March 2021 Canvas Changes and Updates

Posted in News

Assignments: Webcam Submissions

Students can use their webcam to take a photo for an assignment submission. Instructors can view uploaded images submitted via a student’s webcam as they see other file uploads in SpeedGrader. Webcam submissions are only available to students when the assignment is set to allow online submissions –> file uploads. Also, if the instructor restricts the types of files students can upload, it will prevent the student from using their webcam to make a submission.

SpeedGrader: Submission Reassignments

For online assignments with a due date, instructors will see a “Reassign” button in the SpeedGrader. If an instructor requires 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 make the Reassign button available to select. The reassignment does not change the original due date for the student, and the student will see the assignment appear on their Dashboard and activities list as another assignment to complete.

  • The Reassign Assignment button is not available for External Tools (LTI), on paper, and no submission assignments.
  • The Reassign Assignment button is only available for assignments with due dates.
  • If the assignment’s settings only allow for a single attempt, the Reassign Assignment button will not be available to select.

Rich Content Editor: File Preview Enhancements

Previously, by default all file previews opened in a new browser tab. Files now uploaded/linked in the Rich Content Editor (RCE) can be set to display in an overlay or inline. This allows all users in Canvas to control how their uploaded/linked files display within the RCE.

To select the File Preview options, first upload/link a file in the RCE (or skip to the next step if the file has already been added), click on the name of the file, and select the File Options button. Select the file preview type:

  • Preview in overlay: Displays the existing file preview functionality, where the file preview only opens in a new browser tab when clicked and overlays the entire page.
  • Preview inline: Displays the file directly within the RCE window once the file is clicked. If the additional option to “expand preview by default” is also selected, the file is automatically expanded and displayed within the page and the user does not need to click the file to view it. Instead, the user can close the preview by clicking the Minimize Preview link that displays along with the image.