June 2024 technology updates
In our technology updates we announce the latest developments in UoA supported tools for teaching and learning.
This month’s technology updates walk you through new and upcoming features of Canvas Design Blocks as well as alerting you to upgraded and useful new Canvas functionality.
Canvas Design Blocks
What’s New:
- Mobile App Enhancements: All features are now fully operational within mobile applications.
- June Meeting Preview: A comprehensive presentation, including the new Glossary tool, is set for the June TEL Monthly Meeting.
What’s Next:
- Documentation Drive: We’re shifting our focus to enriching our GitHub/Wiki documentation for Design Blocks.
- TeachWell Updates: Guidance on TeachWell will be refreshed to reflect the latest changes.
Canvas
Rich Content Editor – Find & Replace plugin
Now available through:
Tools [1] > Find & Replace [2] or simply by pressing CTRL+F/Command+F
This tool is designed to optimise your workflow.
The Canvas find and replace tool can be found when editing a page by clicking tools in the editor toolbar and then selecting find and replace from the dropdown menu.
With the Find & Replace tool, you can:
- Locate text using the Find field [1].
- Substitute text with the Replace with field [2].
- Replace all occurrences at once with the Replace All button [3], or tackle them one by one using the Replace button [4].
Navigate through multiple instances with the Previous [5] and Next [6] buttons.
want to replace in the text field under find, then under the replace with type the new word that you would like to replace the old with, you can then choose to replace all, replace just the current instance, go to the previous/next word that’s found.
Gradebook – Enhanced messaging for submitted assignments
The Gradebook’s Message Students Who feature has been upgraded to foster better communication between instructors and students. Now, instructors can directly message students based on their submission status. The new options include:
- Messaging all students who have submitted on time.
- Messaging students with graded on time assignments.
- Messaging students with ungraded on time assignments.
This enhancement allows instructors to provide positive reinforcement to diligent students and refines the messaging process, excluding excused students from reminders about missing assignments. The result is a faster and more focused communication workflow.
Compose a message to a select group of students (for Submitted Assignments) allows you to choose between students who have/have not submitted the assignment as well as choosing between the options “All on time submissions”, “Graded on time submissions”, “Non graded on time submissions”
Gradebook update: Improved messaging for non-submissions
The Message Students Who feature in the Gradebook now includes a thoughtful update for handling non-submissions. Instructors can now:
- Use a new checkbox to exclude excused students when sending messages about missing assignments.
This update simplifies the instructor’s task of communicating only with students who need to submit their work, ensuring that excused students do not receive unnecessary notifications. It’s a step towards a more efficient and considerate messaging system.
Improved Messaging for Non-Submissions allows you to skip excused students when messaging students who have not yet submitted an assignment.
Discussions redesign
Mark your calendars for July 20, 2024, when the Discussions Redesign will be officially enforced. However, you can get an early taste by enabling it as a Feature Preview:
- In your Canvas course, go to Settings > Feature Options > Discussions/Announcements Redesign.
Resources: Learn how to enable and make the most of the Discussions Redesign with Instructure’s how-to guide, overview video, two-page summary, and join the user group for ongoing discussions.
May these enhancements continue to empower you as teachers in your commitment to fostering collaboration and engagement with your students.
As always, should you have any questions or require assistance, seek support from IT Connect and Ranga Auaha Ako, Learning and Teaching Design Team. We’re here to help.
Disclaimer: The information in this blog post is accurate as of 29 May 2024. Please note that the features and updates mentioned above are based on available information at the time of writing, and there may have been further developments since then.