Canvas regularly releases updates to their system on the third Saturday of each month and admins update the Canvas@UD environment over the summer months when usage is lower. Several changes have occurred since wrapping up your spring courses.  If you have not accessed Canvas@UD much during the summer, below are highlights of some changes to help you prepare your 24F Canvas course sites.

Discussions/Announcements Redesign Enforced

• The enforcement was announced late 2023 after having the redesign available as an opt-in course feature since 2021.  Canvas@UD enabled the redesign by default on May 29, but still allowed the feature to be disabled in a course.  Starting July 20, the Discussions and Announcements Redesign is enforced in all courses.  The redesign includes mostly interface changes, but there are a few new capabilities.  Please see our Canvas@UD blog post, Canvas Discussions Redesign Enforced Starting 2024 Summer, for an overview of the redesign and links to resources.
• The Announcements tool includes updated functions in addition to the interface changes.  The Announcement Delay Posting option has been replaced with availability dates, and setting an available until date will remove student viewing access after the date passes.  Also, instructors can request to notify students when an announcement has been updated when editing an existing announcement.  Please note, notification preferences are still configured by each user.

New Assign To Capability for Modules, Pages, and Discussions

• Starting July 20, 2024, Canvas changed how the “Assign To” function appears for instructors when creating Canvas content.  The “Assign To” box has been replaced with a “Manage Assign To” link.  The “Manage Assign To” link opens in a tray that slides in from the right side of the screen.  The tray includes the same “Assign To” functionality as the original “Assign To” box with date setting availability based on the tool.  For more information, please see the Canvas@UD blog post, Canvas Release Notes – July 20, 2024.
• Canvas also added “Assign To” functionality to tools where it was previously not available – Modules, Pages, and ungraded Discussions – so you can differentiate their assignment to specific students or sections, and control availability with due dates and availability dates.  If you do not use the “Manage Assign To” link while editing, the assignment rule will default to “Everyone” in the course with no due dates or  availability dates.
• Assignments, Discussions, Pages and Quizzes now have an “Assign To” shortcut button at the top (near the edit button) to easily review or edit dates.  Instructors no longer need to edit content just to change the assignment rules.
• When an item is included in a module, an “Assign To” shortcut is available on the item’s option menu (the vertical three dots).  Instructors no longer need to open and edit each module item to change the “Assign to” rules.  For more information, please see the Canvas guide, How do I assign a module content item from the Module Index page?
• Modules now have an “Assign to” shortcut on the option menu (the vertical three dots).  By default, modules are still assigned to everyone in the course, but it is now possible to assign modules to specific students and sections.  For more information, please see the Canvas guide, How do I assign a module to individual sections or students?

SpeedGrader Updates

• The media recorder available in the right sidebar for comments now has screen capture and captioning capability to enhance the clarity of instructor feedback by allowing annotating a student submission and recording simultaneously.
• Draft comments on the right sidebar are now labeled with a “Draft” pill tag instead of the previous asterisk to clearly indicate a comment has not yet been submitted.
• By default, the SpeedGrader student list arranges student names alphabetically by last name. For easier grading, you can now sort the student list by student name (alphabetically), submission date, by submission status, or view the students in a random order.

External Tools Updates

• The existing MH Connect (course navigation menu) and McGraw Hill Connect LTIA (module modal) tool name has been renamed McGraw Hill. This change is due to the recent vendor upgrade to provide a single access point for both the McGraw Hill Connect and GO integrations. McGraw Hill ALEKS and SimNet integrations still use their individual tools.
• The W.W. Norton LTI update scheduled for June, 2024, has been delayed by the vendor until August 12.  Expect a transition e-mail from your vendor representative.  If you did not receive an e-mail and plan to use the W.W. Norton tool in your 24F Canvas course, please contact your vendor representative before publishing your course for students.
• The iClicker Cloud app has been updated to version 6.1.0.  Please review the release notes and download the updated version if needed.
• A new UD Tutoring menu item is available to enable on your course navigation menu.  This tool provides access to the Office of Academic Enrichment’s new tutoring system, PENJI.  For  more information, please see their webpage, Tutoring Resources,  and review their instructional video to enable it in your Canvas course, Faculty Instructions For Adding Penji To Canvas.
• A new Apporto Remote Lab menu item is available to enable on your course navigation menu.  Apporto Virtual Lab is a virtual computer lab desktop environment that allows faculty and students to access essential computing resources.

For individual summaries of the Canvas release notes, please review the Canvas@UD blog posts:

• Canvas Release Notes – July 20, 2024
• Canvas Release Notes – June 15, 2024
• Canvas Release Notes – May 18, 2024

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 IT-ATS Welcome Bar or you can send your questions to canvas-info@udel.edu.