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Differentiation Tags are a powerful new feature coming soon to Canvas! And we’re excited to announce that the Differentiation Tags feature is now available in Feature Preview in beta environments. We plan to make Differentiation Tags available as a Feature Preview in production environments as part of the 6/21 release.
Differentiation Tags are designed to help educators personalize the learning experience for each student. Think of them as labels instructors can apply to individual students or groups of students that can then be used to assign modules, quizzes, assignments, and more. Differentiation Tags can be used to denote a wide range of attributes such as learning styles, academic strengths and weaknesses, interests, or any other relevant information that can help you tailor your instruction.
How Differentiation Tags work
Differentiation Tags let instructors discreetly tag students based on learning needs, interests, progress, or preferences. These tags are entirely invisible to students and are not used for collaboration, unlike traditional groups. Once tagged, instructors can use the new “Assign To Tags” functionality to assign modules, assignments, quizzes, discussions, and pages directly to specific groups of students.
Imagine being able to assign extra practice to students who need it, challenge activities to those who are ready, and personalized resources to those who learn differently—all without jumping through hoops. Now you can.
What we’ve learned from the Early Adopter Program
We’re grateful to all of the individuals who participated in the Early Adopter Program for Differentiation Tags. The feedback has been invaluable and is already shaping the next round of improvements. We’ve started working on a few exciting updates based on the feedback from the Early Adopter Program participants:
- Filter by Tag on the People Page
Quickly focus on specific Tags by filtering the course-level People page. This makes it easier to take targeted actions or just get a clearer picture of who’s who. - Improved Tag Visibility in the Traditional Gradebook
We’re fine-tuning how Tags appear in gradebook filters to help you sort and manage student data more intuitively. - CSV Import for Tags
Save time by uploading Tags using a CSV file—perfect for getting things set up at the beginning of a term or making large-scale changes. - Range Selection for Tags
Apply Tags more efficiently by selecting a range of students, using a keyboard shortcut, at once reducing repetitive clicks and setup time. - Tags in the Student Details Tray and Profile
You’ll be able to view a student’s associated Tags right in the student details tray and course profile—giving you better context without needing to jump between pages. - “Select All” Checkbox in the People Table
A small but powerful update: a “Select All” option on the People page table makes bulk actions faster and easier.
How to get started
To opt in to the Differentiation Tags feature preview an admin will need to enable the “Differentiation Tags” feature flag under feature options. Once enabled, admins will see a corresponding account setting that will also need to be enabled. Please also join the Differentiation Tags Feature Preview User Group!
What we need from you
As we’re working to finish this feature, we’d love to hear any initial feedback you have and where you’d like to see this feature go. Feel free to post ideas and questions in the user group.
We're incredibly excited about Differentiation Tags's potential to transform how educators personalize learning, and we can't wait to get this powerful tool into your hands soon!
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