A Canvas production update will occur on Saturday, October 19, 2019. Here are the full release notes. Production updates now occur on third Saturday of each month, and the next planned update is Saturday, November 16, 2019. Updates in the current release include:
Navigation Menu Visibility
Navigation menus have been updated to include color and visual indicators to define active menu items. Additionally, the Course Navigation Menu includes tooltip indicators to clarify hidden menu items. No functionality has been affected. This change helps improve accessibility in Canvas. Previously the inactive links displayed in light gray text with a light border, which did not fulfill contrast ratios. Additionally, active and inactive links only relied on color to convey information.
For all users, all inactive links (currently not selected) are displayed in blue. The active (currently selected) link is displayed in black and includes a vertical line. The hover state for a link includes an underline by default (when high contrast mode is not already enabled). When selected, the link temporarily displays a focus state with a border until the new tool is loaded into view.
For teachers, default links that are not visible to students now display the hidden visibility icon and a tooltip indicating if the link is not visible because it has no content or because it is disabled.
Please note, no functionality has been affected with this visual change and navigation can still be modified in your course Settings.
New Gradebook – Post Policy Icon Updates
When an assignment is set with the Manual Posting Policy, the outlined Visibility icon has been replaced with the word Manual in the assignment header. This change clarifies the policy status, not the grade status, which aligns consistency with other statuses that display in the Gradebook—Unpublished, Moderated, and Anonymous. The outlined visibility icon will only display when entered grades need to be posted. The solid icon will no longer be used to indicate that there grades that need to be posted.
If the Manual posting policy marker does not appear in the assignment header, the assignment has an automatic posting policy and students will see grades when entered. For more information the New Gradebook grade posting policy, visit the Canvas guides How do I select a grade posting policy for a course in the New Gradebook? and How do I select a grade posting policy for an assignment in the New Gradebook?
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.
