The Canvas production update on June 1, 2019, included mostly changes that do not affect our user interface, so we did not make a post. Here are those release notes if you would like to review them.
Instructure has announced that it will be adjusting its release schedule.
Usually Canvas pushes changes to the production environment every three weeks that include feature changes, bug fixes, and other code adjustments completed by their engineering teams. Beginning July 15, Canvas teams will adjust the release schedule to focus on two key objectives: make new feature releases more predictable and improve the quality of Canvas code. Releases and deploys will be separate events.
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- A release is a scheduled event when customer-affecting code is intended to be visible. Releases will now be once a month instead of once every three weeks and will 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.
- A deploy contains code available in a specific environment; code may or may not be visible, but it is code that does not change customer workflows such as non-customer-affecting code changes intended to fix bugs, improve performance, and prepare for new features. Deploys to the production environment take place every other Wednesday, and beta deploys take place every other Thursday, beginning July 31 and August 1, respectively.
Here is how the update schedule will be affected during the transition:
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- July 13: Last regular Canvas production release with deploy/release on the same day
- July 15: New feature changes released to beta environment as August preview
- July 31: First weekday production deploy (recurring every two weeks following)
- August 1: First weekday beta deploy (recurring every two weeks following)
- August 17: First monthly production release with new process (recurring every third Saturday of the month)
- August 17: New feature changes released to beta environment as September preview (recurring monthly on the same day as the production release)
The updates will then continue according to the schedule, and will continue to keep you updated about production environment changes.
The most recent Canvas production updated occurred on Saturday, June 22, 2019. Here are the full release notes, but updated features include:
New Gradebook – Student Group Data
When viewing the View menu in the New Gradebook, the Filter option includes a Student Groups link. Instructors can select this option to filter the New Gradebook by student groups. Groups are displayed hierarchically.
The Student Names column can also display group names as secondary info. The Groups option is located in the Secondary Info option.
Discussions – Reply Settings Interface Change
This change more clearly informs students if they are allowed to edit or delete their own discussion posts. Previously when this feature was disabled, the Settings menu was removed from the post, causing students to think there was a bug with being able to edit or delete their posts.
By default, your Canvas course allows students to edit or delete their own discussion posts, so you should not see any changes unless you opt for the restriction in your Discussion page settings or you changed your course Settings. For more information about this option, review the How do I allow students to edit and delete their own discussion posts in a course? Canvas guide.
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.
