December Updates to Canvas

There will be some changes coming to Canvas over the winter break that of which we wanted to make our faculty and staff aware. 

Rich Content Editor

Starting after finals week, Canvas will be transitioning all users to the "new" Rich Content Editor (RCE) that has been available as an option for several months. This will change the look of the editor from the classic version to the enhanced version. 

 

Classic version:

 

Enhanced version:

 

 

As you can tell, there are several changes to the enhanced content editor. According to Instructure, the main changes are these:

 

• The Rich Content Editor expands to the full width of the browser and can also be expanded into full screen mode
• The toolbar includes a condensed, more intuitive look
• Toolbar menus are grouped by common icons and interactions
• The content sidebar only displays when linking to other parts of Canvas, accessing Canvas files, or accessing uploaded media
• Image and media additions include drag and drop; images include an Unsplash search and content auto-scaling
• When content in a browser window is long enough to require a scroll bar, the Rich Content Editor menu bar is fixed at the top of the browser window.
• The Keyboard shortcut, Accessibility Checker, and HTML Editor icons have moved to the bottom of the editor next to the word count. Additionally, the Rich Content Editor window can be resized using the Move handle below the window, and the window can be expanded to full screen.

Many of you may have opted to switch to the enhanced RCE earlier in the year. For those who haven't, it will be rolled out to all users over the break, so keep an eye out! For more information on the RCE, scroll through the RCE UI Overview for a breakdown of how each button and menu will function.   

Canvas Push Notifications

We are all frequently being overwhelmed by digital communication these days. Reading emails, getting texts, notifications from apps, all of these can clog up our senses. 

 

According to Instructure, "students spend 89% of their time on native mobile apps and just 11% of their time in mobile browsers, and surveys show students prefer using apps on their smartphones instead of being pointed to mobile websites. In fact, nearly one million students downloaded the Canvas Student App in March and April of 2020 alone." They add that push notifications "appear in a student’s notification tray, where today’s youth check dozens of times daily."

 

In an attempt to help clear some of the noise, Canvas is streamlining its push notifications. These send messages out to students when something happens in their course in Canvas. Starting January 16th, a more condensed version of push notification will be available. These notifications include:

Announcements

• New Announcement
• Announcement Reply

Assignments 

• Assignment Created
• Submission Graded
• Assignment Due Date Changed
• Submission Comment
• Submission Needs Grading
• Submission Comment for Teacher
• Submission Grade Changed
• Assignment Changed
• Annotation Notification
• Assignment Due Date Override Changed
• Peer Review Invitation
• Rubric Assessment Submission Reminder
• Upcoming Assignment Alert
• Annotation Teacher Notification
• Assignment Unmuted
• Quiz Regrade Finished

Events 

• New Event Created
• Event Date Changed
• Appointment Group Published
• Appointment Group Updated
• Appointment Group Deleted
• Appointment Canceled by User
• Appointment Deleted for User

Conversations

• Conversation Message (new conversation or reply)

Conferences

• Web Conference Invitation

Collaborations

• Collaboration Invitation

Conclusion 

As always, if you have any questions about these changes or any other Canvas utilities, please contact our Learning Tech office. We're here to help!