The current web page listing of Canvas external tools on the Canvas gateway page needed a makeover! The improved interface of the new external tools web page hopes to provide a more organized and meaningful resource about tools integrated into Canvas and approved for use at the University of Delaware.
How can you use the new external tools webpage? The goal is to provide you quick access to support documentation, vendor websites, and consistent details and guidance about how to use the tool in your course. Searchable tool description columns include a short summary, vendor support links, usage categories, and where to find the tool in your Canvas course. Use the webpage to find information about a tool or find an approved alternative to a new tool you may be considering. This is only a first draft, and updates are expected throughout the remainder of the year as related content is collected and documented.
Along with this resource, the Settings -> Navigation tool list has been reorganized in the Canvas template course shell to help you find tools more quickly in Canvas sites. The list of disabled tools is now ordered alphabetically and will be maintained before each course creation cycle. Also, to make your course navigation menu concise for students, several external tools have now been disabled on course navigation. You may need to enable tools going forward that were previously enabled by default. Please note, this change will only affect future courses, and any existing sites or imports from existing sites will maintain the original tool list order already in the course.
How was the navigation menu changed? As an instructor, you can customize which tool links appear on your course navigation. A core set of Canvas tools will always be displayed to the instructor, and Canvas displays a visibility icon if you have disabled a tool for student viewing. Some of these core tools are only available to the instructor and enabling or disabling them will have no effect on the menu displayed to students. Other tools, such as those from Canvas that are not considered core tools or external tools integrated into Canvas, are not displayed on the course navigation menu to you or students if not enabled.
- Canvas core tools that can be displayed to students: Announcements, Assignments, Big Blue Button, Collaborations, Discussions, Files, Grades, Modules, Pages, People, and Quizzes
- Canvas course tools only displayed to instructors: Item Banks*, New Analytics, Outcomes, Rubrics, and Settings
- Canvas non-core tools that must be enabled: Attendance*, Chat
- External tools that must be enabled: Everything else!
The tool set enabled for students by default in the Canvas course template shell includes: Syllabus, Announcements, Files, Assignments, Grades, My Media, and Media Gallery.
Please check out this new resource and send an e-mail to canvas-info@udel.edu to share your feedback or ideas about how to make this resource work for you!
