CanvasUpdates20160130
From e-Learning Documentation
Production Release notes for Saturday, January 30, 2016.
In this production release (January 30), students can locate the modules progress bar more easily. All users can reply directly to announcement and discussion notifications, and the Canvas user interface includes font and icon adjustments.
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Updated Features
Notifications
Discussion and Announcement Reply URLs
When a user receives a notification for a reply to a discussion or announcement thread, the URL in the email links directly to the post rather than the top of the thread.
This feature was originally suggested by the Canvas community.
User Interface
Icon Updates
Several icons have received a slight design update throughout Canvas. Updated icons include stats, settings, check mark, trash, message, check plus, email, and discussion check.
Fixed Bugs
Accessibility
General
- Unnecessary ARIA button roles have been removed from Discussions, Modules, and the Gradebook.
- The gray text placed below the date and time fields throughout Canvas display a contrast ratio of 4.74:1.
- After adding a rubric, focus is retained on the Find a Rubric link for screen readers.
Analytics
- In the Account analytics page, screen readers can read the table structure as a presentation and identify all headers, which begin with an H1 and properly nest H2 and H3 elements.
Assignments
- When a keyboard user adds an assignment group, screen readers can identify the Add Assignment Group modal window. Focus is also retained in the modal window.
Calendar
- The Calendar Feed link is identified as a button and can be accessed by keyboard users.
Discussions
- When viewing a discussion topic, keyboard users and screen readers are notified about keyboard shortcuts. However, screen readers are also notified that Canvas shortcuts may conflict with screen reader shortcuts.
Files
- In Windows Edge, screen readers can view the progress of a file upload.
Modules
- The Delete Requirement button includes the correct title and aria-label values of Delete requirement.
- The Add Prerequisites drop-down menu is accessible to keyboard users.
Pages
- iFrames in Canvas include a title attribute that identifies iFrame content.
Rich Content Editor
- The Insert Equation button does not trap focus for keyboard users.
User Settings
- The user feature option toggle includes a bigger focus indicator for keyboard users.
- When users add a contact method, focus is set on the first tab.
- Screen readers can identify a user’s default email address. When an email address is deleted as a contact method, focus is placed on the closest email address link.
- Screen readers can identify which email addresses have been confirmed. Additionally, the Confirm Email Address dialog is associated as role-”dialog”, and the dialog identifies required fields for screen readers.
- Screen readers can identify how to delete contact methods and confirm a contact method.
- The confirmation code field for SMS contact methods includes a label and is identified as a required field. Screen readers can identify when a confirmation attempt does not include a confirmation code. The Cell Number field and Carrier drop-down menu include error messages if the fields are invalid.
- The Edit Settings page includes form fields that can be read by screen readers.
- For Web services, screen readers can identify each label with unique name and ID attributes.
Course Imports
Restricted Files and Modules
When a course is copied in Canvas, restricted course files that have been placed in a module retain their module association.
Explanation: When a user copied a course that included restricted (hidden) files in a module, the restricted files were not longer associated with the module. This behavior occurred because course copies only retained module attachments for active files. Canvas code has been updated to retain attachments for all files that have not been deleted.
Discussions
Student Attachments and Course File Quota
Students can submit attachments to a discussion as long as they have not exceeded their user files quota.
Explanation: When a student attached a file to a discussion reply, the reply was not able to be posted if the course file quota had been exceeded. This behavior occurred because Canvas permissions were confirming the course quota instead of the user quota. Canvas code has been updated to only confirm the user quota for discussion attachments.
ePub Exports
Subfolders
Subfolders are included as part of an ePub export.
Explanation: When a user exported a course ePub with multiple subfolders in Course Files, the ePub export was not including the subfolders. This behavior occurred because the export permission was not confirming subfolders. Canvas code has been updated with a secondary permission that verifies all subfolders included in a course.
Duplicate File Names
Users can export a course ePub file if the same file exists in multiple course directories.
Explanation: When a user tried to export an ePub file, and if the same course file existed in multiple directories and was embedded in course content, the export was not able to be completed. This behavior occurred because the ePub export was not configured to support the same file in multiple course locations. Canvas code has been updated to support identical files in ePub exports.
Files
CSS Relative URLs
Within a course Files directory, relative links in CSS files should be accessed and displayed.
Explanation: When a relative HTML link is included in a CSS file, the link generated an unauthorized error. This behavior occurred because of an error in rendering inline file attachments where Canvas was trying to access the file without an access key. Canvas code has been updated to support inline HTML content in CSS files.
Gradebook
Concluded Courses and Download All Submissions Button
Instructors can download submissions from concluded courses.
Explanation: When an instructor viewed a manually concluded course and clicked the Download All Submissions button, the download failed. This behavior occurred because the original fix in the November 21, 2015 release did not apply to manually concluded courses. Canvas code has been updated to allow user to download submissions if they have the View All Grades permission.
Re-muted Assignments and Submission Comments
If an instructor mutes an assignment, unmutes the assignment, and then mutes the assignment again, all comments are hidden from the submission.
Explanation: When an instructor muted and unmuted assignments multiple times, submission comments were not always being hidden from students. This behavior occurred because comments were being inconsistently hidden across several pages. Canvas code has been updated to check muted status of assignment before displaying comments in Canvas.
Differentiated Assignments
The Gradebook disables assignment cells for any student not assigned to an assignment.
Explanation: When an instructor created an assignment and only assigned it to a few students, the first 10 students in the Gradebook always had their assignment cells available for grading regardless of whether they were associated with the assignment. This behavior occurred because of a sorting miscalculation with differentiated assignments. Canvas code has been updated to fix assignment availability in the Gradebook for differentiated assignments.
Individual View Gradebook and Submission Downloads
The Gradebook Individual View paginates assignment submissions according to the number of assignments in the course.
Explanation: When a user switched to the Individual View of the Gradebook and loaded an assignment submission, the submissions that had not yet loaded were grouped with at least 100 students, often causing a loading timeout error. This behavior occurred because Individual View was not supporting grouped submissions. Canvas code has been updated to paginate student submissions in Individual View.
Languages
English (United Kingdom/Australia)
The United Kingdom and Australia English language preferences do not include a PM drop-down menu when setting calendar dates.
Explanation: When a course or user account had a language preference set to English (United Kingdom) or English (Australia), entering a time and then selecting the PM drop-down option still applied the time as 24-hour time. This behavior occurred because Canvas wasn’t differentiating between languages that supported 12-hour time and those that preferred 24-hour time. Canvas code has been updated to remove the PM drop-down menu in the calendar for all language set to prefer 24-hour time.
Link Validator
Overwritten Links
The Link Validator does not report overwritten links as deleted links.
Explanation: When an instructor uploaded or renamed a file, or updated a page name, the Link Validator was highlighting these links as deleted links. This behavior occurred because the Link Validator did not support updates to course pages or files after they were originally linked in the course. Canvas code has been updated to improve link verification in the Link Validator.
SpeedGrader
Grading Schemes and Assignment Resubmissions
When a student resubmitted an assignment with an attached grading scheme, SpeedGrader retains the original score if the instructor opts to use the same grade for the resubmission.
Explanation: When a student resubmitted an assignment with an attached grading scheme, if the instructor clicked the Use same grade for resubmission link, the initial score was lost and the highest possible score of the range was given instead. This behavior occurred because SpeedGrader wasn’t confirming an existing score. Canvas code has been updated to check resubmitted assignments for existing scores.
Next release schedule:
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Beta release and notes: 02/08/16
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Production release notes: 02/16/16
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Production release and documentation: 02/20/16
Note: You can follow the release schedule on the Canvas Updates calendar
