Reading Time: 3 minutesCanvas has been working on modifications to both assignments and discussions – and the changes are now ready to be live! In these two weeks leading up to the release of the updated assignments and discussions, we’ll be going through everything you need to know about the changes. This week, we’re looking at the assignment enhancements. These are primarily student-facing interface adjustments to track the “life cycle” of an assignment more easily. Let’s take a look! Here’s a screenshot of an updated assignment page. With the update, Canvas has moved or added a few things: The next chunk of the page is very much the same as…
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Canvas Update: New Quizzes Can Build on Last Attempt
Reading Time: 2 minutesCanvas has allowed instructors to give students multiple attempts on quizzes for a while, but they recently modified this feature. Now, Canvas allows instructors to choose whether a student must re-do the entire quiz in subsequent attempts or if they only need to answer questions they had previously gotten wrong. Accessing this feature This feature is already live in Canvas and can be accessed in the settings page for a New Quiz. Toggle “allow multiple attempts” on, then check the box for “Build on last attempt.” When this feature is enabled, students can reattempt questions until they either get it correct or run out of allowed attempts…
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Canvas Update: Canvas Links
Reading Time: 3 minutesCanvas is improving how linking works throughout courses. One of these changes that we’ll be talking about has already been implemented, but the other two have yet to be released. Course link sidebar displays name of current link The first change Canvas has made is already present in your courses. Previously, if you wanted to change a link that you’d already added to the Rich Content Editor, it was faster to just remove the link entirely and create a new link. Now, Canvas has made it simple to replace the link – and it shows the name of whatever you currently have linked in the sidebar. To open…
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Canvas Update: New Quizzes Rich Content Editor and Hiding Quizzes Worth Zero Points in Gradebook
Reading Time: 2 minutesCanvas is updating New Quizzes once again on June 17. With these updates, the Rich Content Editor (RCE) will now be available to both instructors and students, and instructors can choose to hide New Quizzes worth zero points in the gradebook. Rich Content Editor Canvas is finally enabling the Rich Content Editor in New Quizzes! With this change, the content editor you use everywhere else in Canvas will be what you use as you create New Quizzes – and it’s what students will use when they need to type any answers. Having the RCE in New Quizzes means that all features specific to it will be available,…
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Canvas Updates: Publishing and Unpublishing Content in Modules
Reading Time: 2 minutesCanvas is updating how content is published in modules – and simplifying the process for publishing/unpublishing multiple items in their June 17 release. Previously, instructors would need to set the published/unpublished status on each module and each item within a module. So, if they wanted to unpublish an entire module to work on it, they would need to unpublish each item individually, then republish each item when they finished. Now with this update, the status of an entire module and its items can be changed at once! To use this new feature, click the drop-down publish/unpublish button for a module. You’ll see three items in this…
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Canvas Updates: Accessing SpeedGrader for New Quizzes
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn its May 20 update, Canvas has made it easy to access SpeedGrader for a New Quiz. Previously, you’d have to find the New Quiz in the gradebook or in your “to-grade” list to get to SpeedGrader. Now, you can access it through just about anywhere you can access a New Quiz in Canvas – including inside the build pages for the New Quiz itself! From Canvas modules or the Quizzes/Assignments pages, click the three dots for the quiz and select “SpeedGrader” from the drop-down. From both the New Quiz overall settings page and the “Build” page where you can edit the quiz questions, you…
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Preparing for Finals: How Turnitin and Proctoring Exams Can Help
Reading Time: 2 minutesWe’re quickly approaching the end of the semester, so it’s time to make sure you have all the info you need to finish strong. Today we’re going to be talking about finals, and make sure you check out our post about reviewing your gradebook and submitting your grades as you prepare to do that. Because of the unique challenges of this year, your finals may look different from the norm. Whether you’re having your students write a final paper or take an exam, here’s a few features to consider as you make your plans. 1. Use Turnitin for written final projects Turnitin integrates seamlessly into Canvas assignments – you only need to select “Turnitin” from the drop-down…
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Turnitin Adds AI Writing Indicator to Similarity Report
Reading Time: 3 minutesIt’s no secret that ChatGPT’s popularity is growing. And plagiarism detecting tools are aware of that – and the need to adjust their offerings to help identify when student work may have been supplemented or entirely created by AI. Turnitin recently announced that it will now display a score to instructors within the Similarity Report to indicate what percentage of a paper is highly likely to be generated by AI. Turnitin is quick to say that their detection isn’t foolproof and the percentage displayed “should not be used as a definitive measure of misconduct or punitive tool.” The AI percentage is presented to inform instructors and give…
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Canvas Update: Grade by Question in SpeedGrader
Reading Time: 2 minutesWith the update releasing April 15, Canvas is adjusting how instructors can review and grade New Quiz questions in SpeedGrader. Previously when scoring questions that needed manual grading, instructors could only view results organized by student. Now, Canvas will allow instructors to flip between students to grade by question. This is controlled by a setting in the “options” menu when you’re in SpeedGrader for a New Quiz. Turning on grade by question When in SpeedGrader for a New Quiz, click the settings gear at the top left, then click “options” in the menu. In the window that pops up, check the box for “grade by question,” then…
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Canvas Update: Instructors Can Upload Files to Assignments for Students
Reading Time: 2 minutesCanvas has recently added a feature to allow instructors to upload files to assignments for students. To use this feature, you need to start in the gradebook. Click on the student’s cell for the assignment you want to upload, then click the arrow. Canvas will slide out a panel from the right side of your screen. Click the “Submit for Student” link. Drag and drop or use the file picker to add the assignment file(s), then click “submit.” If you upload multiple files, they will be added as one submission. The file is now available to be graded in SpeedGrader! Any files uploaded using this method will…