This page will contain a list of new or upcoming features that have either been added or will be added to WebCampus-Canvas. Availability dates and links to tipsheets for these new features can be found below.
New Features For Instructors Only
Course Settings: Assignment Default Due Time
Tools Affected: Course Settings
Description: Instructors can set the default time for any new assignments by clicking on Settings in their course.
Assignments: Bulk Due Date Time Editor
Tools Affected: Assignments
When using the bulk update due and availability dates feature, instructors now have the option to edit the times as well.
Assignments: Submit on Behalf of Student
Tools Affected: Assignments (File Upload submission type only)
Instructors and TAs now have the ability to submit an assignment on behalf of a student in the Gradebook.
Gradebook: Enhanced Gradebook filters (available after August 19, 2023)
Tools Affected: Gradebook
Starting August 19, 2023, new enhanced gradebook filters will be available in all courses. For more information, visit Canvas' Enhanced Gradebook Filters guide.
Rich Content Editor Icon Maker
Tools Affected: Rich Content Editor (in various tools in WebCampus
Description: Users can now create simple icons using the Rich Content Editor in various Canvas tools.
Features that were enabled 2021 (click to expand)
New Assignment Online Submission Type: Student Annotation
Date Available: May 15, 2021
Tools Affected: Canvas Assignments
Assignments: Student Annotation Submissions Feature Video
Description: A new online submission type, Student Annotation, was added to Canvas. With this feature, students can annotate a file uploaded by an instructor. The annotated document is submitted as the student's assignment submission. Canvas recommends using another online entry type for students who may not be able to annotate a document.
Portfolium (Folio)
Date Available: 8/13/2021
Description: Portfolium is an academic portfolio network that allows users to showcase their education and connect with other professionals. Your Portfolium profile allows you to organize and display previous educational and professional content. You can upload images, Videos, PDFs, and import completed Canvas assignments to your Portfolium. To get started with Portfolium, log in to WebCampus, click on Account and Folio. Then, click on the person icon above your name to start the Portfolium account creation process. To learn more, please visit the Portfolium guides.
New Features For Graduate Assistants Only
Microsoft Immersive Reader
Date Available: October 16, 2021
Tools Affected: Assignments, Course Home Page, Syllabus
Resources: Microsoft Immersive Reader Feature Video
Description: Microsoft Immersive Reader enhances your reading experience by improving accessibility and boosting reading comprehension and can be enabled in User Settings within Canvas by clicking on Account> Settings. Once enabled, students and instructors will be able to use the Microsoft Immersive Reader button when viewing Assignments, the Course Home Page, and the Syllabus.
Sticky Navigation Menus
Date Available: October 16, 2021
Tools Affected: Account, Course, and User Navigation Menus
Resources: Sticky Navigation Menu Video
Description: The Account, Course, and User navigation menus remain sticky and are always visible on their respective pages. This allows users to access the menus at any time.
Course Notification Customization
Date Available: October 16, 2021
Tools Affected: Notifications
Resources: Notifications (Course Customization) Video
Description: Course notification preferences, which was previously only available in individual courses, can be customized from Account> Notifications. The User Notifications page will display all notification options for a user's entire account. After October 16, users will be able to select their courses from a drop down menu to set notification settings for each of their courses from this page as well.
Accessibility Checker Indicator
Date Available: October 16, 2021
Tools Affected: Rich Content Editor
Resources: Accessibility Checker Indicator Video
Description: A number indicator will appear on the Accessibility Checker icon at the bottom of the Rich Content Editor if any accessibility issues are detected. Users can click on the Accessibility Checker icon to view those issues and recommended fixes.
WebCampus Primary Email Address Change for GAs
Date Available: May 15, 2021
Tools Affected: Inbox, Email Notifications, and WebEx Integration
Description: The primary email address in WebCampus for Graduate Assistants with current GA contracts will be changed to use their UNLVMail (@unlv.edu) address instead of their Rebelmail (@unlv.nevada.edu) email address for all communications to and from WebCampus. The change is being made to help facilitate important third-party integrations in WebCampus, such as Webex, for teachers and instructors. Users may add their RebelMail as a secondary email in WebCampus or forward messages to their RebelMail account from their UNLVMail account if desired. This change only applies to the primary email address in WebCampus and does not apply to other campus technologies.
New Features for Instructors Only
Gradebook Assignment Search
Date Available: October 16, 2021
Tools Affected: Gradebook
Resources: Gradebook Assignment Search Video
Description: An option to search for a specific assignment will be added to the gradebook.
SpeedGrader: Submission Status Label Edits
Date Available: October 16, 2021
Tools Affected: SpeedGrader
Resources: SpeedGrader: Submission Status Label Edits Video
Description: The SpeedGrader sidebar will include an Edit icon that can be used to change submission statuses (Late, Missing, Excused). Adjusting a status in SpeedGrader will also apply to the gradebook. Notes regarding this feature:
- Setting the status to Missing displays the Missing label.
- If a late policy is enabled in the gradebook, setting the status to late will enable a text field that will allow the grader to enter a value for the days/hours late.
- Setting the status to excused will display the Excused status and the grade cell in the gradebook will display as EX and will be grayed out.
The Edit Status icon is not displayed in the following assignment scenarios:
- Previously submitted submissions (only the most recent submission is supported)
- Concluded & Inactive user enrollments
- Assignments that require moderated grading
H5P
Date Available: Summer 2021
Tools Affected: Rich Content Editor, Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions
Description: A new tool has been enabled in WebCampus-Canvas, H5P. H5P will allow instructors to create, share, and reuse HTML5 content. Instructors can create and edit interactive videos, presentations, games, and assessments within Canvas. For more information and a guide for using H5P in WebCampus, please visit OIT's H5P software page.
Speedgrader - Comment Library
Date Available: June 19, 2021
Tools Affected: Speedgrader
Comment Library Feature Video
Description: The Comment Library allows instructors to save and reuse commonly used text feedback in SpeedGrader. As an instructor, you can add new comments and delete existing comments in the Comment Library. Any comment you add to the Comment Library are accessible from each course in which you are enrolled as an instructor. For more information, visit Canvas' guide on using the Comment Library in SpeedGrader.
View Ungraded as 0
Date Available: May 2021
Tools Affected: Gradebook
View Ungraded as 0 Feature Video
Description: Instructors can now temporarily change the Gradebook view so that grade totals display as if all ungraded assignments were given a score of zero. This is a visual change only and does not affect grades for students or other users of the gradebook. When enabled, Canvas will not populate zeros in the Gradebook for students' individual assignments. Only the assignment groups and total columns will visually factor scores of zero into the overall percentages for each student.
Features that were enabled on March 20, 2021 (click to expand)
New Features For All Users
File Preview Enhancements for the Rich Content Editor
Date Available: March 20, 2021
Tools Affected: Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, Pages, Quizzes, and the Syllabus tool
Feature Video: Rich Content Editor: File Preview Enhancements
Description: Files linked in the Rich Content Editor can be previewed in an overlay or inline. This change allows you to control the display of the file preview. Previously, all file previews opened in a new browser tab. The Display Options will appear when inserting a link to a file using the Rich Content Editor.
- Preview in overlay displays the existing file preview functionality, where the file preview opens and overlays the entire page.
- Preview inline loads the displays the preview directly in the Rich Content Editor window once the file is clicked. If the option to expand the preview by default is also selected as an option, the file is automatically expanded in the page and users do not need to click the file to view it. Instead, users can close the preview by clicking the Minimize Preview link that displays along with the image.
New Features For Instructors Only
SpeedGrader - Submission Reassignments
Date Available: March 20, 2021
Tools Affected: SpeedGrader, Assignments
Feature Video: SpeedGrader: Submission Reassignments
Description: Instructors can reassign an assignment to an individual student and ask them to redo their submission. This change allows instructors to provide feedback and reassign an assignment to an individual student, which places the assignment back in the List View Dashboard as another assignment to complete. For online assignments, instructors can view a Reassign button in SpeedGrader. If they require a student to redo an assignment, they can reassign the assignment directly to the student from within their grading workflow in SpeedGrader. The instructor must first provide feedback regarding the assignment, which will enable the button. The reassignment does not change the original due date for the student.
Important Notes:
- The Reassign Assignment button is not available for External Tools (LTI), on paper, and no submission assignments.
- If the assignment's settings do not allow students to make an additional attempt, the Reassign Assignment button remains disabled, and the tooltip notes that the student has met the maximum number of allowed attempts.
- If an instructor returns to SpeedGrader after navigating away from the page, the Reassign Assignment button tooltip indicates that the assignment has been reassigned. However, the product team is changing this workflow so the button itself indicates the assignment has been reassigned.
New Features For Students Only
Assignments - Webcam Submissions
Date Available: March 20, 2021
Tools Affected: Assignments
Feature Video: Assignments: Webcam Submissions
Description: In File Upload assignments, you can use your webcam to submit to an assignment. This change allows you to submit a file upload assignment from the browser and aligns behavior with the Canvas Student app. The first time you use the feature, you will need to give permission to Canvas to access your computer webcam.
Features that were enabled on December 22, 2020 (click to expand)
New Rich Content Editor (RCE)
Date Available: December 22, 2020
Tools Affected: Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, Pages, Quizzes, and the Syllabus tool
Description: The New Rich Content Editor (RCE) is an update to the previous Canvas RCE. The new RCE provides a condensed, more intuitive toolbar that is grouped by common icons and interactions.
Resources: Instructor guides for the new RCE and Student guides for the new RCE
Features that were enabled on July 10, 2020 (click to expand)
Features for All Users
Course Notifications
Date Available: July 10, 2020
Tools Affected: Course Home Page, Notifications
Description: Users can customize notifications for an individual course they are enrolled in. You will have the option to either turn off all notifications for the course or manage notifications for specific course features, including the frequency in which you receive those notifications.
Resources: How do I manage notifications for a single course as an instructor or student?
Features for Instructors Only
Bulk Edit for Due and Availability Dates
Date Available: Now
Tools Affected: Assignments, Discussions, and Quizzes
Description: Instructors can now update due and availability dates for all assignments, discussions, and quizzes from their course's Assignments page.
Resources: How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates?
Limit Submission Attempts for Assignments
Date Available: July 10
Tools Affected: Assignments
Description: By default, assignments can be submitted an unlimited number of times. However, a feature has now been added that allows instructors to limit the number of attempts a student can make for an assignment.
Resources: How do I limit submission attempts for an assignment?
Course Navigation Rubrics Link
Date Available: July 10, 2020
Tools Affected: Rubrics, Course Navigation, Outcomes
Description: This change allows course rubrics to be accessed more quickly. The option for creating rubrics will be removed from Outcomes and added to the Course Navigation Menu. This will menu item will only be visible to instructors. Note: You will still have the ability to add/create rubrics from assignments, discussions, and quizzes as well.
Instructor Course Publishing Improvements
Date Available: July 10, 2020
Tools Affected: Dashboard, Courses menu option, and All Courses
Description: Once available, instructors will be able to clearly see which courses are published/unpublished on their Dashboards, in the Courses menu, and in All Courses as the courses will be divided into two different sections - Published Courses and Unpublished Courses. Instructors will also have the ability to publish/unpublish courses directly from the dashboard as well.
Resources: How do I publish my course?
Direct Share
Date Available: July 10, 2020
Tools Affected: User Navigation, Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, Pages
Description: Users (instructors, TAs and designers) can use Direct Share to copy individual course items to another course and/or share individual course items with other instructors.
Resources:
- Using Direct Share to copy an individual item to another course
- How do I copy a single announcement, assignment, quiz, discussion, or page to another course?
- Using Direct Share to send an item to another instructor
Users can search for other users via email address. Content can only be sent to users with instructor-based roles. The same content may be sent to more than one instructor by adding other users individually. Recipients will access and import the content directly in Canvas and will have the ability to preview the content before importing it into their course(s).- How do I send a single announcement, assignment, quiz, discussion, or page to another instructor?
- How do I access content shared with me?
Modules - File Upload Enhancements
Date Available: July 10, 2020
Tools Affected: Modules
Description: Instructors will be able to add multiple files to a module from either the Course Home Page or Modules either by dragging the files from their computer and dropping them into WebCampus or by using the Choose Files option.
Resources:
- Option 1: Drag and drop
Once a module has been created, the Drop files here to add to module or choose files options will appear below the module. - Option 2: Choosing multiple files to add:
- Click on the + to the right of the title of the module
- Select File
- Click on New File
- Click on Choose File button
- Select all files you want to add to the module and click Open.
- Select the Folder to add your files to
- Click Add Item