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Canvas Release Notes (2021-05-15)

Canvas Release Notes (2021-05-15)

In this Canvas release (May 15), institutions can set a course ID as a course template for all new courses created in an account.

Instructors can use an annotated assignment type to upload a file for students to annotate and submit directly in Canvas.

Feature Options

  • The Auto-Show Closed Captions feature option allows users to enable captions to show by default in all Canvas videos.

LTI Tools

  • For institutions using New Quizzes, the New Quiz creation page includes both a Save button and a Build button.

 

For all resources and feedback information related to this release, including the New Feature Screencast, see the Release Resources section at the end of this document.

Related Links

 

New Features

Back to Table of Contents

 

Assignments

Student Annotation Submissions

 

Location to Enable Features

Assignments

Affected Canvas Areas

Assignments, SpeedGrader

Beta/Test Environment Support

Yes

Affects User Interface

Yes   

Affected User Roles

Instructors, Students

Related Idea Conversations

Student PDF Annotations on Web Browser Version

Feature Q&A

Releases Q&A: 2021-05-15 Annotated Submissions

Feature Video

Assignments: Student Annotation Submissions (2021-05-15 Release) 

Feature Guides

How do I annotate a file as an assignment submission in Canvas? (Student)

How do I create an online assignment? (Instructor)

 

Summary

Instructors can use an annotated assignment type to upload a file for students to annotate and submit directly in Canvas.

Change Benefit

This change allows instructors to provide a file as an assignment and allow students to annotate the file directly in Canvas. Currently students have to either print the file and take a photo to submit, or use a third-party tool to complete the submission.

Affected User Roles

Instructors

In the assignment creation page, instructors can select the option to create a Student Annotation assignment type. The file that should be annotated is uploaded for the assignment, and students can use the annotation tools with DocViewer to complete the assignment. This assignment type is included under the online assignment types so that instructors can select additional submission options for students unable to annotate onscreen.

Peer reviews are supported for student annotation submissions. However, Anonymous Peer Reviews are not supported for student annotation assignments, as the names of students are not displayed anonymously in annotations.

Completed submissions are viewed in SpeedGrader with the student’s annotations shown for grading. 

Notes:

  • Student annotation assignments cannot be used for group assignments.
  • Assignment Enhancements currently do not support student annotation assignments.
  • Although annotations are supported in the Canvas Student app, this specific assignment type is not currently supported for mobile devices. If instructors want students to be able to annotate a document via the mobile app, they should also use the File Uploads submission type and provide the original file in the assignment description for students to download and annotate in the app.

erinhmcmillan_0-1618854141430.png

 

Students

Students can complete the annotation assignment directly in Canvas using the annotation tools in DocViewer. 

If a student later views a previously submitted attempt, the annotations on the file are shown as read only and additional annotations are not allowed.

 

erinhmcmillan_1-1618854141360.png

 

Courses

Course Templates

 

Location to Enable Feature

Account Settings, Course Settings

Affected Canvas Areas

Account Settings, Account Courses Page, Course Settings, Dashboard, SIS Import, API

Beta/Test Environment Support

Yes

Affects User Interface

Yes   

Affected User Roles

Admins, Instructors

Feature Q&A

Releases Q&A: 2021-05-15 Course Templates

Feature Video

Courses: Course Templates (2021-05-15 Release)

Feature Guides

How do I select a course template in an account? (Admin)

How do I enable a course as a course template? (Admin)

Course Content Distribution Comparison PDF 

 

Summary

A course ID can be designated as a course template for all new courses created in an account. This functionality is supported for both manually created courses and SIS import. 

Change Benefit

This change provides a consistent user experience for students and will ensure all base materials are included with each new course by an institution’s admins and/or authors.

Additional Details

For full details about Course Templates, please see the Canvas Release: Course Templates document.

Note: This feature differs from Blueprint Courses as a course template cannot be associated with other courses or managed by another course.

erinhmcmillan_2-1618854169429.png



Updated Features

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New Quizzes

Save and Build Button Workflow


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.

Production Feature Availability

28 April per the 2021-04-28 Canvas Deploy Notes

Location to Enable Features

Quizzes

Feature Functionality Details

New Quizzes LTI

Affected Canvas Areas

Assignments

Beta/Test Environment Support

Yes

Affects User Interface

Yes   

Affected User Roles

Instructors, Students

Feature Q&A

New Quizzes Instructor Workflow Changes

Feature Video

New Quizzes: Save and Build Button Workflow (2021-05-15 Release)

Feature Guides

How do I create an assessment using New Quizzes? (Instructor)

 

Summary

The New Quiz creation page includes both a Save button and a Build button.

Change Benefit

This change aligns the Save button behavior with other areas of Canvas, and the Build button distinctively separates the workflow for building a quiz.

Affected User Roles

Instructors

When an instructor creates and enters details for a quiz, the page displays both a Save and a Build button. Previously the page only included the Save button, which counterintuitively launched the New Quiz editor. 

The Save button saves the content in the existing page and returns the user to the area where the quiz was accessed. . This change to the Save button mimics similar behavior located throughout Canvas regarding saving page content.

The Build button saves the existing page and launches the New Quiz editor.

erinhmcmillan_0-1618860799964.png

 

User Settings

Auto-Show Closed Captioning


This feature can be enabled in Canvas through a feature option in User 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 Features

User Settings

Affected Canvas Areas

Anywhere videos can be viewed in Canvas

Beta/Test Environment Support

Yes

Affects User Interface

Yes

Affected User Roles

All Users

Feature Q&A

Releases Q&A: 2021-05-15 Auto-Show Closed Captioning

Feature Video

User Settings: Auto Show Closed Captioning (2021-05-15 Release)

Feature Guides

What feature options can I enable in my user account as an instructor? (Instructor)

What feature options can I enable in my user account as a student? (Student)


Summary

Users can enable captions to show by default in all Canvas videos.

Change Benefit

This change allows users to view captions added to videos by default without having to manually enable captions for each individual video.

Affected User Roles

All Users

Users can access the User Settings page to enable the Auto-Show Closed Captioning feature. This functionality is supported for captions added to recorded Canvas videos or uploaded videos in a course. 

erinhmcmillan_2-1618860954913.png

Captions can be added to a video when uploading a video, or they can be added any time by clicking the video in the Rich Content Editor and accessing the video options sidebar.

Note: Videos embedded from third-party tools, such as YouTube, are not supported. Additionally, videos embedded from Canvas Studio videos are not yet supported but will be in a future release.

 

Other Updates

Back to Table of Contents

 

Users

Maintenance Windows

 

Affected Canvas Areas

Account Settings, User Settings

Beta/Test Environment Support

Yes

Affects User Interface

Yes   

Affected User Roles

All Users

Feature Q&A

July 2021: Regular Canvas Maintenance Windows

Feature Video

Users: Account Maintenance Windows (2021-05-15 Release)

 

Summary

To better manage required maintenance across all customer instances, regular maintenance windows will be implemented for each region, beginning in July 2021. 

Change Benefit

Planned maintenance windows help to minimize the need for emergency maintenance.

Affected User Roles

All Users

Regular maintenance windows will be implemented for each region, beginning in July 2021. The maintenance window for each institution will be displayed below the Time Zone field in Account Settings, and below the Time Zone field in User Settings. 

Note: The date displayed for the maintenance window for each account may be adjusted before July 2021, which is when maintenance windows will officially begin.

erinhmcmillan_3-1618861062533.png


Although windows are always scheduled for two hours, most likely maintenance will only last a few minutes. Additionally, maintenance may not always be required. Admins at each institution will always be alerted to planned maintenance before it takes place, but no alerts will be sent if no maintenance is expected. 

Users can subscribe to status updates for their Canvas accounts via the Canvas Status History Page

 

 

Change Log

Back to Table of Contents

 

Date  
2021-05-17

Added Feature Guides

2021-04-29

New Features—Assignments: Student Annotation Submissions

  • Added support for peer reviews
2021-04-27 Added Feature Videos
2021-04-19 Published Release Notes

 

 

Release Resources

Back to Table of Contents

 

Release Q&A

To discuss a feature in this release, visit the Feature Q&A link listed in the table for the relevant feature in this document.

User Summaries

Release features are summarized for individual roles in the User Summaries page.

New Feature Screencast

View a screencast of all the updates included in this release in the New Feature Screencast page.

tl;dr Podcast & Blogs

Features in this release may be included in product blogs and our product podcast, the Canvas tl;dr. For related links, view the 2021-05-15 Community tag.

Feature Enhancements

The release notes indicate available functionality for a feature. If you want to see any future development planned for any features included in these notes, please visit the Roadmap. Have an idea you don't see prioritized in the next three months? Visit the Idea Conversations page.

Feature Support

All items listed in the release notes are immediately available for testing in the Canvas beta environment, unless otherwise indicated.

  • If functionality in the beta environment does not match the functionality shown in the release notes, please submit a support case through your institution's preferred method as shown in your Global Navigation Help Menu.
  • The Canvas Support Team can help escalate behaviors that may need to be resolved before they are deployed to the production environment, which takes place on the date of these release notes. When submitting a case, please indicate that the behavior is occurring in the beta environment.

Change Log

2021-04-27

Added Feature Videos
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