Rutgers.eduIn an effort to continually improve Canvas, Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, releases Canvas upgrades every three weeks along with Production Release Notes. Pertinent features and upgrades are listed below. In this production release, Grade Export and MGP Grade Export reports include columns for posted and unposted grades. In courses, new assignments no longer include an option to display grades via the GPA scale, and individually graded group assignments include clarified options for sending student and instructor comments. The New Gradebook allows instructors to enter grades without having to verify the display grade originally set for the assignment. And the People page includes a field to record the date a student last attended. The Conversations Inbox and Compose Message windows display a new autocomplete menu to select courses and groups. Small interface changes have been made in the New Scheduler appointment group editing window, Modules page, and the Terms of Use pages. And various changes have been made to platform and integration tools including APIs, LTI tool visibility, and SAML authentication. You may view the full Canvas Production Release Notes for February 17, 2018, and its accompanying screencast. The next release will be on January 6.
Updated Features
Assignments
GPA Scale Grading Type Removal
In an assignment, the GPA Scale is no longer included as a grade display option in the Canvas interface. This change supports upcoming grading scheme enhancements in the New Gradebook. GPA Scale assignments can still be created through the Assignments API, though the existing GPA Scale parameter has been deprecated. Any existing assignments set to a GPA scale will not be affected with any grade calculations. Please see the Canvas Production Release Notes: GPA Scale Grading Type Removal for images.
Individually Graded Group Assignment Comment Options
When an instructor creates a group assignment with individual grading, the group assignment includes specified options that clarify how to send submission comments. This change helps clarify comment distribution in group assignments with individual grading. Previously if a student didn’t select the option to send the comment to the entire group, instructors were not able to view the comments in SpeedGrader.
For student roles, this change applies to the assignment submission page and the submission details page sidebar. Students can choose whether they want to send a comment to the instructor only or to the whole group. For instructor roles, this change applies to the submission details page sidebar, the Gradebook comment window, and the SpeedGrader sidebar. Instructors can choose whether they want to send a comment to the student only or to the whole group. Note: Comments are not currently supported in the New Gradebook. Please see Canvas Production Release Notes: Individually Graded Group Assignment Comment Options for an image.
Conversations
Autocomplete Courses Menu
The Conversations Courses Menu has been updated as an autocomplete menu. This change improves accessibility for all users. This menu change is also located within the Compose Message window. Users can either scroll to locate a course or group, or they can start to type the name of the course or group in the text field and click the full name when it appears. Please see Canvas Production Release Notes: Autocomplete Courses Menu for an image.
Courses
Course Home Page Student View Button
The Course Home Page includes a Student View button. This change allows instructors to access student view without having to open Course Settings. Please see Canvas Production Release Notes: Course Home Page Student View Button for an image.
New Gradebook
Entered Grades Calculation Value
Instructors can enter grades in the New Gradebook in any format without having to confirm the grade display originally set for the assignment. When the Enter Grades option is set to points, grades can be entered as points or percentages. The entered grade is converted into points and displayed appropriately. Percentage entries are calculated as percentages but displayed as the appropriate point value. For instance, for a 25-point assignment, entering 80% in a Gradebook cell or in the Grade Detail Tray calculates to 20 points and displays the grade as the point value.
When the Enter Grades option is set to a percentage, only percentage values are supported. Entries without a percent symbol are always calculated as a percentage, which helps graders save time by not having to always enter the percent symbol. For instance, for a 25-point assignment, entering 100% in a Gradebook cell or in the Grade Detail Tray calculates as 100%. However, entering 20 as a point value calculates as 20%. Submissions that should be graded as a point value or grading scheme should never be set with the Enter Grades option as a percentage, as the Gradebook will always display the grade as a percentage.
When an assignment includes the grading scheme option, and the Enter Grades option is set to a grading scheme, grades can be entered as the grading scheme, points, or a percentage. Grading schemes are only available for Letter Grade assignment types. The entered grade is converted into the grading scheme and displayed appropriately. For instance, for a 50-point assignment where an A is 50 points, entering an A in a Gradebook cell or in the Grade Detail Tray calculates to 100% or 50 points, but the Gradebook will always display the grade as the grading scheme value.
Note: the Enter Grades option is not supported for Complete/Incomplete assignment types.
Please see Canvas Production Release Notes: Entered Grades Calculation Value for image.
Other Updates
Canvas Interface
New Scheduler Design Updates
In the Calendar, the Scheduler appointment group editing window includes minor design updates to the date and time fields.
Module Files Download Icon Update
In Modules, the download icon used for a file added as a module item has been replaced with the attachment icon. This change clarifies user expectations when displayed in a page and helps align consistency throughout all Canvas areas and mobile apps. Please see Canvas Production Release Notes: Module Files Download Icon Update for an image.
Terms of Use Terminology Update
Terms of Use has been renamed to the Acceptable Use Policy. Any link, window, or page in Canvas that previously referenced Terms of Use has been updated to reflect this new terminology. The Acceptable Use Policy link displays in the Canvas footer in the Login page and the Dashboard.
Fixed Bugs
Please view the full Canvas Production Release Notes for February 17, 2018 Fixed Bugs descriptions and its accompanying screencast for more information concerning accessibility improvements and other bug fixes. Some bugs that may have affected Rutgers users are listed here.
Rubrics
Deleted Rubric Assignment Associations
Deleted rubrics do not maintain association with assignments. Explanation: When a rubric was associated with an assignment and later deleted, the deleted rubric remained associated with the assignment and affected outcome reports. Canvas code has been updated to remove association with assignments when rubrics are deleted.
Deleted Enrollment Rubric Visibility
Rubrics from deleted enrollments are not visible in other courses. Explanation: When a rubric was created in a course by an instructor whose enrollment was later deleted, the rubric was able to be viewed by other instructors in other courses. Canvas code has been updated to not display rubrics created by deleted enrollments.
SpeedGrader
Long Description Display
In SpeedGrader, the long description for a criterion can be viewed by clicking the Show Long Description link. Explanation: When a user viewed a rubric to assess a submission, the long description for a criterion showed in SpeedGrader, causing the rubric to stretch down the page. Canvas code has been updated to retain the Show Long Description link for criterion when a rubric is viewed in SpeedGrader. This behavior does not affect rubrics within the Rubrics page.