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Canvas Update – Fall 2023

Here’s what’s new for Fall 2023

(Additional updates will be added throughout the quarter. Newest updates at the top.)

Duplicate Calendar Events

The option to duplicate a calendar event was previously removed by Instructure (the company that owns and operates Canvas) but has since been reinstated, as of 12/6/23.

Starting on November 22, the "All Courses" and "All Groups" links within the global navigation menu tray will be displayed at the top of the list, rather than at the bottom.

Course Status Button Update

The course status button has been updated to save page real estate and makes it more clear whether the course is published or unpublished. The publish and unpublish buttons are now action buttons.

Calendar Recurring Events

Teaching team members are able to create and edit recurring events for their courses. The events will appear on the Canvas calendar for the course, alongside other course events. There are more flexible recurring options compared to the original options. Note that the calendar recurring events feature is not supported in appointment groups. 

Media Permission and Caption Update

When video media is copied from one course to another course, the copied media inherits captions from the original. However, starting October 21, users can replace inherited captions. They can later delete or replace the captions with those that they choose, making captions  independent of the original media.

Discussions Push Notifications

Discussions now allow for push notifications for 1) Discussion New Topic and 2) Discussion New Reply. The default for these is to send out notifications immediately.

Announcements Delay Posting Button

When using the Delay Posting feature when creating an announcement, the Publish button has been renamed to Save. This change makes it clear that the announcement content will be saved but not yet published and released to students. Once the posting date has arrived, the announcement will be made visible to students. 

Updated Syllabus View

The Syllabus tool within Canvas has an updated display. The new display makes it more immediately clear how far of a reach a course syllabus has - course members only, Stanford community, or to the public. Visibility can always be updated to the instructor's preference. 

Fall 2023 Canvas Course Creation

Fall 2023 Canvas courses are currently available on Canvas. If you do not see a course you are teaching in Fall 2023, confirm the course is listed on Axess and then reach out to canvashelp@stanford.edu. Our team can help get the Canvas course set up.

Google Assignments/Google Drive

Google Assignments LTI 1.3 is now installed in most Canvas courses.. This new tool allows:

  • students to add files directly from their Google Drive account to a Canvas File Upload assignment.
  • instructors and students to create Collaborations for Google Docs, Sheets, Presentations, and more.
  • instructors and students to embed Google Drive files in the Canvas RCE.
  • ... and more!

Point Based Grading Scheme

Starting September 16, 2023, instructors can set up point based grading schemes. Any existing percentage based grading schemes can be edited to be based on points. When viewing the Canvas Gradebook, the assignment group averages and the course totals will display raw earned points. Please note that if you are using the Final Grade Override feature, override grades can only support letter grades. 

Editing Canvas Page Title Updates the URL

Starting September 16, any edits made to a Canvas Page title will no longer break links to the page. Once a Page title is edited, the Canvas URL will automatically update to reflect the new page title. Any existing links pointing to the page will also be updated so to not cause disruption. If a new page is created using the exact same title, the URL will be appended with a -2 so that the pages are unique.

iWork File Conversion in Doc Viewer

iWork files (.pages, .numbers, and .key) uploaded to Canvas after August 30, 2023 using a Canvas iOS app or the web can be previewed in the DocViewer. Instructors can also annotate DocViewer files. Note: Only for users in the United States. 

Alphabetical Filter Section Names

When filtering the Gradebook by Section, section names now appear alphabetically. 

When creating content in the Rich Content Editor, the panel for inserting Course Links now display the Content Type icon and a link to create the item. When clicking the "Add one!" link, it takes you to the landing page of the course tool in a new tab. 

RCE box with the right-hand panel opened

Hide Totals Checkbox Text Update

When the Final Grade Override feature option is disabled, the View Options checkbox text only displays Hide Total Column.       
When the Final Grade Override feature option is enabled, the View Options checkbox text continues to display Hide Total Column and Override Columns.

Choose a Quiz Engine Pop-Up Update

When New Quizzes is enabled in a course, the Classic Quiz description text is updated in the Choose a Quiz Engine modal. Additionally, the New Quizzes option is listed first.

LTS Canvas Roadmap

Learn more about the work the LTS Canvas team is working on by checking out the Canvas Roadmap.

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