Canvas Updates
From e-Learning Documentation
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Revision as of 20:47, 3 September 2014
Production Release Notes for Saturday, September 6, 2014
Contents
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New Features
Discussions
Peer Review Indicators
In Discussions, users can identify graded discussions that have been assigned peer reviews.
When an instructor assigns a peer review to a graded discussion, the Discussions Index Page displays the peer review icon next to the name of the graded discussion. This icon appears in both instructor and student views.
Note:The peer review icon is only part of the Discussions Index Page; it does not appear if the discussion is viewed on the Assignments Index Page.
When a user has been assigned a peer review, peer review details appear within the graded discussion. The peer review assignment is highlighted at the top and includes a direct link to the peer review. Please note that the Review Now link is for reference purposes only and does not indicate the status of the discussion; some students may not yet have completed the discussion.
If a specific due date is assigned to the peer review, the date also appears as part of the message. Otherwise, it displays the due date for the graded discussion, if any.
The Global Dashboard and Course Dashboard sidebars also indicate when a user has been assigned a peer review. However, this notification only appears when the assigned student has posted a discussion, indicating that the discussion is ready for peer review. The name of the graded discussion appears in the To Do column along with the due date.
Course Imports
Remove Dates
In the Course Import Tool, users can remove all dates from an imported course. Located as part of the Adjust Events and Due Dates option, this feature removes the date fields and allows you to import a course without any associated dates.
Gradebook
Total Column to Front
Instructors can move the Total column to the front of the Gradebook to quickly see an overview of student progress in the course. This option is located in the Total Column drop-down menu and is persistent according to browser. The Total Column can be moved back to the end of the Gradebook at any time.
Concluded Enrollments in CSV File
Users can choose to display concluded enrollments in a Gradebook CSV file. This option is available as part of the CSV download if users have selected the Show Concluded Enrollments option in the Gradebook Settings menu.
Updated Features
Assignments
Turnitin Repository Option
When creating a new Turnitin assignment, instructors can choose whether or not to include the assignment in the Turnitin repository. By default, this option is selected automatically. To keep an assignment out of the repository, deselect the Include in Repository checkbox. This feature option is beneficial for instructors who allow students to resubmit assignments but who do not want Turnintin to compare the resubmission against prior versions.
Dashboard
Course List Update
Users can more easily manage their Canvas courses with updates in the Courses & Groups drop-down menu and the My Courses page. In the Courses & Groups drop-down menu, the customize option has been combined with the My Courses page. Now users can customize and view all courses in the same location.
The My Courses page has been updated to more easily identify the state of each course. Unpublished courses are listed in gray and include an unpublished tag, which is visible to all user roles. Unpublished courses can appear in current courses, past enrollments, and future enrollments sections (if allowed by the institution). Students can hover over any course with an unpublished tag and view a message about accessing unpublished courses. Note: In student view, courses listed in gray that do not include an unpublished tag are concluded.
On the My Courses page, current courses for the term are listed under the My Courses section. Courses with yellow stars indicate a favorite course and are included in the Courses and Groups drop-down menu. Current courses are starred by default. Users can toggle the stars to favorite or unfavorite a course.
Only instructors can favorite unpublished courses. Students can hover over a star icon for an unpublished or concluded course and view a message indicating that the course cannot be added as a favorite.
Rich Content Editor
Visual Editor Link
The HTML Editor and Visual Editor links, which allow users to switch between the default design view and the HTML view, have been renamed to HTML Editor and Rich Content Editor for better consistency in Canvas terminology.
Syllabus
Day Column
To minimize redundancy, the Day column has been removed from the Syllabus, and the year has been added to the date display format.
Updated APIs
Content Exports
Users can export content as a zip file in the Content Exports API.
Content Migrations
Users can remove dates from a content migration in the Content Migrations API.
Other Updates
Content Exports
Multiple content exports for a course are displayed by date in descending order. This change helps users locate the most recent export.
Fixed Bugs
Accessibility
The following accessibility issues have been corrected within Canvas:
Account Settings
- Sub-account option links contain descriptive text for keyboard users.
- On the Courses page, the hover text for Settings/Statistics/Home Page links are accessible to screen readers.
Announcements
- The Announcements Edit button is identified as a button for screen readers.
- The Remove/Delete icon for external feed items is identified correctly for screen readers.
Assignments
- Group Assignment Options are accessible to keyboard users.
Calendar
- In the new calendar event window, the Cancel button is labeled as a button for screen readers.
Conversations
- The unread messages icon meets a color contrast of 3:1 for the default Canvas interface and 4.5:1 for high contrast profiles.
- In the compose/reply window, the Close button is read properly for screen readers.
Course Settings
- The Cross-listing window creates a warning for screen readers if a user enters an invalid or nonexistent course ID.
- The Edit Section Name field in accessible to screen readers.
Outcomes
- The Course Outcomes page contains headings for screen readers.
Pages
- Names of external links are accessible to screen readers.
People
- The Search People box is labeled for screen readers.
Quizzes
- In the help icon next to the Rich Content Editor, users can access keyboard shortcuts available for keyboard users.
Student Learning Mastery Gradebook
- Outcomes are labeled for screen readers and contain descriptive text for expanding and collapsing content. This fix was released to production on 08/25/14.
Account Settings
Quiz Question Restriction
The account option to restrict students from viewing quiz questions after course end date applies when the course ends regardless of term dates.
Explanation: When an admin selected the option to restrict students from viewing quiz questions after the course end date, students could still view quiz questions for courses that concluded before the term end date. Canvas code has been updated to verify if the course has concluded regardless of the term end date.
Announcement Notification Icons
Announcement Notification icons do not display broken images.
Explanation: When an admin created a global announcement for a notification other than the default icon, the icon would break and not display correctly. Canvas code has been updated to link notification icons with the icons displayed on the dashboard and assure proper image paths.
Custom Admin Role Tooltips
When a user hovers over a custom admin role, Canvas does not display any additional text.
Explanation: When an admin created a custom admin role in Permissions, hovering over the name of the role would display an error message instead of the associated role type. Custom admin roles are not based on any specific role such as when creating course roles, which are associated with a base role type and include the associated type in the tooltip. Canvas code has been updated to specify custom admin roles as a base role type and not display a tooltip.
User Enrollment Permissions
Account admins who have permission to see the list of users can view user enrollments.
Explanation: When an admin with permissions to see the list of users tried to view the user account details page, the enrollments would not appear unless the user with the account role was added to the sub-account for the course. Canvas code has been updated to verify permissions for the admin role.
Sub-account Notifications Tab
In sub-accounts, the Notifications tab does not appear unless there is a notification.
Explanation: When a sub-account admin clicked the Notifications tab, Canvas would create a page error if there were no notifications. Canvas code has been updated to only display the Notifications tab if notifications are available for the subaccount.
APIs
Submissions API
The rubric_assessment request parameter does not include nonexistent links.
Explanation: The rubric_assessment request parameter included references to points and comments, and because the display was nested within a specific arrangement of code, the references generated as links. Canvas code has been updated to correct the references so they appear correctly.
Assignments
Assignment Groups in Safari
When specifying the number of scores to ignore for each student in an assignment group, users can only enter numbers for the highest and lowest score fields.
Explanation: When instructors created an assignment group within the Safari browser and specified a highest and/or lowest score, Safari allowed text entries in place of numbers. Canvas code has been updated to generate a warning message for text entries and only accept numbers.
Content Imports
QTI Image Matching Questions
Canvas addresses QTI files containing images on both sides of matching questions.
Explanation: Some imported QTI files contained matching questions with images on both sides. However, Canvas only supports images on the left side of matching questions. Canvas code has been updated to provide better support for imported matching questions. If imported questions have images on the right, Canvas reorders the answers so the images are on the left. If both the right and the left sides contain images, Canvas generates a warning message stating images on both sides are unsupported.
QTI Quizzes
QTI quizzes import according to quiz type.
Explanation: When users imported Moodle 1.9 QTI files, quizzes were importing as practice quizzes. Canvas code has been updated to import quizzes according to its quiz type.
Conversations
Empty Course Sections
Users cannot send a message to all members of an empty course section.
Explanation: When users composed a new conversation and selected a course section, selecting the option to message all members of an empty section never generated a list result. Canvas code has been updated to not create an all members option for empty course sections.
Course Settings
LTI Names
LTI names are truncated if they are longer than 160 characters.
Explanation: When a user enabled an LTI app with a long name, the name covered the edit button within the Apps tab. Canvas code has been updated to truncate long names; the full name can be viewed by hovering over the name of the LTI app.
Dashboard
Dashboard Need Grading Numbers
For instructors, the dashboard accurately shows the number of assignments that need grading.
Explanation: When an instructor graded an assignment, the “need grading” numbers on the dashboard to-do list were not updating correctly. Numbers on the course home page, however, were unaffected. Canvas code has been updated to update the cached count on the to-do list after an assignment has been graded.
Discussions
Peer Review Indicators
Students can access peer reviews for graded discussions.
Explanation: When an instructor assigned a student peer review, students could not tell which graded discussion contained the peer review. Additionally, when a reminder appeared on the dashboard, the link generated an error notification. Canvas code has been updated to provide more indicators for peer reviews on the dashboard and on the Discussions Index Page.
ePortfolio
Pages
Canvas creates a new ePortfolio page if pages no longer exist.
Explanation: When a user deleted the last page of an ePortfolio, Canvas generated a page error. Canvas code has been updated to ensure there is always a default ePortfolio page.
Gradebook
Test Student Submissions
Users can publish courses even if test student submissions have been graded.
Explanation: In a published course, when an instructor created an assignment, viewed the assignment as the test student, and graded the assignment, the instructor was not able to unpublish the course. Canvas does not allow a course to be unpublished after student submissions have been graded. Canvas code has been updated to disregard test student submissions for unpublishing a course.
Modules
Modules Progress List
Instructors can view modules progress for all users in a course.
Explanation: When an instructor tried to view the module progress in a browser window without a scrollbar, the page would not display more than 50 students. Canvas code has been updated to support pagination on the modules progress list.
Modules List
Users can view all modules in a course.
Explanation: When a user tried to view modules in a browser window without a scrollbar, the page would not display more than 10 modules. Canvas code has been updated to support pagination on the Modules page.
Quizzes
Quiz Previews
When a user previews a quiz, the quiz displays the correct points possible.
Explanation: When a user previewed a quiz, the points possible were not calculating correctly for quiz questions worth less than one point. Canvas code has been updated to address varying point values when previewing a quiz.
Additional Time
Adding time to a quiz displays the number of additional minutes.
Explanation: When an instructor added time to a quiz for a student, the quiz displayed an empty space value instead of the number of minutes added to the quiz. This empty value disappeared when the page was refreshed. Canvas code has been updated to display the added number of minutes.
User Profile
Profile Pictures
Profile pictures added to a user’s account remain with the user’s account.
Explanation: When a user uploaded a new profile picture, the picture was displaying properly, but in Files, the profile picture jpg had not been updated with the correct image. Additionally, in some cases, profile pictures were affected in other accounts. Canvas code has been updated to include a namespace column for profile pictures, which indicates a specific name for the profile picture attachment in the account. This fix was released to production on 8/25/14.
Profile Edits
The Cancel button reverts any changes made to a user’s profile.
Explanation: When a user edited a user’s name or other information, clicking the Cancel button saved any changes made to the profile. Canvas code has been updated to prevent any undesired updates.
Syllabus
Responsive Design
Columns do not overlap when a browser window size is minimized.
Explanation: When a user minimizes the size of the browser window, the Syllabus columns overlapped. Canvas code has been updated to maintain appropriate padding between columns.
Next Release Schedule
- Production release and documentation: 09/06/14
- Beta release and notes: 09/15/14
- Production release notes: 09/22/14
- Production release and documentation: 09/27/14
