Various feature enhancements have been, and are actively being deployed in Canvas that the DEC would like to make the Campus Community aware of. The first area that has received an upgrade is Assignments. The Assignments Enhancement Project brought small changes that improve the student experience in completing and submitting assignments, viewing rubrics, and locating instructor feedback. No action needs to be taken by the instructor or the student for these changes to apply.
Announcements and Discussions are the other elements of Canvas undergoing active development. Users will now have access to ongoing improvements will be that will displayed automatically with every release from Instructure. For individual discussion and announcement topics, the interface has been expanded for maximum space and ensure responsive views.
The following modifications have been made to individual topics:
- The toolbar has been moved to the top of the discussion and announcement thread.
- Newest replies display at the top of the first page instead of the bottom of the last page.
- Users can sort replies from newest to oldest, or oldest to newest.
- Users can also quickly move to the top of the discussion or announcement at any time.
Other noteworthy changes are:
- Users can also now mention other users in discussion replies by using the @ symbol. All available users in the course display in the drop-down menu.
- Users can quote other replies as part of their discussion reply.
- Within individual discussions, replies can be reported by students and teachers as inappropriate, offensive or “other.” Teachers can choose to enable reporting in the Discussions Settings menu.
- anonymous Discussions are now an option.
- Discussions can be set within Availability Windows
For a video overview and timeline of changes to come click here.
As always, the DEC is happy to help you navigate through any of the changes that have occurred and the ones forthcoming at 434-395-4332 or dec@longwood.edu.