The most recent Canvas production update occurred Saturday, April 20, 2019. Here are the full release notes, but updated features include:
Canvas Conferences – BigBlueButton Interface Redesign
The BigBlueButton Conferences interface has been redesigned using HTML5 for improved usability. This change makes the Conferences interface faster and easier to use and removes the requirement for extensions or plugins. The new Conferences interface is not supported on Internet Explorer or Edge browsers. For best results, BigBlueButton recommends using Firefox or Chrome on desktop and Safari or Chrome on mobile devices.
Users can still participate in a conference using their computer microphone and webcam, communicate using public and private chat, share notes, and annotate presentations using the multi-user whiteboard. Users can select between viewing the presentation area or displaying webcams only.
The Conferences interface supports a Settings menu that includes new features for improved usability. Users can now enable icon animations that highlight conference participants who are speaking and audio and popup alerts for chat notifications. The Settings menu also includes options to disable webcams and desktop sharing to improve bandwidth. These data saving options are intended for use on mobile browsers but can be enabled on any device. Additionally the Settings menu includes previously-available options to select a default language and font size.
The Settings menu also includes an option to enable closed captioning in a conference. Closed captioning options are not currently supported in the HTML5 client of the Conferences interface. These features will be supported in a future release.
Other changes for presenters:
- Presenters can upload a YouTube video to a conference. When the video is playing, all users will see the same playback time and speed that is selected by the presenter. However, users can enable their own captions. Shared YouTube videos will not appear in conference recordings.
- When uploading a presentation file, presenters can upload multiple files at the same time.
- Screen sharing is only supported through WebRTC. Previously, presenters could select to use WebRTC or Java for screen sharing. Screen sharing is only supported in Chrome and Firefox browsers on desktop. Users may experience errors if the screen that is shared includes the Conferences interface. To correct these errors, simply share another window or application that does not display the Conferences interface.
- Poll results are now only viewable to presenters after results have been published. Previously, poll results would display to presenters in real time.
For more information, browse the Canvas Release Notes to find updated features or bug fixes that apply to you based on your Canvas usage. If you have any questions about the changes or about how to use Canvas effectively, IT Academic Technology Services staff is always available at the Faculty Commons (116 Pearson Hall) or you can send your questions to canvas-info@udel.edu.
