Upcoming Canvas Changes
New Canvas User Interface (UI): July 9
On July 9, 2016, the New Canvas Interface will no longer be a Feature Option in Canvas and will be enabled for all Canvas users as a standard feature. Enabling the New UI affects the user interface for the entire Canvas account.
In this production release (March 12), Canvas includes changes to several feature areas designed to improve user accessibility. Instructors can differentiate assignments by groups and improve their course workflows with changes to the To Do list, Thin Common Cartridge imports, and Quiz previews. Admins can also specify courses as a blended format for reporting purposes.
Unless otherwise mentioned, features apply to both the current and new Canvas user interface.
Canvas New Feature Screencast (2016-03-12)
The next release schedule:
- Beta release and notes: March 21
- Production release notes: March 28
- Production release and documentation: April 2
Production release notes indicate Canvas updates that will be included with Saturday’s release and are subject to change. New features may differ from those available in your beta environment. Learn more about the Canvas Release Schedule.
- New Features
- Analytics
- Assignments
- Course Settings
- Permissions
- Updated Features
- Calendar
- Course Imports
- Dashboard
- People
- Quizzes
- Platform/Integration
- APIs
- Other Updates
- Languages
- Fixed Bugs
New Features |
Analytics
Page Views Table
Account, course, and user analytics can be viewed in graph or table view. This change improves accessibility and allows keyboard users to access additional data that could previously only be viewed by hovering over the graphs. Analytics pages always default to the graph view.
To view data in tables, toggle the analytics view at the top of the page. Tables apply to every graph in its respective page, and each column defines the data within its respective graph.
Each table is paginated to 30 entries per page; additional pages can be viewed by advancing to the next page.
Assignments
Differentiated Group Assignments
When creating a group assignment or group discussion, instructors can differentiate between groups. This feature allows instructors to create a group set in the course and differentiate assignment due dates for each group.
Notes:
- Since quizzes cannot be taken in groups, this feature is not available in Quizzes.
- Group memberships should always be finalized before assigning assignments to groups. Changing groups after assignments have been submitted may misalign submissions and grades.
To enable differentiated assignments for groups in an assignment or graded discussion, the assignment must be set as a group assignment.
In the Assign section, select the name of the assignment group from the groups list. Groups can also be located by searching for the name of a group.
In graded discussions, instructors still view the links to all groups that were part of the group set (as with any other group discussion). However, not all groups may have been selected in the differentiated assignments list, so not all assignment groups may show a differentiated due date. Students can only view the discussion if they are a member of an assigned group. Otherwise the discussion does not appear in the group's Discussions page.
For instance, if the group set in the graded discussion includes Assignment Groups 1, 2, and 3, but only Group 2 and Group 3 were added to the discussion, all students in Group 1 would not be able to view the discussion.
Course Settings
Blended Course Format
In addition to Online and On-Campus options, the Course Format menu includes a Blended, or hybrid, option. Admins can use course format information to track the formats of courses in their account; the blended option is used to define a course where some students are in a traditional classroom setting and some are participating online.
The Blended option is also available in the Courses API.
Permissions
View Announcements
The View Discussions permission previously controlled both the Announcements and Discussions features. Permissions now includes a separate View Announcements permission, which is enabled by default for all users at the course level. Disabling the announcements permission hides the Announcements link in Course Navigation. This feature is primarily designed for managing announcements and discussions in courses with observer enrollments.
Updated Features |
Calendar
Scheduler Student Signup View
When students sign up for an appointment in the Scheduler, the calendar defaults to the agenda view. This change improves accessibility and allows users with screen readers to view the dates and times of each appointment slot.
Course Imports
Thin Common Cartridge Standard
Institutions using the Thin Common Cartridge Standard (most commonly K12) can view and import specific content data into Canvas. Through the Select Specific Content import option, users can view an organized structure of the file and select which content items are imported to the course as module content. If users choose to import all content, all resources are imported into Canvas as one module.
Thin Common Cartridge is a lightweight metadata structure that allows publishers to provide digital resources using LTI links (external tools) and usually includes a significant number of resources in one common cartridge interchange file (.imscc). Thin Common Cartridge files are designed by creating items grouped into a folder or series of folders that defines how the content should be organized for the learner.
Thin Common Cartridge files are imported into Canvas as Modules. When importing content, Canvas uses metadata identifiers and titles to simulate the hierarchical structure within the Thin Common Cartridge file. This structure appears as nested content within the Modules content heading, allowing users to view a structured organization and locate the content they want to import into the course. However, users cannot view the external tools that are associated with each content line until the content is imported.
Once content has been located and selected, specify if the content should be imported as one module or imported as separate modules. By default, modules are imported as one module. All associated external tools will be imported with the content and should already be configured through the account-level LTI tool.
Note: Import settings are applied on a per-content basis. When importing several groups of content, expand each content group and select the import method, otherwise the content will always be imported as one module.
Dashboard
To Do List
For instructors, the To Do list indicates the number of submissions that require grading. The indicator supports up to three digits and matches the primary color of the account's theme as set in the theme editor. This change also aligns indicators and icons when associated with long course and assignment names.
People
Edit Observer Role
In the People page, the Edit Role option allows a user’s role to be changed to an observer. Once set to the observer role, observers can be edited to another role as long as the observer is not linked to a student.
To link or unlink a student from an observer, open the Settings menu for the observer and click the Link to Students link, where student names can be added or removed.
Deactivate User
The inactive enrollment setting has changed its terminology from Inactivate User to Deactivate User. This terminology change is part of the user’s Settings menu in the People page. The Enrollments API also includes commands to inactivate and deactivate a user, so admins currently using the inactive enrollment type are not negatively impacted by this change.
Quizzes
Instructor Quiz Previews
Instructors can only preview quizzes in Canvas. Previewing a quiz allows instructors to complete a quiz the same way that students will complete the quiz, including submitting the quiz. However, an official quiz submission is never created in Canvas.
Notes:
- For file upload questions, instructors can simulate uploading a file, but the actual file is not uploaded into the quiz.
- This change does not apply in the Canvas by Instructure app.
- This change applies to any user with a comparative or higher role, including admins.
Explanation: When an instructor took a quiz, the instructor was no longer able to manage the quiz, such as unpublishing the quiz. Additionally, the instructor’s attempt was logged in quiz statistics and the Gradebook history, and the instructor received a graded notification in the Course Navigation menu that could not be removed. These behaviors occurred because Canvas did not differentiate quiz submissions by user role. Canvas code has been updated to only allow instructors to preview a quiz.
Platform/Integration |
APIs
For details about using Canvas APIs, please see https://www.canvaslms.com/policies/api-policy
Submissions API
When listing assignment submissions, the Submissions API includes the group parameter to return the group ID and group name.
Users API
The Users API supports the integration_ID parameter for pseudonyms.
Other Updates |
Languages
Hebrew
Hebrew has been added as a crowd-sourced language in Canvas.
Fixed Bugs |
Accessibility
Accounts
Focus is retained within account and sub-account elements. Editing an account retains focus on the edited account’s name. Deleting an account places focus on the previous account listed in the account page. Expanding or collapsing sub-account lists retains focus on the expand/collapse button. Creating a new sub-account places focus on the name of the new account.
The sub-accounts page displays a color contrast of 3:1 for the default Canvas interface and 4.5:1 for high contrast profiles.
Analytics
Keyboard users can navigate all the additional information that is shown in the account, course, and users analytics graphs by viewing analytics in a table format.
Announcements
The number of search results in the Announcements page can be read by screen readers.
Assignments
The File Upload field includes a label for screen readers. The Remove icon includes alt text for screen readers.
Assignment error messages are read to screen readers, and focus is placed on the first applicable error.
The Rich Text Editor includes a label for screen readers.
Calendar
Scheduler appointments can be read by screen readers.
The date and time calendar field error messages can be read by screen readers.
Scheduler displays appointment groups using agenda view.
Chat
New chat entries are read to screen readers.
Conversations
The unread conversation message indicator retains focus for keyboard users.
Discussions
The number of search results in the Discussions page can be read by screen readers.
Gradebook
The Gradebook Settings menu retains focus in all menu options for keyboard users.
Tooltips are available for keyboard users when focus is placed in a Gradebook cell.
In the New Canvas User Interface, the Gradebook muted assignment text color displays a contrast of 3:1 in the regular interface and 4.5:1 for high contrast profiles.
Editing a grading scheme does not place focus on extraneous hidden elements and displays an Add icon next to each line. Clicking the Add Grading Scheme button retains focus on the grading scheme. The Add Grading Scheme, Edit Grading Scheme, and Delete Grading Scheme buttons are announced to screen readers as buttons, as are the add and remove grading scheme icons in the grading scheme edit page.
Help Menu
The Canvas Help menu retains focus in the menu elements. In the Report a Problem option, focus is retained on the Back button, and all invisible focus areas have been removed. In the Report a Problem option, the Back button retains keyboard focus.
Integrations
In the user’s Settings page, the Details link next to an integration shows the Access Token Details window, which retains keyboard focus. In the Approved Integrations list, deleting an integration retains focus on the previous token’s delete button, or the next token’s delete button if the first is deleted. If no access tokens exist, focus is placed on the New Access Token button.
Modules
In the Add Content window, tab focus is retained for keyboard users.
Outcomes
Outcomes, the Find Outcomes window, and the Move Outcomes window display a color contrast of 3:1 for the default Canvas interface and 4.5:1 for high contrast profiles.
Quizzes
Clicking the Add Question Bank button retains focus on the title of the new question bank.
Question bank images include alt attributes.
The number of search results in the Quizzes page can be read by screen readers.
Terms
Editing a term or canceling an edit retains focus on the edit icon. Adding a new term retains focus on the Add New Term button.
Users
The users profile page retains focus when editing the profile or deleting profile links.
Account Settings
Quiz IP Address Filters
Admins can remove a quiz IP filter for an account.
Explanation: When an admin created a quiz IP address filter for the account, clicking the remove icon was not removing the address filter. Canvas code has been updated to remove IP address filters if an admin tries to remove it from the page.
Accounts
Deleted Sub-account Admins
Sub-account admins are not shown in the sub-account admin user list if the user is deleted.
Explanation: When a user was added as a sub-account admin and then deleted from the account, the user’s name still appeared in the sub-account admin list. Canvas code has been updated to remove the name from the admins list if the user account is deleted.
New Canvas UI and Deleted Sub-accounts
Users who have been added as an admin to a sub-account cannot view the sub-account if it is deleted.
Explanation: In the new Canvas user interface, when a user was added as an admin in a sub-account and the sub-account was later deleted, users were still able to view the sub-account from their Admin menu in Global Navigation. However, clicking the name of the sub-account generated an unauthorized error. Canvas code has been updated to not show any deleted sub-accounts in the Admin menu and remove deleted accounts from the Accounts API.
Analytics
Account Analytics
Term analytics display the number of users in analytics.
Explanation: When an account admin viewed account analytics for a term, analytics were displaying the number of enrollments instead of users, causing analytics to become inflated. Canvas code has been updated to count the number of individual users in an account.
Announcements
View Discussion Permission and Concluded Courses
Students and observers cannot view announcements in concluded courses if they are not granted the View Discussions permission.
Explanation: When a student or observer was not granted the View Discussions permission, the user wasn’t able to view announcements. However, when a course had already concluded by specific dates and the Users Can Only Participate in the Course Between These Dates checkbox was selected, the user was able to view announcements. Canvas code has been updated to verify user role overrides in concluded courses instead of course or term dates.
Assignments
Differentiated Assignments and User Removal
Instructors can save a differentiated assignment, quiz, or graded discussion after a previously added student or section has been removed from the course.
Explanation: When an instructor created an assignment, and an included student or section was later removed from the course, the instructor wasn’t able to edit or save the assignment. The due date area for the previously included student or section displayed a loading error. This behavior also affected the Gradebook, which was not able to load correctly when these users were removed from the course. Canvas code has been updated to remove the user override from an assignment if the student is removed from the course.
Differentiated Assignments and 200+ Enrollments
When creating a differentiated assignment for a student, instructors can view all student names enrolled in the course.
Explanation: When an instructor created a differentiated assignment and searched for the name of a specific student, any students beyond 200 enrollments displayed as Loading instead of displaying their names. Canvas code has been updated to improve how student names are cached in differentiated assignments.
Conversations
Percentage Symbols and Conversation URLs
Conversations does not double convert percentage symbols in conversation URLs.
Explanation: When a user sent a conversation with a URL that contained the space HTML code of %20 or the percent HTML code of %25, the links were being double converted. For instance, a URL that included %20 and %25 were being converted as %2020 and %2025, which broke the entire URL. Canvas code has been updated to improve URL encoding with percentage symbols.
Course Import
Course Files Folder Names
Canvas folders named Course Files do not break a course import.
Explanation: When a user created a course folder called Course Files, and the entire folder name was entered in lowercase text, importing the course broke all links in the folder. Canvas courses already include a folder called Course Files. Canvas code has been updated to disregard folder names when importing course content.
Desire2Learn and HTML Documents
Desire2Learn (D2L) module item HTML content is converted and linked to wiki pages.
Explanation: When an institution imported content from D2L, most of the content imported as uneditable HTML documents linked to modules. Canvas code has been updated to convert the HTML files into course pages and link to the proper module ID.
Course Settings
Link Validator and Root Directories
The link validator does not invalidate links in Canvas public directories.
Explanation: When a user created a link in the Rich Content Editor that included a public root directory in Canvas that was sanitized to a shortened version, the link validator marked the link as being broken. For instance, in https://canvas.instructure.com/images/preview.png, the link was sanitized the link to /images/preview.png. Canvas code has been updated to not invalidate links to public directories.
Course Statistics and Deleted Quizzes
Course Statistics only includes current course content.
Explanation: When an instructor viewed Course Statistics, the running total included deleted quizzes. Canvas code has been updated to only include current course content in statistics.
Courses
Groups in Courses List
The Courses list does not display groups for any courses that have been restricted to viewing after the course before or after the end date.
Explanation: When an admin or instructor restricted students from viewing courses after the course start or end date, students were not able to view the course in their Courses list, but they could still view any associated course groups. Canvas code has been updated to remove the names of groups that are associated with restricted courses.
Dashboard
Announcement Notifications
Announcement notifications can be deleted from the Dashboard.
Explanation: When a user viewed and removed an announcement notification, refreshing the page would display the same notification. The Dashboard was displaying duplicate announcement notifications where the duplicate could not be removed. Canvas code has been updated to prevent duplicate notifications.
To Do items and New Quiz Submissions
Quizzes with essay questions appear in the To Do list after a new submission is made to the quiz.
Explanation: When an instructor created and published a quiz with essay questions, the quiz appeared in the To Do list for grading once it receive student submissions. If the instructor chose the Ignore option, the quiz would not reappear in the To Do list once the quiz received a new submission. Canvas code has been updated to make submissions with manual grading reappear in the To Do list.
New Canvas UI and Course Nicknames
Admins cannot view course nicknames created by any student.
Explanation: When a student using the new Canvas user interface created a nickname for a course, admins could look up the student in the account users page and view the student’s course nickname in his or her enrollments list. Canvas code has been updated to not display student course nicknames to admins.
Discussions
Discussion Replies and Future Enrollments
Students cannot participate in a discussion before the course is active and the student has accepted the course invitation.
Explanation: When a student was invited to a future course, but viewing future courses was not restricted, the student was able to create and reply to discussions before accepting the course invitation. Canvas code has been updated to verify course start dates and user permissions before allowing participation in a course.
Until Dates and Time Zones
Date and times entered in the Until Date field are displayed according to the user’s time zone.
Explanation: When an instructor created a discussion with a time and date in the Until Date availability field, the time zone was being converted to Mountain Time instead of the user’s time zone. Canvas code has been updated to display discussion Until Dates according to the user’s time zone.
View Discussion Permission and Concluded Courses
Students and observers cannot view discussions in concluded courses if they are not granted the View Discussions permission.
Explanation: When a student or observer was not granted the View Discussions permission, the user wasn’t able to view discussions. However, when a course had already concluded by specific dates and the Users Can Only Participate in the Course Between These Dates checkbox was selected, the user was able to view discussions. Canvas code has been updated to verify user role in concluded courses instead of course or term dates.
ePortfolios
Page Downloads
ePortfolios can download pages without content.
Explanation: When a user tried to download an ePortfolio that contained page without content, the ePortfolio download failed and could not generate a zip file. Canvas code has been updated to allow users to download ePortfolios with empty page content.
Files
Files Quota and Terabytes
Course files indicates when a quota is set as a Terabyte.
Explanation: When an admin created a course files quota to a Terabyte instead of a Megabyte, the course files use indicator showed as undefined. Canvas code has been updated to support Terabytes as course file quotas.
Unpublished Files and Concluded Courses
Instructors can download unpublished files in concluded courses.
Explanation: When an instructor was in a course concluded by course or term dates, the instructor was unable to download unpublished files in the Files page. Canvas code has been updated to verify permissions for instructors in concluded courses.
User Quotas and File Attachments
If an instructor allows students to attach files to discussions in a course, students cannot attach files if they have exceeded their user files quota.
Explanation: When a student tried to attach a file to a discussion, but the student had exceeded his or her user files quota, the post appeared to save but did not include the attachment. When the student refreshed the page, Canvas generated a warning that their file quota had been exceeded, but the reply was not included in the discussion. Canvas code has been updated to warn students on attachment upload if they are out of space. This behavior does not apply to graded discussions, where attachments are considered part of the assignment submission and are not counted against a user’s files quota.
Grades
Total Column and Weighted Assignment Groups
The Gradebook Total column displays a dash for weighted assignment groups with no submissions.
Explanation: When an instructor created weighted assignment groups for a course, the Gradebook Total column was displaying 0% instead of a dash, even if no grades had been entered for an assignment. Canvas code has been updated to display a dash in the Total Column for weighted assignment groups until grades have been entered. If the Treat Ungraded as 0 option is enabled, the Total Column will also display grades as 0% for instructors (this setting does not apply to the student grades page).
Modules
Post Grades to SIS and New Assignments
If an institution is using a student information system (SIS) and the Post Grades to SIS checkbox is enabled by default at the account level, the SIS checkbox setting is applied to all course assignments and quizzes created in Modules.
Explanation: When an institution was using a student information system and an admin enabled the Post Grades to SIS checkbox by default at the account level, any assignments and quizzes created in Modules was not passing back to the SIS. The SIS checkbox for those assignments and quizzes was not being checked automatically. Canvas code has been updated to apply the default account setting to assignments and quizzes created in Modules.
Requirements in Future Courses
Students cannot complete module requirements when viewing future enrollments.
Explanation: When a student is enrolled in a future course and is not restricted from viewing the course before the start date, viewing the modules page fulfilled some module item requirements. Automatic completion applied to any module item that was not locked and where the student was required to view the item or contribute to the page. Canvas code has been updated to only allow module items to be marked as complete if the course is active.
Requirements and Module Progress
Module Progress for a student only shows required module items.
Explanation: When an instructor view the module progress for a student, all items in the module were being displayed in the Module Progress page. However, once the student had completed all the required items, module items without requirements no longer appeared in the page. Canvas code has been updated to not show module items unless they include module requirements.
Notifications
Submission Comment Notifications
Submission comment notifications do not escape paragraph tags in HTML email notifications.
Explanation: When a submission comment contained paragraph tags (usually generated by a line break), the paragraph tags were appearing in the message and breaking the alignment of the content. Canvas code has been updated to preserve the format of HTML notifications and allow content to be readable.
Instructor Notifications and Scheduler Group Appointments
Instructors receive notifications when students sign up for appointment groups.
Explanation: When an instructor created a group appointment in Scheduler, the instructor was not receiving notifications for student signups when the instructor enabled the Appointment Reserved By User notification. However, instructors were receiving notifications regarding student cancellations in group appointments. Canvas code has been updated to send Scheduler appointment signup notifications to instructors.
Outcomes
Outcome Titles and Question Bank Alignments
Users can view outcome alignments when viewing a question bank.
Explanation: When an instructor created a question bank and chose to align an outcome from the question bank detail page, the instructor could view the title of the outcome but could not view outcome alignments. Clicking the name of the outcome generated a page error. Canvas code has been updated to link the name of the outcome in a question bank and display all aligned outcomes.
Pages
Front Page and Sequential Order Modules
Users can view the Front Page of a course if it is included in a locked module.
Explanation: When an instructor added the Front Page to a module as the first item in the module, and users were required to move through modules in sequential order, loading the Front Page for the first time displayed a message that the page could not be accessed. Canvas code has been updated to allow any page set as the first module item to be accessed the first time it is viewed.
New Canvas UI and Delete Page Window Size
Pages displays the Delete Page confirmation message in a larger window.
Explanation: When an instructor tried to delete a page from the Pages Index Page, the Delete Page confirmation message was being shown in a window that was not large enough to display the entire message. Canvas code has been updated to increase the height of the window and display all confirmation text.
New Canvas UI and PDFs in Firefox
In the New Canvas UI, users can save or preview content as a PDF in the Firefox browser.
Explanation: When users in the new Canvas user interface tried to print any long content in Firefox, saving or previewing the content as a PDF resulted in a single page of content or cut off content on the right side of the page. Canvas code has been updated to preview and print all pages as a PDF. Additionally, the Course Navigation icon and header is not included in printed content, and the content margins have been removed to enable printing for the entire width of the page.
Rich Content Editor
New Canvas UI and Margin Width
Margins for individual header styles are valid within the Rich Content Editor.
Explanation: When an instructor set a content header style, the margins for each style were no longer valid, and the H4 font size was not being applied correctly. Previously Canvas updated text styles to support unitless line heights in the new Canvas user interface, which created inconsistencies with the H4 heading and unnecessary white space in margins. Canvas code has been updated to improve CSS behavior with unitless line heights.
Quizzes
Anonymous Surveys and Student Analysis
Instructors can view the complete results of an anonymous survey in the student analysis page.
Explanation: When students completed an anonymous survey, the survey statistics showed survey questions on a per-question basis and did not display any student names. However, when an instructor clicked the Show Student Survey Results button from the quiz and viewed the number of students who took the survey, clicking the name of a student (shown as Student 1, Student 2, etc.) did not display any individual survey results. Canvas code has been updated to show all survey questions for each student while still hiding the student’s name.
Question Bank Move/Copy Option
Instructors can move or copy a quiz question to a different question bank.
Explanation: When an instructor moved or copied a quiz question to another question bank, the move or copy failed if the question was recently edited or created within the same page load. Canvas code has been updated to move or copy newly created questions without having to refresh the page.
Quiz Submission API and Resume Quiz Option
The Quiz Submission API does not block students from resuming a quiz on mobile devices.
Explanation: The Quiz Submission API was not allowing students to resume quizzes on mobile devices. When students tried to complete a quiz, Canvas generated an error message that the quiz questions could not be viewed due to quiz settings, which occurred when students were also not allowed to view quiz results. Canvas code has been updated to allow the Quiz Submission API to resume quizzes on mobile devices.
Concluded or Inactive Instructor Enrollments and Grading Notifications
Instructors with concluded or inactive enrollments do not receive notifications about quizzes that require grading.
Explanation: When an instructor’s enrollment was concluded or deactivated in a course, the instructor was still receiving notifications about quizzes that needed to be graded. Canvas code has been updated to verify an instructor’s enrollment status before sending notifications.
Quizzes and Section Enrollments
Students can take a quiz if they are enrolled in an active course section.
Explanation: When a concluded course included a course with active section dates, and students were enrollment in both a concluded section and the active section, students were unable to take any available quizzes. Canvas code has been updated to verify enrollment eligibility when active section dates override course dates.
Quiz Log Essay Questions
When a student completes an essay question in a quiz, the quiz log does not show the student left the page.
Explanation: When a quiz included an essay question and the student clicked outside the Rich Content Editor but remained in the quiz, the quiz log showed that the student stopped viewing the Canvas quiz-taking page. Canvas code has been updated to only update the quiz log as navigating away from the page if the student leaves the quiz completely by opening another browser tab or window or views another area of Canvas. However, the quiz log may show that the user focused back onto the page, which is not the same as leaving the quiz page.
Instructors and Quiz Submissions
Instructors can only preview quizzes in Canvas.
Explanation: When an instructor took a quiz, the instructor was no longer able to manage the quiz, such as unpublishing the quiz. Additionally, the instructor’s attempt was logged in quiz statistics and the Gradebook history, and the instructor received a graded notification in the Course Navigation menu that could not be removed. These behaviors occurred because Canvas did not differentiate quiz submissions by user role. Canvas code has been updated to only allow instructors to preview a quiz.
