Canvas Updates

WHAT: Provide multiple avenues for students to access required readings, including downloading a PDF or viewing the full text in their web browser.

Reading Lists allow instructors to search and add content from library OneSearch, databases, the internet, and upload instructor-owned files. Instructors can track student engagement with course materials stored in Reading List.

WHY: A full text online option is often more accessible than a PDF file.

HOW:

• How do I use Reading List in my Canvas course? 

WHAT: Use TidyUP in Canvas to quickly identify and clean up unused content in your course. This includes duplicate files.

Scan your course, download copies of all content for safekeeping, then delete unused content all from within TidyUP.

WHY: A decluttered course is easier to make accessible. Whether asking for help or doing it yourself, focus on improving content currently in use.

HOW:

• How do I used TidyUP in my Canvas course?

Instructors can use Enhanced Rubrics to create clear evaluation criteria, streamline grading, and provide structured feedback for assignments, discussions, or quizzes. The tool allows for customization, reuse, and integration with Canvas' grading features, making assessments consistent and efficient. Additionally, it supports improved organization and management of rubrics within a course.

Here’s a concise bullet point summary of managing rubrics in Canvas using Enhanced Rubrics:

• Create Rubrics: Develop rubrics for assignments, discussions, or quizzes.
• Edit Rubrics: Modify existing rubrics for clarity or better alignment with objectives.
• Reuse Rubrics: Attach previously created rubrics to new assignments.
• Grading Integration: Use rubrics for streamlined grading and feedback.
• Duplicate/Delete: Easily copy or remove rubrics as needed.
• Improved Interface: Enhanced design for easier rubric management.

For more details on managing rubrics in Canvas using Enhanced Rubrics, visit the official guide here.

Adding Time to a Quiz

While a New Quiz attempt is ongoing, instructors can moderate a quiz and extend the time allotted for the quiz. Additionally, the student course-level accommodation modal link is moved to the Student column. Previously, this was linked in the Accommodations column.

Note: Extending the time of an ongoing quiz does not affect the instructor's interface.

Change Benefit

This feature allows instructors to accommodate students who may need extra time due to various circumstances by providing additional time during an active quiz session.

Feature Workflow

Course-Level Accommodation Modal Link

On the Moderate page, the course-level accommodation modal is linked to the student’s name.

Manage Student Results View

Summary

In the New Quizzes Settings, instructors can select the timing and visibility of feedback and correct answers for students.

Change Benefit

This feature helps instructors enhance learning by timing feedback to reinforce understanding, encourage independent learning, and prevent cheating. It also allows for better alignment with review sessions and ensures fairness by standardizing the feedback process for all students.

Feature Workflow

Hide Results from Students Toggle

On the Settings page in New Quizzes, a Hide results from Students setting is available. This option is disabled by default.

Hide Results from Students Options

When the Hide results from students setting is enabled, instructors have the option to selectively display some or all of the following: Show Questions [1], Show Points Possible [2], and Show Points Awarded [3].

Show Questions Options

When the Show Questions option is enabled, instructors have the options to Show Student responses [1] and Show feedback [2].

Show Student Response Options

When the Show student responses option is enabled, instructors can choose when results are displayed after a specific attempt [1] and set specific Show on [2] and Hide on [3] dates and times. Additionally, they can display correct and incorrect responses using the Indicate response as correct or incorrect option, and decide whether to show the correct answer [4], either immediately or only after the student's final attempt [6]. These settings can also be configured to Show on [7] or Hide on [8] particular dates.

Student Analysis Report Available

Summary

In New Quizzes, a Student Analysis Report is available. Instructors can view this report by exporting the CSV file. In the Student Analysis Report, instructors can access a range of student data, including:

• Time Elapsed
• Submission Attempts
• Item Type
• Student Response
• Points Earned
• Number of Correct
• Number of Incorrect
• No Response
• Overall Score

Note: Currently, only the most recent attempt by a student is displayed, with previous attempts hidden. An update in 2025 will address this to include all attempts.

Change Benefit

This feature provides Instructors with clearer insights into students' grasp of course materials and concepts, enabling them to better support students in improving comprehension and test-taking strategies.

Feature Workflow

New Quizzes Student Analysis Report Export CSV Button

To generate a Student Analysis report, click the Generate Report button [1], then click the Export CSV button [2]. 

Student Analysis Sample CSV Export File

After exporting the CSV file, instructors can view a range of data related to a student's quiz.

Note: To prevent data exposure, SIS Data (such as SISID and Section SISIDs) is not displayed, as permission handling is still in development. This functionality will be addressed in an update early next year.

Canvas updates in place. There are no major releases, features are added as they are available and improvements are released as they are completed. Releases and deploys will be separate events. A deploy means making code available in a specific environment; code may or may not be visible. A release represents a scheduled event when code is intended to be visible.

• Releases contain changes that affect user workflows for any Canvas-related product, including API/SIS integration adjustments.
• Deploys contain non-customer-affecting code changes intended to fix bugs, improve performance, and prepare for new features.

Releases and deploys will take place on the following timelines:

• Feature releases in the production environment take place on the third Saturday of every month, beginning August 17
• A preview of the following month’s release will be available in the beta environment the same day as the production release, beginning August 17
• Deploys of the main Canvas codebase to the production environment take place every other Wednesday, and beta deploys take place every other Thursday, beginning July 31 and August 1, respectively.

If you are interested in following the release cycle, you can subscribe to that calendar.

Submit Assignments on Behalf of Students

Instructors can now submit a file upload assignment on behalf of a student via the Gradebook. This allows instructors the option to support students in situations where an alternative means of submission is required. To use this feature, from the Gradebook:

1. Locate the assignment and click the Grade Detail Tray icon.

2. Click the Submit for Student link.

3. Choose the file(s) to upload and then click the Submit button.

Spring 2024

The CETL Tech Team is pleased to announce new features and improvements to Canvas LMS coming this spring semester. These changes directly address feedback we’ve received from Cal State LA faculty.

New features and improvements include:

• Officially cross-listed courses will now be automatically cross-listed (no request form needed). 
• Instructors teaching multiple sections of the same course can request to cross-list these sections (to make multi-section teaching easier). 
• Course storage quotas will increase to 2GB (up from 1GB).
• Individual user storage in Canvas will increase to 1GB (up from 100MB).
• A newly redesigned Discussions interface is available as a feature preview. 
• Course instructors can more easily add their colleague using the “Co-Teacher” role.  

Officially cross-listed courses will now be automatically cross-listed.

Courses officially cross-listed in the Schedule of Classes will now be automatically cross-listed in Canvas. Previously, instructors needed to submit a request form. Please email cetltech@calstatela.edu to report any issues with your automatically cross-listed Canvas course or if you do not see a course with combined sections.

To check whether a course is cross-listed, visit the course Settings, and click on the Sections tab. 

Instructors teaching multiple sections of the same course can choose to cross-list these sections. 

To make multi-section teaching easier, instructors may now request a multi-section cross-list in Canvas. Common tasks such as sending course announcements or making a correction to a Canvas assignment or quiz can be made once in the combined section course. To be eligible, all course sections must be the same course and term, taught by the same instructor.

As we cannot assume every instructor wishes to teach using combined sections, please request a multi-section cross-list using our online form.

Course storage quotas will increase to 2GB.

Canvas course storage quotas will increase from 1GB to 2GB (2x increase). We still encourage all instructors to take advantage of more sophisticated file storage options for large files. Video files should not be stored directly in Canvas. Instead, use Panopto Video for media.

The Panopto streaming media service is purpose-built for large video files. Students can take advantage of smoother video playback, the ability to take notes, and the ability to bookmark parts of a video.

Individual user storage in Canvas will increase to 1GB.

Primarily impacting our student Canvas users, individual user storage will increase from 100MB to 1GB (10x increase). The increase in storage will also help instructors who use Canvas Inbox (email like messaging in Canvas) to send attachments.

We still encourage all users to take advantage of more sophisticated file storage options (Panopto Video for media and Office365 OneDrive for large files).

A newly redesigned Discussions interface is available as a feature preview.

Instructors may now activate the redesigned Discussions feature preview. Feature previews allow users to try out future enhancements before they are made widely available. To activate the redesigned Discussion interface, visit the Settings area of the course. Locate the Features Options tab and, scroll down to Discussions/Announcements Redesign. Clicking the X icon will activate the feature.

The redesigned Discussions interface offers a new Reply Sidebar, the ability to mention another discussion participant (@tag), quote other replies as part of a discussion reply, and an anonymous discussion option.

For complete details, visit the Canvas Release: Discussions/Announcements Redesign webpage. You can also watch a short video on the redesigned interface on the Discussions Redesign Early Access webpage.

Course instructors can more easily add their colleague using the “Co-Teacher” role. 

Faculty can now use the new "Co-Teacher" role to manually add a teaching colleague to a course who is not instructor of record or teaching assistant. Two versions of this role are available:

• Co-Teacher (Editing), used to give a colleague complete access to edit the course and grade students.
• Co-Teacher (Non-Editing), used to give more limited access to a colleague without editing or grading privileges. This role does allow the user to copy course content (useful when sharing a course with a colleague).

The Teacher role should be reserved for instructors of record. This role is assigned to instructors of record when GET enrolls users in Canvas automatically. For this reason, the Teacher role will no longer be available when manually adding users to a course. Moving forward, use the Co-Teacher role instead.

This new role also helps alleviate an issue where the daily GET/Canvas sync would remove manually added Teachers. Manually added Co-Teachers will now remain in the course unless removed by the Teacher.