Canvas Release Notes – 01/22/2018

Posted on cdominguezPosted in New Feature, New Tool, Updates

In this production release (January 27), courses associated with a Blueprint Course display the name of the Blueprint Course in Course Settings. The External apps page at both the account and course level displays a warning when a user adds an existing app in the same context. The Rich Content Editor Embed Image option includes the decorative image checkbox to indicate decorative images. And international users in 16 additional countries can enable SMS messages for Canvas notifications.

In the New Gradebook, the Enter Grades as menu allows the assignment grade to be entered and viewed in a different format than the default display for the assignment. Unpublished assignments are indicated as Unpublished in the column header, and the Muted assignment indicator has been changed from an icon to text located next to the assignment point value. Additionally, assignment columns have been resized and support a minimum width of 214 px.

Some Canvas Settings menu icons have been replaced with an Options icon. These changes clarify user expectations when displayed in a page and helps align consistency throughout all Canvas areas. Additionally, the Privacy link has been added to the Canvas footer in the Login page and the Dashboard.

 

Features are subject to change throughout the release based on user feedback and testing. Please follow the release notes for the latest information.

For full release notes and the source of this article, please refer to Canvas’s website.

 

Canvas New Feature Screencast (2018-01-27) from Canvas LMS on Vimeo.

 

The Canvas product team welcomes feedback according to Canvas Community Feedback Guidelines. Release notes comments are subject to release notes comment policies.

 

Flash Content Reminder: Canvas displays Flash content as supported within major browsers. Microsoft Edge, Safari, Chrome, and Firefox default to HTML5 as the preferred method for displaying website content, which promotes a faster, more secure browsing experience. These browsers will eventually block all Flash content. For best performance in Canvas, course content should be designed to support HTML5. Any affected content can still be accessed by manually allowing permission for flash content in the browser. Using the camera and microphone to record media content within the Canvas Rich Content Editor currently still relies on Flash and is being addressed by Canvas engineers.

  Updated Features

 

Blueprint Courses

Associated Course Links

When a course is associated with a Blueprint Course, the associated course displays a link to the Blueprint Course in Course Settings.
If the user viewing the associated course does not have permission to access the Blueprint Course, the name of the course does not include a link.

 

Associated courses show the name of the Blueprint Course in Course Details, Course Settings

 

In the Course Details sidebar, the associated course also includes a Blueprint Information button, which displays information about the most recent course sync.

 

Associated courses include a link to the Blueprint information in Course Details, Course Settings

The Blueprint Information page shows information about the last sync from the Blueprint Course

 

New Gradebook

Entered Grades Display

In the New Gradebook, the Enter Grades as menu allows the assignment grade to be entered and viewed in a different format than the default display for the assignment.
Previously the New Gradebook always displayed the grade in the Grade Detail Tray by the default grade display.

 

Note: Changing the Enter Grades display option is for grading convenience only and does not affect the actual grade.

 

Users can set the way they want to enter grades in the Gradebook

Changing the Enter Grades as option also displays the grading choice in the Grade Detail Tray

 

Unpublished Assignments Indicator

When unpublished assignments are displayed in the New Gradebook, unpublished assignments are indicated as Unpublished in the assignment column header.

 

Unpublished assignments that are also muted will not show the assignment is muted until the assignment is published. This change also indicates muted assignments as Muted in the assignment column header instead of displaying an icon.

 

When unpublished assignments are shown in the New Gradebook, the assignment header indicates an unpublished status

 

Minimum Column Width

New Gradebook assignment columns have been resized and support a minimum width of 214 px.

 

Rich Content Editor

Decorative Image Checkbox

When a user clicks the Embed Images icon and selects an image source, the Attributes section displays a decorative image checkbox, which indicates the image is for decorative purposes.

 

Decorative images do not require alternative text. If the Decorative Image checkbox is selected, the alternative text field is grayed out.

 

Decorative images and alt text can be applied when embedding any image type: URL, Canvas (previous uploads), and Flickr.

 

The Rich Content Editor Image window includes a Decorative Image checkbox for images

 

 

  Other Updates

 

Canvas Interface

Menu Design Updates

Some Canvas Settings menu icons have been replaced with an Options icon. These changes clarify user expectations when displayed in a page and helps align consistency throughout all Canvas areas.

  • If a menu includes options that actively change the interface in the page, the menu displays as a Settings icon.
  • If a menu includes options that link to other Canvas areas or pages, the menu displays as an Options icon.
  • If a menu includes both types of options, the menu displays as an Option icon.

 

Items within each menu have not been affected.

 

Some Canvas areas have changed the Settings icon to an Options icon

 

Icons have been updated in the following Canvas areas:

  • Assignments
  • Course Details (Course Image upload; Navigation tab)
  • Dashboard View
  • Discussions
  • Modules
  • Pages
  • People
  • Quizzes

 

Privacy Policy Link

Privacy Policy links have been added to the Canvas footer. The Canvas footer displays in the Canvas Login page and the Dashboard.

 

External Apps

Duplicate Application Warning

If a user manually adds an external app to a course, account, or subaccount, and then adds the same external app again, Canvas asks the user to confirm whether or not the app should be saved. This change helps users identify previously installed external apps. Confirmations only take place on the same context for an existing external app (course, account, or subaccount).

 

Note: This warning only applies to new applications added to a course, account, or subaccount, and is not retroactive for previously installed external apps.

 

Duplicate external apps added to the same context verify whether or not they should be installed

 

User Settings

International SMS Country Additions

International SMS functionality is used in conjunction with the International SMS account-level feature option, which must be enabled by a Canvas Customer Success Manager (CSM).

Canvas offers SMS notification support to additional users outside the United States. Unlike in the United States, international carrier details are not required as part of the communication setup.

 

The following countries have been added to SMS notifications: Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, Pakistan, China, South Africa, Oman, Hungary, and Keyna.