Small Moments Begin with Confetti: Celebrating 3 Years of Confetti Magic in Canvas

rlufkin
Instructure
Instructure
5
3030

ConfettiAnniversary.png

Confetti has been a symbol of joy, happiness, and celebration for centuries – from flowers and tokens to paper and sugar-coated almonds. In line with this enduring cultural and emotional significance, Canvas LMS introduced a fun and simple feature in 2020 - confetti for students’ on-time assignment submissions. Little did we know that this seemingly small addition would make a significant impact on students and educators alike.

 

Finding Positivity Within Celebrations

Completing and turning in an assignment is always an accomplishment, regardless of the amount of effort needed. Because of this, we know students sought confirmation and an emotional boost when submitting their work, work that may have involved hours of time. 

With the flurry of confetti marking key accomplishments and brightening the mood, the introduction of the feature in Canvas has been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback. This simple act of acknowledgment and reinforcement creates a more personalized approach to learning, especially in an online environment. In an age when we’re always on the go, to the next lesson, the next test, and the next year, confetti gives students the space to intentionally celebrate the success of each individual step.

Students of all ages express their love for the feature. Confetti has become the motivation for submitting work on time and sometimes provides just the right amount of emotional support they need after dedicating themselves to a challenging assignment. Confetti highlights the importance of small, positive moments to the student within their educational journey. 

Educators and administrators have also embraced the confetti feature. You see the benefits it brings to their students such as creating positive reinforcement, encouraging a growth mindset, and increasing motivation and engagement. 

We’ve also heard educators, students, and administrators express interest in seeing this feature grow. Students want to see it in areas like quizzes, discussions, and, even, late submissions. Educators have also expressed interest in a confetti feature for when they finish grading or clearing items from their to-do list. Administrators would like to be able to customize their confetti icons to align with their themes, subjects, or school branding. 

The joy, motivation, and adoption the Canvas confetti feature has brought to students and educators alike demonstrate the power of small, thoughtful additions in creating a more engaging and supportive learning environment. 

 

Confetti in Action

Confetti in Canvas has transformed the experience of submitting assignments. As our community grows, it is essential to recognize and embrace the significance of such small but powerful additions that enhance the overall user experience.

To learn more about the confetti feature in Canvas LMS, check out these guides:

Do you have a confetti moment to share?! We invite you to share your experiences or thoughts about confetti by sharing a reply here in the Community or by posting on social media TwitterFacebook, Instagram to join the Confetti Moments celebration.

 

Let's continue to make learning more engaging and enjoyable for everyone!

Tags (1)
5 Comments
ThomasMorel
Community Member

I want to customize the icons and confetti colors that the confetti function uses.  I have the javascript to change all of it but I'm unsure how I can apply it so that the default confetti function executes MY version versus the default version.

Any guidance on how to invoke the custom version? (we are using the cloud version of Canvas, not self-hosted)

JamesSekcienski
Community Coach
Community Coach

@ThomasMorel 

I would recommend posting this as a new question in the Canvas Developers Interest Group.  I'm not sure if it is possible to override the functionality for this, but that would be the group most likely to share an answer if someone else has figured out a way to do it.

Samuel859
Community Member

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njp
Community Member

Fine. Celebrate. But I won't use exploding animations and I wish you would stop the default on this page. These are not universally welcome. It is distracting for anyone who has difficulty tracking. What does a screen reader do with this? 

For that matter please how can I remove the automatic 'choose an emoji' intrusion on the comments for student assignments. Annoying. I can be firm, fair, and friendly without trivializing this to cartoons. I am teaching adults. 

JamesSekcienski
Community Coach
Community Coach

@njp 

I had submitted a question asking about how to disable the confetti in Canvas Community and they said it will be removed after today.  I don't mind having it as an optional feature when it is used in a meaningful way, but using it on the navigation has been distracting.

As for the emojis in assignment comments, you would need to speak with your institution's Canvas admins.  This is currently a feature option and it sounds like your institution has enabled it.  While you may not like using emojis in your communication with students, there may be other instructors and students at your institution that do.  Allowing for the emojis is actually something to make communication options more consistent with what you see across various platforms, like Canvas Community, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.