discussions - view Discussions - moderate Discussions - create Discussions - post |
Related APIs | Discussion Topics API |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | Instructors |
Summary
The Discussion Details page includes an updated workflow for section-specific discussions.
Change Benefit
This change clarifies the workflow functionality of adding section-specific discussions.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Instructors
By default, the Discussion Details page includes all sections for the discussion. If all sections are selected, the discussion can be created as a graded discussion. The sections menu is removed, and individual sections and due dates can be added to the graded discussion.
However, if the discussion is changed to include one or more specific sections, the Graded checkbox is grayed out and the discussion is not available for grading.
Feature Idea Contributions
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
- View existing Discussions feature ideas
- For new ideas, please tag the idea with discussions
DocViewer
Document Rotation
Location to Enable Feature | DocViewer |
Configuration Details | N/A |
Supported in Beta/Test Environment | No |
Affected Canvas Areas | DocViewer |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | Instructor, Student |
Summary
DocViewer supports manual image and document rotation. Files that are viewable in DocViewer can be manually rotated in DocViewer using the Rotation button. Rotation is available on a per-page basis in documents with multiple pages.
Change Benefit
This feature allows instructors and students to manually rotate images and documents in DocViewer to allow easier viewing of files that were uploaded with a different image orientation.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Instructors & Students
Instructors and Students viewing documents in DocViewer can manually rotate a single page of content from the DocViewer Toolbar. The Rotate button rotates the current page clockwise by 90 degrees.
Feature Idea Contributions
https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/8793-docviewer-rotate-pageimage
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
- View existing DocViewer feature ideas
- For new ideas, please tag the idea with docviewer
Grades
Non-Scoring Rubrics Feature Option Enforcement
Location to Enable Feature | Assignments |
Configuration Details | Add Rubric |
Affected Canvas Areas | Rubrics, Grades, Student Learning Mastery Gradebook |
Beta/Test Environment Support | Yes |
Permissions | Rubrics - add / edit / delete |
Related APIs | Proficiency Ratings API |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | Admins, Instructors, Students |
Original Feature Introduction |
Summary
The Non-Scoring Rubrics feature option has been enabled for all Canvas institutions and applies to all users. This feature allows rubrics to be created without point values. Additionally, improvements have been made to the Learning Mastery Gradebook and Student Learning Mastery Gradebook interfaces for a simplified user experience.
Change Benefit
These changes promote learning engagement by helping students focus on assignment feedback instead of point values.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Admins
Admins can create custom ratings that display in the Learning Mastery Gradebook and Student Learning Mastery Gradebook. This feature allows admins to specify specific proficiency ratings that display to all users in courses that have enabled these gradebooks.
Note: Custom learning mastery ratings do not affect ratings within individual outcomes at the account or course level.
The Learning Mastery tab is located in the account-level Rubrics page. Admins can manage the Proficiency Ratings, select the rating at which students display mastery, and customize Proficiency Rating names, points, and display colors.
Instructors
When adding a rubric to an assignment, instructors can choose to remove criterion point values to create a non-scoring rubric. This change allows instructors to help their students focus on the feedback for an assignment instead of the actual point value and improve learning engagement.
When non-scoring rubrics is enabled, instructors can select the Remove points from this rubric checkbox in the rubric details. Selecting this checkbox removes points from rubrics and instructors can no longer see the Use this rubric for assignment grading and Hide score total for assessment results checkboxes.
Additionally, instructors can choose to not display rubric results in the Learning Mastery Gradebook. By selecting this option, instructors can provide students with proficiency feedback, but the resulting score will not affect Learning Mastery Gradebook calculations. This option can be used for practice assignments or other types of assessments where outcome results should not be officially recorded in the Learning Mastery Gradebook.
Note: This option is not retroactive once a submission has been graded and should always be selected before grading takes place. Any submissions that are assessed using the rubric before this option is selected will not have outcome results hidden in the Learning Mastery Gradebook.
When grading an assignment with a non-scoring rubric in SpeedGrader, instructors select ratings from the rubric for students to view, but points are not associated with each of the ratings.
In the Learning Mastery Gradebook, improvements have been made for a simplified user experience. Additionally, sidebar ratings can be customized by a Canvas admin at the account level.
Students
When students view the rubric from their Grades page or from the Submission Details page, they can view the instructor’s selected ratings for each criterion.
When enabled for a course, the Student Learning Mastery Gradebook also displays an improved interface. The name of the outcome group displays the associated number of mastered outcomes. Expanding the page shows each outcome in the course and the number of aligned assignments. For each associated outcome in an outcome group, students can view their outcome results. Non-scoring rubrics do not display the point value associated with the rubric.
Feature Idea Contributions
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
- View existing Rubrics feature ideas
- For new ideas, please tag the idea with rubrics
Languages
Right-to-Left Language Support Enforcement
Location to Enable Feature | Account/Course/User Settings - Language Menu |
Configuration Details | N/A |
Affected Canvas Areas | All Canvas |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | All Users |
Original Feature Introduction |
Summary
The Right-to-Left language feature option has been enforced for all Canvas accounts.
Change Benefit
This change enables any supported language with right-to-left functionality automatically and affects all navigational elements and text components in Canvas.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
All Users
Users can enable supported right-to-left languages in their User Settings. Right-to-left functionality is supported for Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian languages. Admins and instructors may enable a language for an entire account or course through Account or Course Settings, respectively.
Feature Idea Contributions
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
- View existing languages feature ideas
- For new ideas, please tag the idea with languages
Outcomes
Student Learning Mastery Gradebook Unassessed Aligned Outcome Items
This feature is used in conjunction with an existing feature option in Canvas. Please view the content below for additional details. For more information about feature options, please see the Canvas Release Notes FAQ.
Location to Enable Feature | Grades - Learning Mastery Tab |
Configuration Details | |
Affected Canvas Areas | Grades - Learning Mastery Tab |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | Students |
Summary
The Student Learning Mastery Gradebook displays alignments for assessed and unassessed alignments.
Change Benefit
This change allows students to view all assignment alignments for an outcome, regardless of assessment status.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Students
For courses that have enabled the Student Learning Mastery Gradebook, students can open an outcome and view all items aligned with the outcome.
Feature Idea Contributions
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
- View existing Student Learning Mastery Gradebook feature ideas
- For new ideas, please tag the idea with student learning mastery gradebook
Permissions
Moderate Grade Permission Removal
This feature is used in conjunction with an existing feature option in Canvas. Please view the content below for additional details. For more information about feature options, please see the Canvas Release Notes FAQ.
Location to Enable Feature | N/A |
Configuration Details | N/A |
Affected Canvas Areas | Permissions |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | Admins |
Summary
The Grades - Moderate permission has been removed from Canvas. Functionality is related to the Moderated Grading feature option.
Change Benefit
This change removes the deprecated Grades - Moderate permission.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Admins
Admins who want to allow users to moderate grades should use the Grades - Select Final Grades for Moderation permission. This permission is enabled with the Moderated Grading feature option.
Feature Idea Contributions
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
- View existing Permissions feature ideas
- For new ideas, please tag the idea with permissions
Quizzes.Next
Restrict Student Results Option
Location to Enable Feature | Quizzes.Next Delivery Settings |
Configuration Details | |
Affected Canvas Areas | Quizzes.Next |
Beta/Test Environment Support | Not Supported |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | Instructors, Students |
Summary
Quizzes.Next supports restricting students from viewing their results after submitting an assessment.
Change Benefit
This change allows instructors to control the visibility of the Quizzes.Next results page for students.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Instructors
Instructors can enable the Restrict student result view option in Delivery Settings. Results will not be displayed to students.
Students
When the Restrict student result view option is enabled, students cannot view the assessment results page, which includes their answer choices, feedback, and scores.
After submitting an assessment, students will only see a message that their submission was successful and their results are hidden.
The Restrict student result view option will not affect students’ ability to see their assessment grades in the Gradebook. To completely hide grades from students, instructors will need to mute the assignment.
Feature Idea Contributions
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
- View existing Quizzes.Next feature ideas
- For new ideas, please tag the idea with quizzes.next
Other Updates |
Announcements
Profile Initials
Location to Enable Feature | N/A |
Configuration Details | N/A |
Affected Canvas Areas | Announcements |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | Instructors |
Summary
The Announcements page displays user profile initials for users without profile pictures. Initials are based on the first name and last name of the user’s display name.
Change Benefits
This change upgrades the current interface functionality of non-profile-picture user accounts.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Instructors
Users who can create announcements who and do not have a profile picture display the initials of their name as their profile picture. Previously user images without profile pictures displayed a gray profile outline.
People
Profile Initials
Location to Enable Feature | N/A |
Configuration Details | N/A |
Affected Canvas Areas | People Page, Accounts |
Beta/Test Environment Support | Yes |
Permissions | Users - view list |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | Admins |
Summary
The account-level People page displays user profile initials for users without profile pictures. Initials are based on the first name and last name of users’ full name.
Change Benefits
This change upgrades the current interface functionality of non-profile-picture user accounts.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Admins
In the account-level People page, users without profile pictures display the initials of their name as their profile picture. Previously user images without profile pictures displayed a gray profile outline.
Rich Content Editor
Mark Text Element
Location to Enable Feature | N/A |
Configuration Details | N/A |
Affected Canvas Areas | Rich Content Editor |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | All Users |
Summary
The Rich Content Editor supports the mark text element.
Change Benefit
This change indicates marked or highlighted text within HTML.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
All Users
Users using the HTML Editor can include the mark text element (<mark>), which assists with accessibility.
SpeedGrader
Anonymous Grading SpeedGrader Options
This feature is used in conjunction with an existing feature option in Canvas. Please view the content below for additional details. For more information about feature options, please see the Canvas Release Notes FAQ.
Location to Enable Feature | N/A |
Configuration Details | |
Affected Canvas Areas | SpeedGrader |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | Instructor |
Summary
Assignments that have enabled anonymous grading as part of the assignment settings do not display the SpeedGrader settings option to hide student names.
Change Benefit
This change removes the Hide Student Names checkbox in SpeedGrader settings, as anonymous assignments already have this option selected by default.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Instructors
When an instructor views the SpeedGrader settings menu, the Hide Student Names in the SpeedGrader checkbox is not included. Only the Sort Student List option displays in the settings window.
User Navigation
Profile Initials
Location to Enable Feature | N/A |
Configuration Details | N/A |
Affected Canvas Areas | User Navigation |
Affects User Interface | Yes |
Affected User Roles | All Users |
Summary
The User Navigation Menu displays user profile initials for users without profile pictures. Initials are based on the first name and last name of the user’s display name.
Change Benefits
This change upgrades the current interface functionality of non-profile-picture user accounts.
Affected User Roles & Behaviors
All Users
In the User Navigation Menu, users without profile pictures display the initials of their name as their profile picture. Previously user images without profile pictures displayed a gray profile outline.
Platform/Integration |
API
API Change Log
The following changes have been made in the API Documentation change log:
API Calls
- Changes: Accounts API, Courses API, Uploading Files
- Additions: Groups API
- Removals: Uploading Files
API Responses
- Changes: OAuth2 Endpoints
- Additions: Courses API
External Tools
Embedded Assignment LTI Launch Points
External tools can be configured to appear embedded in assignment content. When an external tool is configured with an Assignment Edit or Assignment View placement, the tool will be embedded at the bottom of assignment edit/view pages. If the tool is configured at the account level, any assignment in a course in that account or any of its subaccounts include the external tool. If the tool is configured at the course level, the external tool will only display in assignments for that course. Unless otherwise specified, all assignment placements display in assignment, discussion, and quiz pages.
Additional information can be found in the API documentation under the External Tools API documentation.
Note: The assignment_view launch point is not supported in Quizzes.Next quizzes.
Fixed Bugs |
Accessibility
Assignments
When submissions are being downloaded from Canvas, the loading indicator includes an alt tag for screen readers.
The assignments LTI submission tab can be opened by keyboard users.
Gradebook
The Message Students Who window displays the grade entry field width as em units instead of pixels.
Statistics
The Statistics page tables are read more clearly with table headers for screen readers.
API
Users API
The enable_sis_reactivation parameter restores deleted SIS users re-added to Canvas along with their previously set default communication channel.
Explanation: When a deleted SIS user was re-added using the Users API call with the enable_sis_reactivation parameter, the default email associated to the user was still retired from the previous deletion. Canvas code has been updated to activate the previous default communication channel for re-added users.
Calendar
Event Attendees Label
In Calendar events, the Attendees label only displays for Scheduler appointment groups that have been reserved by an attendee.
Explanation: When an instructor created a calendar event, the event displayed an Attendees label for all events and for all users. Canvas code has been updated to only display the Attendees label for Scheduler appointment groups. When students reserve an appointment group, the name of the student(s) display within the calendar event for the instructor.
Calendar iCS Host URL
Downloaded Calendar iCS events always includes the URL of the host Canvas account.
Explanation: When a calendar was downloaded as an ICS file, the URL displayed canvas.instructure.com for all calendar events that used the user as the context instead of the course. Canvas code has been updated to include the correct URL for Calendar iCS downloads.
DocViewer
Highlight Color
Highlights in DocViewer display as a solid color in all browsers except Internet Explorer. Highlights in Internet Explorer are translucent.
Explanation: When using certain hardware and software configurations, highlights appeared as opaque colors, rendering text unreadable in DocViewer when using the Highlight tool. Canvas code has been updated to set highlight colors as solid colors in all browsers except Internet Explorer, which displays as translucent.
Quizzes
Public Course Anonymous Submission Quiz Statistics
Statistics and quiz results are supported for users who complete practice quizzes and ungraded surveys in public courses.
Explanation: When an instructor tried to view the submission results for a user who has taken a practice quiz or ungraded survey without logging in to Canvas, the page displays an error. Additionally, all users could not be viewed in quiz statistics and had to be viewed by section. Canvas code has been updated to validate statistics and quiz results for anonymous users.
SpeedGrader
Saved Comment Truncation
Free-form comments saved for reuse are truncated when viewed in the Saved Comments menu.
Explanation: When a user attempted to view long saved comments in a rubric, hovering over the text made the comment difficult to read by bouncing within the comment drop-down menu. Canvas code has been updated to truncate long comments within the Saved Comments menu. The full comment is included in the Comments field when a saved comment is selected.
Date | ||
---|---|---|
2018-10-15 | Added—Fixed Bugs
| |
2018-10-03 | Added—Updated Features
| |
2018-09-28 | Added—Platform/Integration
| Removed—New Features
|
2018-09-24 | Release Notes Published |
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While I am thrilled to see Analytics Beta to be released - WHY is it being released in the Production environment only?
WHY are the Beta and Test environment support being added after the production release?
This seems to be a backwards way of releasing a very important feature to our constituents.
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I'm confused by the Discussions change. Does it mean that Discussions created for one or more specific sections cannot be graded at all?
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That is EXACTLY what I was wondering, @heatherlbrown77 ! I believe it is a question of Canvas semantics. I tested this in Beta, and you can still assign a discussion to just one section and not another. I believe the issue is that "Post to" can be confused with "Assign to." When a discussion is graded, down in the due date field you can still specify a specific section to assign it to, dumping the default setting of "Everyone." Graded discussions use the "Assign to" area; non-graded discussions do not. But I agree, that may need to be worded a bit differently!
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I agree. The discussion creation workflow seems overly complex and confusing for faculty... If "post to" is meant for ungraded discussions and "assign to" is for graded discussions, it would make much more sense (in my opinion) to have "post to" come at the bottom if graded is not checked, just like assign to does if graded is checked. With the current method, the workflow for creating a graded discussion for just one section of the course makes no sense to faculty (they're naturally going to select the section first, which removed the grading option. Updating the workflow to be more consistent for graded vs non-graded shouldn't really take much more effort (just reordering UI elements and when they are displayed), but would really be a welcome improvement over what's happening now.
-Chris
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I don't see an entry for this update in the API Change Log for my beta or prod instance. Has it just not been added yet to environments? Or can someone provide a link to a master API Change Log?
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Hi, James,
We had a small delay getting that out and our team is working on it.
Thanks!
Erin
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Hi, Victoria,
Analytics Beta is an LTI tool. Just a reminder that most LTI tools are not designed to be in the beta environment as they always point to production data. Our teams are finalizing support for those other environments because they felt it was important to offer them for this tool.
Thanks,
Erin
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The ability to rotate documents in Speedgrader is great for some of us folks that somehow end up uploading sideways documents.
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Maybe this is the tail end of a long Monday ... but what will exactly be happening with Non-Scoring Rubrics Feature Option Enforcement being implemented? Unless this is actually happening differently from what is currently in BETA? We plan on implementing this anyway, but currently the Feature Option shows exactly the same in BETA and PROD. Originally, the non-scoring rubrics did not include Learning Mastery?
Okay, I know today is actually Tuesday ...
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Hi, Ira,
The feature option should be enforced in beta so it cannot be turned off, and today we confirmed that was not the case, so one of our engineers is working to correct that behavior. As long as the feature option is on in a course in your best environment, you can view the rest of the course as you will see it when the feature option is enforced in production.
Thanks,
Erin
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Hi - understand it is difficult when new features are LTIs, but would really appreciate being able to look at them in test/beta first so we can assess any implications and also have time to prepare comms, update guides etc as needed. I feel really uncomfortable when things go straight into production. For example, it has been difficult with docviewer not being fully available in beta, and this has led to issues going into the live environment. If at all possible it would be really appreciated if we could get things in beta first before they go live. Thank you!
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How will the system determine what initials to use for the profile image placeholder? We are a very diverse institution and we have many students who have more than just a first and last name - legally their last name is several different "words." Many times these names show up incorrectly sorted in the People and gradebook despite bringing in a separate first and last name. Can you please explain how these initials are being generated by these more complex names?
Thank you!
Joni
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The change in initials is problematic for us: a lot of our users have many initials in their name, or their first initial doesn't match the first name they're commonly known as (think "Richard" as their official name and "Dick" as their general name). So we allow them to add their general name in parentheses behind their Full name, Display name etc:
This unfortunately gives us the following result, many users with one initial and a parenthesis:
I don't think we're the only institution that works this way, as these names and this practice are quite common here. I am also curious if the logic that selects the first initial and first letter of the last name will always work well across cultural borders as different countries see first and last name quite differently.
Edit: after posting this, I saw @millerjm 's post, so I know we're not the only one with this issue.
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I keep re-reading the notes and comments hoping to understand this change, the need for it and what is specifically correcting/addressing/making better. Does not seem to make sense to me.
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Hi @curtain ,
I admit I was confused by the wording in the document here, so I had to go so some side-by-side comparisons with beta/prod Canvas. In my testing, I've found that the change being made here *removes* the "assign to" menu instead of just disabling it when the "graded" option is checked.
While this isn't a huge change, I still think the workflow here is backwards. Things selected further down on a page shouldn't have an affect on things higher up on the page (in my opinion), which is why I think the "post to" box should be moved to the bottom, just like "assign to" is for graded discussions. In this case, the "graded" option seems to be the variable that decides whether "post to" is relevant or not as far as I can tell, so "post to" should come somewhere below the graded option to reduce confusion. My feeling is that small additional change would prevent a lot of confusion for anyone who creates a discussion.
-Chris
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Our CSM provided the following, "Analytics Beta will be configured as an LTI tool at the root account and hidden in course navigation by default. This version of Analytics is only for Instructor access with later versions being accessible to students. Please note that if the tool is made visible in navigational view via course settings and students click the link, they'll receive a message stating, "Student Analytics coming soon".
What will student's see when the student view is provided in Analytics 2.0? We would like to take that into consideration in the timetable to provide the LTI to instructors through the course navigation.
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The rubric change has created a few unexpected behaviors. For example, a very basic rubric having three performance levels and three criteria requires nearly 50% of the screen to display the entire rubric left to right at 100% zoom. And folks, this is a 32" monitor. Is this the intended behavior? Something seems amiss.
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Hi, Joni,
I've added clarification to the release notes:
- Announcements and User Navigation display initials based on the first name and last name of the user’s display name.
- Account-level People page displays initials are based on the first name and last name of users’ full name.
Hope that helps!
Erin
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Hi, Ira,
Our team is using feedback from the instructor view to develop future enhancements and reports. Students can continue to use the existing analytics information—Analytics Beta is displaying the same information but in a more simplified view with additional details. Because of this pending feedback need, we currently don't have a specific timeline as to when student analytics will be available but it will be in 2019.
Thanks,
Erin
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Hi, Jeff,
Support cases are always encouraged when you find any contrary behavior in Canvas so our teams can investigate for you.
Thanks!
Erin
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Hi, James,
The API change log has been updated so you can see all the updates now.
Thanks for the note!
Erin
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Hi, Victoria,
The release notes change log has been updated to indicate that Analytics Beta has been removed from this production release; however, the intended schedule to install the LTI tool in various regions will still apply to the beta environments only. The reasoning for the initial production plan was because instructors have been asking for Analytics Beta for some time, and our teams wanted to make it available as soon as possible. Additionally, our teams are looking for as much feedback as quickly as possible to be able to continue further enhancements to the tool, so as soon as it is available in production (which is now in our next release), we'd appreciate instructors being able to use the tool and contribute feedback.
Thanks,
Erin
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Hi erinhallmark,
Can you tell us how the first and last name of the display name are figured out?
I know first name and last name for the official name can be defined by an SIS upload, but as far as I know, display name is just one field for first and last name. The first name may contain spaces, as well as the last name, so I'm not sure how Canvas would accurately determine the initials in that case.
Even for the official name, if the user is added via the UI, there's no way to accurately separate the first and last names. I think this is something that might need a revisit ASAP. The UI should probably prompt for first name and last name, and maybe display name even needs to be separated into a distinct first and last name too if initials are going to be used.
-Chris
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Hi! I opened this last evening: Canvas case 03599644. The support agent was great and we explored the behavior. He believes the observed behavior was 'how it is supposed to work'.
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A group of us participated in the Release Notes (2018-10-06) Collaborative Chat. Here are our Collaborative Notes and our Chat Archive. If you're interested in joining the next chat on October 19th, RSVP to Release Notes (2018-10-27) Collaborative Chat so you can receive updates!
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Hi Erin -- thanks for this update. As additional enhancements and features are added to Analytics 2.0, will these also be released to beta first?
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Erin,
From what I understand from your comment - a user could have a different set of initials depending on where in Canvas you are? That seems very inconsistent.
Joni
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We currently have grade distribution graphs (in Grades) turned off in many courses - is this functionality likely to be impacted/phased out? We would want to hide any new analytics from students in many areas as comparative data can be very sensitive, so would appreciate plenty of notice if possible so we can manage as needed. Thank you!
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My apologies if this seems like a stupid question, but I've been trying to figure it out for a few hours with no results: what exactly does Embedded Assignment LTI Launch Points do to/for the user experience?
What it sounds like is that it embeds an external tool into all assignments within the context of where the tool is loaded, but assuming that's the case I'm not understanding the actual change to the user experience. We could already embed external tools to the bottom of an assignment.
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The bity url listed in the user specific release notes does not seem to be working. Is it just me?
Thanks
Melissa
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Hi @Jeff_F ,
Are you referring to Speedgrader, or the student view? Or both?
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Hello @b_w_reid ! The Speedgrader is the topic. See below for an example with three performance levels.
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I see... it takes up about a third of the screen on my PC, the placement of the rubric, isn't ideal. You can expand and contract the pane, and use the scroll bar, to view the rest of the rubric as you mark. I'm wondering if this would work better as a popup? Just a thought.
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Yes, factors influencing rubric width appear to be the number of performance levels and the zoom of the browser.
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We reported this to our CSM when it was announced the Non-scoring Rubrics feature was being enforced. We investigated the exact changes of enabling this feature and our biggest red flag was the scrolling of a rubric in the SpeedGrader. As far as I'm aware, a solution from Instructure hasn't been mentioned to those with regular interaction with our CSM, but we knew this would be a major complaint by our faculty if it was allowed to release like it.
Our solution is a fairly minor modification to the global CSS to override the Instructure-set min-width for the display of the rubric:
.react-rubric {
min-width: auto !important;
}
Important Note: The use of !important is required for this to work because Instructure places their min-width value on the actual element.
Before | After |
---|---|
It doesn't look so great squished with meaningful criterion, but it's better than scroll even with the default rubric of "Full marks" and "No marks".
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Thanks you all for the clarification on what this means; the release notes made it sound like you wouldn't be able to grade a section-specific assignment. I don't understand why Canvas has moved towards this workflow. My teachers are not going to realize that Post To does not mean the same thing as Assign To, especially when you can't even see the Assign To controls until you have first selected Post To: All Sections and checked off Graded. It's not intuitive at all and is going to require repeated explanations to staff. I really hope Canvas decides to roll this back before the production release. Just simplify the workflow: it a teacher has clicked the Graded box, auto-populate the Assign To field with whatever is in the Post-To field.
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With the new rubric functionality it looks like an established mode of marking is no longer possible... but I wanted to check in with the community that I'm understanding this right before writing up a feature request!
Previously, if you chose "Hide score total for assessment results" this would hide the rubric total for the students but not the teacher - right? So you could make a rubric that allowed the teacher to see the calculated total, for them to use this total as a guide to determine a more specific grade holistically, without fear of confusing the student by showing them the calculated total.
Anyway, now if you chose "Hide score total for assessment results" then nobody can see the total - this isn't how it used to behave and I can't see any specific reference to the change in the release notes, so is it an intentional change, and if not, could we get the total visible to teachers again please?
I'll put together an example of this sort of rubric approach in another post as this may resonate more with UK HE institutions
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Hi, Jeff,
Our product team has determined this behavior can be improved and will be revisiting the rubrics display soon.
Thanks,
Erin
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Hey, Melissa,
I fixed the link earlier this week; thanks for the shoutout so we could review!
Thanks,
Erin
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Hi, Christopher,
I've asked one of our engineers to chime in about his change in more detail.
Thanks!
Erin
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Hi, Natalie,
All feedback from the instructor view will help influence future direction for students. Analytics Beta will replace the existing analytics page, so I don't believe the Grades page will be impacted. However, feel free to follow the feature ideas and feedback in the Canvas Studio space to help share ideas.
Thanks!
Erin
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Hi, Christopher,
It's using the spaces between the names, and it's using whatever name is first and whatever name is last.
This change was implemented by our design team, and the change was entirely based on switching the component for the profile picture. I don't see any code changes that address the actual display of the names, which is coded into each page. Name behavior throughout Canvas will probably need to be reviewed as a whole by the product team.
Thanks,
Erin
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Hi, Adam,
Sounds like this is the first we've heard of this behavior. Would you mind submitting a support case so our team can review this behavior?
Thank you,
Erin
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Hi, Christopher,
I received this reply:
That’s correct that the launch points allow an external tool to be embedded into all assignments within the context of where the tool is loaded (root account, sub-account, or a specific course). That differs from the existing assignment launch point, which requires the external tool to be explicitly added to the description of each assignment individually.
A primary use case that these launch points were developed for is displaying accommodations for students in the course, based on data stored in an external system. This helps inform the instructor if any of their students should be given accommodations for an assignment.
Thanks,
Erin
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Will there be a UI equivalent to the API modification, or is this just going to remain a "hidden feature" usable only by those institutions/faculty who learn the intricacies of the API? As a "hidden feature," it feels like even that scenario isn't feasible.
If it's already in the UI, where? I've looked around the edit/create UI for external tools and it didn't have any new options in our Beta instance.
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Hi, Christopher,
The UI component is the LTI configuration when adding an LTI tool in the Apps tab, which is located in Account Settings or Course Settings.
This addition makes it possible for developers to develop external tools that use these new placement locations (or make modifications to existing ones that may already utilize a different placement). It does require some technical familiarity with the LTI standard to do this. Feel free to reach out to the Developers group in the Canvas Community if you'd like assistance in exploring this new functionality, and if you aren't getting the answers you need, we can put you in touch with our Platform team.
Thanks,
Erin
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Hello,
I use Rubrics with Free-Form comments. I have saved various version of my comments for each criteria. This morning (October 6th), I was grading, and clicked to insert a feedback comment and it would not insert that selection into the comments field (as it had done previously).
Screenshot below showing that I selected one of my saved comments, but nothing appears in the comment field (even after pressing Save).
It wouldn't allow me to copy and paste.
One bizarre thing was that if I selected save comment, on the second to last criteria, that comment would suddenly appear in the comments field (see screenshot below).
I am working on a Mac and this doesn't work on Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
I have submitted a ticket on this.
Thanks so much for looking into this and getting it fixed ASAP. It's really slowed my grading down.
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A number of our students are reporting that they are getting an error in courses when they click on various components.
One course it was when a student clicked on Modules, they are directed back to the homepage of the course with the following error
"That page has been disabled for that course"
Another course when the students tries to open a particular assignment.
Anyone else seeing this? Ticket already submitted to support.
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Hi, Glen,
We've received this report and our team is working on it!
Thanks,
Erin
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I just noticed this as well. Thanks for submitting a support ticket! I'm using Firefox on a PC and having similar issues.