New Canvas Features - Spring 2018

Owned by Karen Park
Last updated: Apr 25, 2020 by Former user (Deleted)
4 min read

Overview

There were many new features added to Canvas this past year and we want to highlight some of the new features so instructors are aware and can become more familiar with them. 

Student Context Cards

Student Context Cards allow a person with the "Teacher" role in a course to click on any student's name and see a summary of the student's progress in the course. 

This is meant to be a simple view and unfortunately, it does not include mobile data — meaning if a student accessed and completed assignments via the app installed on their iPad/iPhone/Android or other mobile device, the data isn't logged.

Student Context Cards will show the student's current grade, the grade for the last 10 assignments, the number of missing and/or late assignments along with links to easily contact the student or go to Canvas' Analytics page to show more in-depth information.

Learn more by going to the Canvas How Do I Access the Student Context Card page. You may also view Student Context Cards in the Canvas Teacher App. To see how this works in your specific mobile app, go to the Canvas Mobile Student Context Cards page.



Student Context Card

New Gradebook

The new Canvas Gradebook was launched by Canvas in November of 2017. It was enabled this Spring and can be turned on in any course.

The main features that were added are:

Improved Gradebook menu

This dipslays the various Gradebooks that may be available in a course (Individual View and Gradebook History).

View Menu

Includes multiple options for sorting and filtering assignments.

Actions Menu

Displays options for syncing the Gradebook, importing or exporting a CSV version of the Gradebook.

To learn more about the features and see information about future iterations of the Gradebook, go to the Canvas Release Notes.

You may also find additional information in our wiki about Canvas Gradebook Options or on the Canvas Gradebook Guide. These will help you find instructions for any specific questions you might have about grading.

Quiz Logs

Quiz logs were an optional feature that was released earlier in the academic year, but has not been turned on for every course in Canvas.  Quiz Logs allow you to view the status of your student quizzes. The log begins when students begin a quiz and will record actions taken throughout the quiz.

Logs are only retained for 6 months at a time and unfortunately, do not include mobile app/device usage. However, you can see a lot about how quizzes are being taken and investigate problems that occurred during the quiz.

View our Canvas Quiz Logs page for more information or go to the Canvas How do I view a Quiz Log page.


Section Specific Announcements

A variety of changes were made to the look and feel of announcements, but probably the biggest change  was the introduction of being able to specify announcements for a specific section. This makes a big difference if you're teaching a cross-listed course, or a combined course where the normal classes might meet on different days.

To learn more about all of the announcement feature changes, go to the Canvas Production Release Notes.

post announcement to specific section option

Rubric Criterion Range

Rubric ranges were turned on last fall, after the feature was released in the summer of 2017. Setting up criterion works much like setting up individual point values.

To setup ranges, check the appropriate box titled Range and then set the maximum and minimum value for each range. Learn more by going to the Canvas Rubrics page.


Annotated image of setting up a Rubric point range value.

Customize Dashboard Course Tiles

Dashboard tiles can now be customized with your own image. There are some specific size and file limitations and if you need assistance, please contact the ETM Help Desk at etmhelp@spu.edu. 

Customized images can help distinguish your courses apart, but can also be a fun way to interact with your students.  

To learn more about the size and image limitations of Dashboard Course Tiles and go to the Canvas Add an Image to a Course Card on the Dashboard instructions.