Canvas Release Notes (2019-03-30)

In this Canvas release (March 30), the beta label has been removed from the New Gradebook in addition to other feature options in Canvas. In Notifications, SMS notifications have been shortened to distribute one message about the related content, and instructors can enable a notification to be notified of link errors in their courses.

As other updates, Slovenian has been added as a supported language in Canvas. The Submissions - View and Make Comments permission has been removed from Canvas. And as part of course groups, the group membership edit message has been reworded for functionality clarity.

Feature Options

For institutions using the New Gradebook, the Final Grade Override column retains all percentages entered for grade overrides. Additionally, content is included in SIS syncs.

External Tools (LTI)

For institutions using Commons, admins who have enabled a branding image for approved content can reset the custom branding image back to the default approved content icon. Additionally, the Back button includes more context and directs the user to the previously visited page or back to the Search page.
For institutions using Quizzes.Next, tags can be added to item bank items, and item banks can be searched and filtered by tags or item type.

Release notes also include API updates and fixed bugs.

Release notes describe upcoming Canvas functionality and are subject to change.

Follow the Canvas release notes space to be notified of updates
For all release changes, view the Release Notes Change Log
If you notice any contrary functionality compared to the outlined behavior in these notes, please file a Canvas support case according to your institution's support protocol
Other questions? View the Canvas Release Notes FAQ

Feature Options

The following feature options are addressed in this release:

Course: New Gradebook, Final Grade Override

Release Notes Change Log

Updated Features

BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Commons

Custom Branding Default Reset

This feature is used in conjunction with an external tool (LTI) in Canvas. Please view the content below for additional details. For more information about LTI tools, please see the Canvas Release Notes FAQ.

Location to Enable Feature	Commons LTI
Configuration Details	Commons LTI
Affected Canvas Areas	Commons LTI
Beta/Test Environment Support	Functionality affects content in the beta environment only; New/updated features not available until production release
Affects User Interface	Yes
Affected User Roles	Admins

Summary

Commons admins who have enabled a branding image for approved content can reset the custom branding image back to the default approved content icon.

Change Benefit

This update allows admins to remove the custom branding image and reset the approved content icon to its default state.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

Admins

When Commons admins have enabled the Approved Content and used a branding image, they can use the Reset to Default link to reset the custom branding image back to the default approved content icon.

The Reset to Default link is only available when Approved Content option is enabled and a custom branding image is used. The default state displays a white checkmark icon for approved content.

Commons Reset to Default Image Link

New Gradebook

This feature has been changed from beta status to production ready. Details are included in the Beta Label Removals Update.

These features are used in conjunction with a feature option in Canvas. Please view the content below for additional details. For more information about LTI tools, please see the Canvas Release Notes FAQ.

Final Grade Override Percentage Scores

Location to Enable Feature	New Gradebook, Individual Gradebook
Configuration Details	New Gradebook Feature Option Final Grade Override Feature Option
Affected Canvas Areas	New Gradebook, SpeedGrader, Student Grades
Related APIs	Enrollments API
Affects User Interface	Yes
Affected User Roles	Instructors, Students

Summary

Percentages added as an override grade are displayed as the entered percentage and the grade associated with the grading scheme. The lower bound of the grading scheme is not factored into the percentage display.

Change Benefit

This change allows instructors to adjust the final grade using a specific percentage and have that percentage apply for the grade.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

Instructors

When the Final Grade Override feature option is enabled for a course, instructors can enter a specific percentage and have that percentage apply for the grade. Previously the percentage adjusted to the lower bound of the grading scheme.

For instance, if an instructor added a grade override as 97%, and the grade range for A was from 94% to 100%, the student would be shown the grade of A with 97%. Previously the A grade would have shown a 94%.

Gradebook Grade Percentage Display Comparison

Feature Idea Contributions
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
View existing New Gradebook feature ideas
For new ideas, please tag the idea with gradebook_new

Final Grade Override SIS Sync

Summary

When the Final Grade Override feature option is enabled, any entries in the Override column display in SIS syncs.

Change Benefit

This change adds override grades to SIS syncs.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

Instructors

Instructors can enable the Final Grade Override feature, add override grades, and view the override grades as part of an SIS sync. The final grade override is used in place of the calculated final grade/score if the Include Final Grade Overrides checkbox is selected.

Feature Idea Contributions
Final Grade Override Data should Export to SIS
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
View existing New Gradebook feature ideas
For new ideas, please tag the idea with gradebook_new

Notifications

Content Link Error

Location to Enable Feature	Notifications
Configuration Details	Content Link Error
Affected Canvas Areas	Notifications
Affects User Interface	Yes
Affected User Roles	Instructors

Summary

The Notifications page includes a new alert for instructors to be notified about broken links in a course.

Change Benefit

This change allows instructors to be notified about broken links via notifications when they are accessed by students in the course.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

Instructors

If instructors want to be notified of broken links in their course, instructors can visit their Notification Preferences page and select the Content Link Error notification. Instructors are notified with both the location and content of the link error. The Notification default is set to daily delivery.

This notification is triggered in the following conditions:

The link cannot be accessed by students because of a permission error
The link is broken
The link is unpublished

Deleted links are not included in this notification and can be validated using the Validate Links in Content option in Course settings.

Notifications Content Link Error

Feature Idea Contributions
Better Feedback on Broken Links
Canvas Error Report - Send Broken Link errors to instructor
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
View existing Notifications feature ideas
For new ideas, please tag the idea with notifications

SMS Message Content

Location to Enable Feature	Notifications
Configuration Details	Cell Number (SMS) Notifications
Affected Canvas Areas	Notifications
Affects User Interface	No
Affected User Roles	All Users

Summary

Cellular (SMS) Notifications have been shortened to distribute one message about the related content. Additionally, content no longer includes direct URLs to access the content within the course.

Change Benefit

This change minimizes the number of text messages sent to a subscribed user.

Affected User Roles & Behaviors

All Users

Any user can select text messages as an option for receiving notification updates. However, notifications sent via text message have been shortened to minimize the number of messages a user receives.

Depending on the notification type, text messages include the following minimized content:

Submission Graded: assignment name and score (if score is included in the notification)
Assignment Created: course name and due date (if the assignment includes multiple due dates)
New Discussion Entry: discussion topic and user name who posted the discussion reply
New Announcement: announcement title
Conversation Message: user name who sent the message
Assignment Due Date Changed: assignment name and new due date

Users who prefer accessing the content directly should consider accessing the Canvas apps and enabling push notifications.

Feature Idea Contributions
Canvas features are always welcome to feedback. Product teams may make adjustments at any time via the Canvas Feature Idea process.
View existing Notifications feature ideas
For new ideas, please tag the idea with notifications

Quizzes.Next

These features are used in conjunction with an external tool (LTI) in Canvas. Please view the content below for additional details. For more information abo

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Canvas LMS Release Notes

Comments

cclo

Re: Quizzes.Next Item Bank Tags. Will analytics support analyzing student performance based on these tags? Or where can I find this information? Thanks much!

RobDitto

The fix listed here for Scheduler Reservations does not seem to be available in our institution's beta instance. (We were one of the customers reporting the problem). I've updated our On Hold case, 03919550, with this information.

erinhmcmillan

Hi, Cecilia,

Analytics is still one of our product priorities as included in Canvas Priorities: Analytics. You'll probably want to share your idea as to why having these tags in analytics would be beneficial by creating a new idea for Analytics Feature Ideas.

Thanks!

Erin

cclo

Will do, Thanks, Erin.

tlampley

Greetings Fellow Canvasphiles!

Definitely some exciting changes on Canvas' horizon! Being able to reset the Approved Content Icon in Commons is helpful! However, my big pick is the content link error notification! As often as we receive support calls from both student, and instructors about "links to nowhere" this is sure to have a positive impact.

Thank you Instructure for all that you do...and develop!

MAJ18

Looks like another round of great updates. Quick question for clarification on the Drop Rules and Student Grades Page

Drop Rules and Student Grades Page
Drop rules apply consistently within both the Gradebook and the student Grades page.
Explanation: When an assignment group includes drop rules, and assignments with equivalent scores are included in a drop rule, the first assignment that met the drop criteria was shown as being dropped from the student’s Grade page. However, the Gradebook used the last assignment that met the drop criteria. Canvas code has been updated to drop assignments consistently using the same criteria shown in the Grades page.

Could you clarify which both are dropping now? Is it the first assignment or the last? I know that if the grades are the same it shouldn't matter, but I know my faculty would want to know this. Thanks!

AthanGillette

Notifications: Content Link Error

This is really a great release, I'm certain instructors will be excited. Any plans to change when this notification is delivered? The default is currently set to be delivered as a daily summary, instructors would definitely appreciate a notification right away.

erinhmcmillan

Hi, Athan,

This error notification has the same default as the other error notification, Administrative Notifications. We try to mirror the defaults based on related functionality. Some of the Course Activity notifications are also set to daily.

Since this is a new feature, our product team would be happy to consider changing the default if enough feedback merits a review. However, in planning this feature, our teams still recommend using the Validate Links in Content option in Course Settings as the primary, proactive method of avoiding link errors, with the notification as a secondary method for any that may be missed.

Hope that helps!

Erin

erinhmcmillan

Hey, Matt,

Great question. I made sure to verify this behavior with our engineering team, and I revised the content for better clarity.

For drop rules, the Gradebook displayed the correct grade, but the student Grades page did not. So the fix ultimately ensured the grade displayed in the Grades page was the same as in the Gradebook. The assignment being dropped depends on the drop rule, but with all things being equal, they ultimately sort by assignment ID, with the lowest at the 'drop lowest' end and the highest at the 'drop highest' end. Our team hopes to improve how grades are calculated in drop rules as part of a future project.

Thanks,

Erin

cjr201

I like the ability to use percentages in the final grade override, it can take some of the math out and anything that gives further control over grading is a good idea.

jschaffer

erinhallmark‌,

For the notification of broken links, does this only apply to the instructor teaching the course, or will/can admins be notified as well? The reason I ask is that since we have centralized content, if there is an error in one course, there is likely an error in another course, and they will all have to be updated. I would rather update them all at once as an admin.

Jason Schaffer

Chris_Hofer

jschaffer...

When I hover over the text for the new row in the "Notifications" screen, I see the following:

Alerts_ Content Link Error

I also wonder if admins would be notified about all link errors for all courses? I will defer to erinhallmark‌ on this...as I'm not seeing in the Release Notes any mention of how this affects admins...only instructors.

erinhmcmillan

Hi, Jason,

Yes, admins can receive the notification, but they have to be enrolled in the course. Since most admins are not directly enrolled in courses, I didn't directly mention them in the release notes.

The team has a couple of ideas of tasks they could do to notify admins directly if needed, such as the case if a course has no instructor with access to change course content, but that would be a future change as directed by our product team.

Thanks!

Erin

Kristin Lundstrum

Hi! The Release Notes (2019-03-30) Collaborative Chat‌ was awesome! Here are the Collaborative Notes and the Chat Archive. See you for the Release Notes (2019-04-20) Collaborative Chat.

James-Kocher

HI all!

If multiple students click on a broken link, how many reports will it generate? Just the original one? Each time it's clicked? This would be important to know for instructors in case a course of 1000 students click the same link!

James

unknown

Hi erinhallmark

Is there any way to see how the "Content Link Error" notification looks? In particular, I'm wondering how it's worded, are there links to the broken content, etc? As it's a notification, I don't think there's any way to test it in Beta and I'd like to know what to expect so we can inform our users and be prepared to advise what to do (in case it's not clear from the notification).

Thanks!

Beth

ellen_peters

I am really not happy with the new group membership edit message. I think it’s unnecessarily alarming and I even wonder if the message is correct (‘will affect group submissions’; ‘will result in data loss’). Because I don’t see any data loss when a group member is added or removed from a group that has submissions. Even if you remove the group member that has submitted the group assignment, the submitted work/grade/comments remains visible for both the teacher and the group members.

Can you please clarify what data loss occurs if you 1) add a new student to a group that has submissions; 2) remove a student from a group that has submissions?

Update 2-4-2019: erinhallmark‌: can you please respond to my question? It seems as if this group edit message is changed by mistake, because there's a reference in the release notes to a feature idea about a warning message when a group set is deleted. In that case (or in the case of group deletion), the text of the new message is applicable. But not in the situation of adding or removing group members.

Chris_Hofer

Hi @beth_mossop ...

The release notes indicate (highlighting is my own):

Affected User Roles & Behaviors
Instructors
If instructors want to be notified of broken links in their course, instructors can visit their Notification Preferences page and select the Content Link Error notification. Instructors are notified with both the location and content of the link error. The Notification default is set to daily delivery.

Does this help?

unknown

Hi @Chris_Hofer ‌,

Yes and no- I'd really like to see the text which will be used for the different scenarios and hope it's self-explanatory! I guess I'll just have to wait until Monday

As a complete random aside- I grew up in Wisconsin and have family in Fond du lac!

Chris_Hofer

Oh nice! My family moved to FdL my junior year of college (1999-ish).

You should be able to test out the notifications sometime on Saturday, actually.

RobDitto

While the fix for Scheduler Reservations never worked in beta, something related to these release notes does seem to be available in production today. After clicking on a timeslot, there's a wait of five seconds for the Attendees information to load. The release seems to have brought with it net-new bugs in the Reschedule button and banner warning for appointments. I have updated Canvas Support case 03919550 with these details.

kblack

THANK YOU to erinhallmark‌ and @InstContentTeam ‌ for getting the New Gradebook sections into the Canvas Instructor Guide. I was always a bit annoyed that a user had to go to the New Gradebook Users Group to see those in the past, unlike the Quizzes.Next documentation, which got included in the Guide quite some time ago! Smiley Happy

ellen_peters

Hi @James-Kocher ‌,

Good question. I have just tested this with the notification set to 'Notify me right away' (so I have changed the default setting). Unfortunately, each click triggers a new notification to the teacher.

kblack

@James-Kocher ‌ and @ellen_peters ‌ - I left it at the default setting (the daily notification rather than Ellen's "Notify me right away.") In my case, I tested on a sample class with two different students with two different assignments, each with their own error. In one assignment, the link led to an unpublished page. In the other assignment, I linked to a bad external URL that does not exist. In the case of the daily notification, it alerted me to just ONE of those to one of the assignments rather than both of them....specifically the one with the unpublished page. However, the notification includes a link to the Link Validator for the course in question. Perhaps because it was just one course and not more is why the other assignment with the bad URL to the external site is not mentioned. For the record, here is the notification the instructor received:

Content Link Error - [Name of the Assignment went here]

Students are attempting to access unpublished content, [name of the unpublished content was here] in [name of the assignment where I linked to an unpublished page]. To check for other broken links, visit the Course Link Validator.

Click to view

That "Click to view" at the bottom is a link which leads to the Course Link Validator

All in all, however, I have to say this is outstanding feature, regardless of its accuracy, since it provides a good reminder to check the validator. Now we just have to remind instructors not to ignore the daily Canvas notifications, as I myself so often do!!

clong

I believe the changes made to the Individual View Filters caused an unintended side effect where if the instructor has the "Treat Ungraded as O" option selected it only applies now to the Individual Gradebook View and not to the Class Gradebook View. In the new Gradebook it was applying to both but now it doesn't and that is causing mid semester issues for some of our instructors.

Here's more discussion about how it used to work in both views https://community.canvaslms.com/message/126398-re-new-gradebook-treat-ungraded-as-zero

Can you please help to verify this and let us know if this will go back to the way it was or if this is not going to be addressed?

Personally, I think that setting needs to be redesigned so it is clear to instructors about what it actually does and doesn't do.

ellen_peters

Hi @kblack ‌, thanks for adding your test results! I can add to my initial test results that if multiple students click on the same broken link (in my case, an unpublished page), the daily summary only mentions this once.

unknown

We have our own "Syllabus" APP LTI created and it WAS working in all three instances.

instructure.com

test.instructure.com

beta.instructure.com

The Syllabus app points to a simple page that accesses our syllabus system. The issue is that the page will no longer load in Firefox on our production and beta instances, but test is working. We are not sure when this issue started but suspect in the last couple weeks because our test instance is still working fine and has likely not had production cloned to it yet. We have tested this numerous ways on all kinds of courses in all three instances and browsers: safari, chrome and FF. Chrome and Safari are working on all three instances. This is both on PC/MAC.

erinhmcmillan

HI, Bill,

Have you submitted a support case about this behavior? Cases will include information to help our team further triage what may be happening and give you some more concrete answers.

Thanks!

Erin

erinhmcmillan

Hi, Ellen,

Apologies for the delay! You're correct in that a change in the group membership may not always include data loss, and it's difficult to explain the various scenarios that can occur within that message—the general behavior relates to unintended consequences that can occur. Since experience—and numerous support cases—has shown us that more often than not data loss does occur because changes are made without a full understanding of possible repercussions, we intentionally wrote the message on the stronger side of the situation. Removing a student or adding a new student may not always affect data, but the code base is complicated with all the elements involved in grading, and our teams would rather help you ensure you keep your data how you expect to see it.

As to the feature idea, the reference was incorrectly linked and we've removed it from the notes.

Thanks!

Erin

erinhmcmillan

Hi, Rob,

Thanks for making our support team aware!

Erin

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