Canvas User Updates November 19
Important Notices
Check Your Course Deadlines!
Most of the United States observes a custom know as Daylight Savings Time. Software is often adjusted to account for these changes, making it easier for course information to transition when the clock does. In Arizona we do not observe Daylight Savings Time and this can be a challenging exception when programming software. Currently users have been experiencing a change in times throughout Canvas where time deadlines are concerned. Users may experience issues with assignment due dates, release deadlines, module locks and other time specific operations within Canvas.
What is happening?
Deadlines may shift by 1 hour earlier then scheduled. This will most likely occur during a course migration/copy process from Fall to Spring when using the Adjust Events and Due Dates Feature. It may also occur when creating assignments with deadlines past March 10.
What is Canvas going to do about it? When will it be fixed? This is not acceptable!
Canvas is aware of the issue and their engineers are working on it. There is currently no ETA for the fix, but we are continuing to follow-up and monitor the issue to make sure it is resolved quickly.
What should I do?
For now it’s simply a matter of making sure the dates and times are correct and fixing those that displaying the wrong date/time manually. Any adjustments made to the incorrect deadlines should remain fixed and you should not experience additional time changing issues. If you need assistance with this process, please contact the MCC Center for Teaching & Learning at ctl@mesacc.edu.
Time to Transition to the New Calendar
Canvas will be slowly removing support for the old calendar. This means that you may experience issues with dates appearing wrong on the old calendar even when you make adjustments. Learn more:
Video Tutorial: Using the New Calendar
Chrome 30 Blocks Mixed Content
Chrome has recently updated their security to block mixed content. This means that unsecured multimedia content within Canvas will not display without user action. Learn how to allow blocked content .To keep up with all the latest browser updates visit the Canvas Browser Support Guide. This guide will be continuously revised and is a great resource to share with students.
Canvas Update Cycle
Canvas is on a 3-week update-release cycle. The beta release notes for this next cycle were available on 11/25, production notes will follow on 12/02 with the release and documentation to follow on 12/07. For information about Canvas updates follow the release page.
Recent Updates
New Conversations (Beta Version) Features Improve
About the New Conversations: The new Conversations was introduced as opt-in ‘beta’ feature as part of an update in September. To try Conversations, click the question icon (to the right of the inbox) and select the Try New Conversations option. You can switch back to the Old Conversations at any time.
Here are the latest updates to the New Conversation features:
- Email Reply Functionality – If a user receives an email notification and replies to a conversation from their email, the system will only send the conversation reply to the conversation’s author regardless of whether it was originally a group message. This is imperative for maintaining confidentiality.
- Assignment Comments – SpeedGrader™ and Gradebook assignment comments no longer appear in the new Conversations Inbox helping to keep your inbox neat and tidy by eliminating these comments you can focus on direct messages.
Over the next few months Canvas will continue to improve notifications to facilitate instructor course management options.
Grade by Quiz Question in the SpeedGrader™ (Beta Version)
Instructors can now grade quizzes by question rather than student from within SpeedGrader™. This feature is a great help when grading essay and short answer quiz questions. Grading by question is an optional beta feature. To try question grading, open the SpeedGrader™ settings link and click the Grade by question (beta) checkbox.
Learn more about this feature.
Did You Know?
Publisher Resources & Canvas 
Many textbook companies offer a variety of instructor resources that can be can be used within Canvas to supplement your content. Resources range from presentations and test banks to fully integrated applications with assignments and gradebooks.
Tips for Working with Publisher Materials
Get Represented!
Talk to your publisher representative to find out what types of materials are available and get an access account.
Neat Packaging!
Cartridges are the most convenient option for loading large amounts of publisher resources into Canvas. Ask your rep if they have a Canvas or Common Cartridge option.
Help Resources
Be sure to secure help documents from your publisher on how to find, download or integrate their tools. These documents also provide guidance on how to use some of the publisher’s special tools like gradebooks and course builders.
Ask for Demo
If your publisher offers an integration with Canvas, ask for a demo course so you can see how the integration might work for your course and decide whether you would rather keep the systems separate.
How Can the MCC CTL Help?
The MCC Center for Teaching & Learning does not have direct access to publisher information and resources for textbooks. We can act as a consultant to help you in:
- Finding your publisher representative.
- Reviewing the resource options available to you and your students.
- Helping you download and upload course materials.
- Assisting you in integrating special publisher tools.
Special!
Grant Opportunity
Canvas is offering $100k in grants for innovative project ideas in Higher Ed and K-12. They are looking for difference making ideas in the areas of content, applications, classroom techniques, tools and more! Submit Your Proposal
Canvas Learning Opportunities
CanvasLIVE
CanvasLIVE is a free webinar series designed to give Canvas users additional training and an opportunity to share their knowledge with the community. Each session includes a brief tutorial on a Canvas tool or feature, focused demonstration, and a short Q&A with Canvas experts.
Upcoming Sessions:
- Peering Inside Peer Reviews, Wednesday, November 20 9:00am MDT (Register) Graded discussions and graded assignments can easily function as peer review assignments. Yay! Yet, ambiguity exists surrounding what you can and can’t do with the peer review tool. Boo! These sessions will dive deeper into the peer review tool and shed some light into designing effective peer reviews in Canvas. Facilitator: Jordan Dayton, Instructure
- Item Analysis in Quizzes, Tuesday, December 3, 9:00am MDT (Register) How confident are you in your quizzes and tests? Do they measure what you want them to? Are your questions too hard or too easy? Does everybody cheat? What about accommodations? Let’s explore how Canvas helps you make tests less terrible with item analysis, moderation, and security settings. Facilitators: Jared Stein, Instructure and Hillary Scharton, Instructure
- MOBILE SERIES: Grading On-the-Go with Wifi On-the-Side , Thursday, December 5, 9:00am MDT (Register) Instructors already appreciate the ease of using SpeedGrader in Canvas via their browsers. In this session we will cover the ease of student grading using the SpeedGrader app for the iPad. Facilitator: Allison Weiss, Instructure
Webinars are open to everyone. Review all upcoming and archived CanvasLIVE sessions.
2nd Annual Canvas Conversations January 31st
Register / Submit a Proposal
Please plan to join us for the 2nd Annual Canvas Conversations (January 31, 2014 from 9 am to 3 pm at GateWay). This event is open to all Maricopa faculty and staff. In addition, we know you are doing awesome work in Canvas; please consider submitting a proposal today to share your ideas and expertise! Don’t delay – take a minute to register today!