Rutgers.eduIn an effort to continually improve Canvas, Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, releases Canvas upgrades every three weeks along with Release Notes. Pertinent features and upgrades are listed below.
In this Canvas release (April 20), the New Gradebook feature for the Final Grade Override option is treated as a course setting and is persistent for all graders in the course. And in account-level Reports, the New Gradebook Final Grade Override scores are included in the Grade Export and Multiple Grading Periods Grade Export reports.
While the published Canvas Release Notes include a redesign of the BigBlueButton Conferences interface to improve usability, the Rutgers instance of Canvas will perform this Canvas Conference upgrade on May 20, 2019 as previously announced.
For users using the Commons LTI, the Filter window in the Search page includes wider spacing between icons and for search filters. Additionally, status banners have been updated or removed for messaging clarification.
Release notes also include API updates and fixed bugs. This announcement lists pertinent updates that affect instructors and students and omits features that are not applicable for Rutgers Canvas. You may view the full Production Release Notes (April 20), and its accompanying screencast. The next release will be on May 11, 2019.
Updated Features
Conferences
BigBlueButton Interface Redesign
While the published Canvas Release Notes for April 20, 2019, include a redesign of the BigBlueButton Conferences interface to improve usability, the Rutgers instance of Canvas will perform this Canvas Conference upgrade on May 20, 2019 as previously announced.
New Gradebook
Final Grade Override Setting Persistence
The Final Grade Override option in the New Gradebook is treated as a course setting and is persistent for all graders in the course. When enabled in the New Gradebook, the Override column displays for all other instructors who view the New Gradebook or the Individual View Gradebook. This change provides viewing consistency for all graders in the Gradebook.
When a grader such as an instructor or TA enables the Final Grade Override option in the New Gradebook Settings Menu, the setting is applied for all graders in the course. All other graders who view the New Gradebook will see the Override column if it has been enabled by another instructor. Likewise, the Override column will be hidden if disabled as an option by another instructor.
Other Updates
Commons
Filter Tray
The Filter window in the Commons Search page includes wider spacing between icons and for search filters. This change improves accessibility with an updated design.
When searching Commons, instructors can more easily filter resources with the updated filter design. Please see Canvas Release Notes: Filter Tray for image.
Status Banners
Status banners have been updated or removed for messaging clarification. This update simplifies and clarifies existing banner messages and removes redundant messages in Commons.
Various messages have been updated or removed from the interface.
- Messages do not display for sharing a new resource or when an instructor views a resource that is still processing, including messages for successful and failed sharing.
- Success and Failure messages still appear in the Preview area while a resource is processing.
- Import status banner message text has been updated for clarity.
Please see Canvas Release Notes: Status Banners for image.
Course Import
Pages Terminology
In the Course Import Tool, Wiki Pages terminology has been changed to Pages. This change aligns consistency with Pages terminology throughout Canvas. When an instructor or admin uses the Course Import Tool and selects specific content to import or copy, the Wiki Pages section heading has been renamed to Pages.
Fixed Bugs
Please view the Canvas Release Notes for April 20, 2019 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 stated here.
Course Import
Copy a Canvas Course Option and Future Restricted Courses
The Copy a Canvas Course option uses active term dates to display available courses in the drop-down list. Explanation: When a course was copied using the Course Import Tool, future courses displayed in the drop-down list. Attempting to import content from a future course caused the import to fail. Canvas code has been updated to use active term dates to display available courses and disregard future courses.