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Canvas updates 

Good to know for you who are a teacher! 

Collage with Canvas logo and KTH logo on wall
Published Jan 18, 2021

Try a new version of "Assignments", new placement of Student View button and a simpler content editor. Here are some news that are good for you as a teacher to know!

New look for "Assignments" in Canvas

The appearance of the submission of an assignment in Canvas has been updated to a more easy-to-navigate version. It is mainly the students who will be affected by this change as it mainly clarifies the submission process. The update with the new version is now accessible for those interested in activating it, but you can still use the old version if you don't activate the new version.

What is new?

When students submit their answers to an assignment in Canvas they will now see an improved overview, showing clearly which steps the submission will go through and which step they are at now.

In short, the changes will be:

  • The Swedish translation of "due date" changes from "inlämningsdatum" to the more correct "förfallodatum".
  • A timeline shows which steps have been completed and which are left to do. The steps shown are: if the assignment is available (green tick for available, red padlock otherwise), if the student has uploaded something, if the student has submitted their upload and if the submission has been graded.
  • Possible points for the assignment are only displayed if the grade is selected to be displayed as "Points".
  • It is clearer where the students should upload files and it is possible to drag and drop files in a box to upload them.
  • Entering a text online is now treated the same as uploading a file; when a text is saved, it ends up in the list of uploaded files and must then be submitted, just as if they had uploaded a file. In the old view text entries were sent in immediately, which means that the text must be written in one sitting.
  • When the students get the graded assignment back they can directly see all the feedback in the assignment (what you as a teacher wrote in SpeedGrader), unlike the old version which required you to click through three links to find it.
  • Due dates and grades are written with larger text than in the old view, and are written on a separate line to increase visibility.

Good to know: the old version is used if Peer Review is activated or if it's a group assignment.

How do I activate the new version?

You can activate it at course level as follows:

  1. Go to "Settings" on the selected course.
  2. Move to the "Function Options" tab.
  3. Activate "Assignment Enhancements - Student". 

Student view button

What is new?

The student view has been given a smaller button and has become available from more pages. Previously, the student view could only be activated from the start page and under settings. Now the button will be available in the top right corner of all pages the students have access to, as well as in settings. You can now see how students see the course room/Canvas without having to take a detour via the home page or settings first.

Good to know

  • The functionality for the student view is unchanged, the news only applies to the button's appearance and location.
  • The button is smaller, has a symbol of a pair of glasses on it and is found at the top right corner of the screen, except under settings. There it is still in the sidebar and looks the same as before.
  • In mobile view, the student view button is only available under settings.

New content editor in Canvas

(Updated January 19, 2021)

The new content editor in Canvas is now activated for everyone (default). The content editor has been redesigned to be easier to navigate. No features have been removed, they have just been moved around. Also see previous news article "New content editor in Canvas" (2020-12-08) . You can still use the old version if you want, if so, follow the instructions we gave in the previous news article and choose to deactivate the new version.

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Last changed: Jan 18, 2021