Tag: Canvas

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Canvas Assignments: SpeedGrader improvements

Improvements have been released to Canvas assignments that use SpeedGrader and Rubrics. Visually it will look slightly different, but all previous functionalities will remain, with some additional features available.

Guidance for how to use these can be found on Canvas Assignment page of the Learning and Teaching website

Details of the improved functionalities are as follows:

SpeedGrader

The Document Viewer will load much faster, which is particularly beneficial to modules with large cohorts of students, where there is a long list of assignment submissions.

When navigating through the submissions via the drop-down menu, an eye icon will appear to indicate which submission you are currently looking at in the Doc Viewer.

The assignment submission status now appears in SpeedGrader, allowing you to flag a submission as Excused, Late, Extended etc.

When using Sections to mark, the process of selection the section has been improved. It is less fiddley to click on the right section, as the section menu remains visible until you click apply. It is also possible to look at multiple sections at the same time.

Detailed information can be found on How do I use SpeedGrader with Performance and Usability Upgrades.

Enhanced Rubrics

Canvas Rubrics have a few improvements that will help with the usability when creating rubrics and marking submissions.

It is now possible to alter how the rubric is viewed. There is the classic view you will be familiar with, alternatively you can choose to have the rubric displayed horizontally or vertically.

You can now import and export Rubrics, including exporting completed rubrics, that have been used to mark assignments.

Rubrics can be created and stored in draft status, and you can archive old rubrics when they are no longer required.

Further information can be found on the Canvas Enhanced Rubrics guidance.

Student Assignment Enhancements  

There are also improvements to the students view when submitting an assignment. As before, the submission page clearly displays the due date, the link to the Assignment Brief (which is added when the assignment is set up), the number of allowed attempts and the rubric is visible if one has been attached. A new feature is the Progress status bar, which will update when the student has submitted their assignment and then again when feedback has been released. When the student is looking at their Grades and Feedback, if a Rubric has been used, this will be displayed by default, clearly indicating the levels the student has attained against each criterion.

Up to date guidance on these improvements are available on the ASK website and more details can be found on What is Assignment Enhancements?

If you have any queries or need further guidance, please contact ltds@newcastle.ac.uk.  

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Update to the workflow for setting up Turnitin assignments

Over the summer, work took place to improve the security, functionality, and performance of Turnitin assignments in Canvas. This means there is a slight change of workflow when setting up a new Turnitin assignment. 

You are no longer be required to select Turnitin as an “External Tool” from the Submission Type assignment settings. This step occurs on the assignment homepage instead, select Turnitin from the Assignment Settings (3 dots) button when creating a new assignment.

Guidance on the new steps to setting up a Turnitin assignment can be found on the Learning and Teaching website.

Please note that change will only affect how you create new Turnitin assignments; any pre-existing Turnitin assignments will still be available and any Turnitin assignments already set up for 2025/26 will not need to be changed. 

If you wish to copy an assignment from a previous year, follow the guidance for Using the Turnitin Assignment Copy tool.

It is now possible to submit a Turnitin assignment on behalf of a student, via the Turnitin inbox. Simply select ‘Submit on behalf of student’, and a drop down menu appears of all students attached to the course in Canvas. Select the student you wish to submit for, confirm your selection by clicking continue, then follow the steps to choose a file and upload the submission.

If you have any queries, please contact ltds@newcastle.ac.uk

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New Canvas Gradebook Feature

View Hidden Grades

In the Gradebook Settings of the Canvas Gradebook area, a View Hidden Grades indicator option is available. This will allow Teachers and Admins to see an icon marking any grades that have not yet been posted to students.

This will help you quickly identify which grades are hidden from students, reducing confusion and ensuring more accurate communication about grade visibility.

This feature is available for use from 25th September 2025.

How do I use this feature?

To use this feature, you would navigate to the Gradebook area of your course in Canvas.

You would then locate the ‘Gradebook Settings’ by selecting the settings option (cog icon) in the top right corner of the screen. Once here, you will navigate to the ‘View Options’ tab where you will be able to select the ‘View hidden grades indicator’. This enables the hidden grades indicator within the Gradebook of the particular course you are in.

The gradebook settings area in Canvas Gradebook where you can enable ‘view hidden grades indicator’.

What does the feature look like in action?

In the Gradebook, an orange indicator displays which grades have not been posted next to each grade where this is applicable.

An orange dot shown against a grade in the Canvas Gradebook to indicate the grade has not been posted.
An orange dot shown against a grade in the Canvas Gradebook to indicate the grade has not been posted.

Find out more

You can find out more about the functionality of the Canvas Gradebook on the Canvas Course Navigation website, under the heading ‘Grades’.

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SpeedGrader Update – Coming in Spring 2025

Video Update

What’s New?

In Spring 2025, there will be some updates to Canvas SpeedGrader. This update makes SpeedGrader faster and more stable, while keeping the interface easy to use. The grading process you know will stay the same, but with some improvements behind the scenes.

Previously, courses with large cohorts or assignments with large file submissions experienced frustratingly slow loading times. This update aims to enhance SpeedGrader’s performance, making navigation quicker and more efficient.

In addition to performance updates, there will be minor interface changes to assist with navigation. Although small, these changes will help with the usability of SpeedGrader. After these changes, the interface will still have the familiar SpeedGrader feel.

Let’s dive into the changes made to Canvas SpeedGrader…

Sections Selector Dropdown

The section selector now has a streamlined interface, making it easier to navigate between different class sections. Previously, filtering by section required more steps. With the new Sections Selector Dropdown, you can quickly filter submissions by section.

In the Student Dropdown List, you’ll now see a Sections header. Under ‘Showing,’ you’ll find the current section that the list is filtered to (point 1).

To apply a new section filter, click on the Section filter (point 2). A dropdown list will then appear, as shown below:

In the dropdown list, you’ll see all the sections associated with the assignment. A tick mark will indicate the section currently applied as the filter (point 3).

To choose a new section filter, click on the name of the desired section (point 4).

No Submission Alerts

The alert for assignments without submissions has been enhanced to be more prominent and visually clear.

Previously, this would be indicated with the assignment showing as blank in the DocViewer. It is now clearly indicated that there is no submission.

You can see in the below (point 1), this is now clearly displayed in the DocViewer.

Grade Status Selector

Changing the status of a submission is now easier with a new dropdown box. However, it’s generally not recommended to use this feature, as our assignment statuses are tracked via the NESS system.

Previously, this status was managed by a pencil icon located in the top corner of the marking pane in SpeedGrader.

To change a submission status, click on the dropdown box and selected the appropriate status.

This is demonstrated in point 1 below:

Rubrics

Rubrics are now consistently displayed in the new traditional (grid) view. This view is very similar to the rubrics you’re used to marking with, though there are some minor changes.

The Instructor score is now displayed at the top of the rubric, making it easier to see while marking an assignment (point 1).

Providing feedback for rubric criteria is now easier with the feedback entry box clearly displayed (point 2). Previously, you had to access this feature via a button. Having the feedback option readily available encourages more frequent addition of comments to rubric criteria.

Media Attachments

Uploading and managing media attachments in submission comments is now more intuitive, thanks to an improved dialogue and a more straightforward deletion process.

Deleting an attachment has been made more intuitive with the introduction of a rubbish bin icon, replacing the previous red ‘x’ button (point 1). This change not only modernises the interface but also makes the deletion process clearer and more user-friendly. The rubbish bin icon is universally recognised, ensuring that users can easily identify and use this function without confusion.

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Canvas October 2024 Updates

Over October there have been a series of updates to various features within Canvas including New Quizzes, Assignments and Discussions.

In this blog post, we will cover what is new in Canvas for October 2024.

How to Navigate this Update

This update is broken down into pages dedicated to updates for each of the Canvas Features.

By selecting the page numbers below, you will be taken to the update for each Canvas feature.

Included in this update is:

New Quizzes Updates (Page 2)

  • Add Time to Existing Quiz Sessions
  • Manage Student Result View
  • Submitted Date Displays in Moderate Log
  • Attempt Log Stopped Viewing the Canvas Quiz Page

Assignment Updates (Page 3)

  • Assign to Interface Change – “Assign To” Location Change

Discussions Updates (Page 4)

  • Edit button added to Discussions Index Page
Pages: 1 2 3 4
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Inbox Updates 

Over the summer there have been a series of updates to the Inbox within Canvas.

In this blog post, we will highlight some of the key changes to the Inbox and how you can utilise these changes in your courses.

Video Overview

Add Auto Response

All users can now create an Auto Response message in the Canvas Inbox. This works similar to an email Out of Office message however this only within the internal messaging system in Canvas.

An example of this can be found below:

To do this:

  1. In the top left corner of the Inbox, select the cog icon
  2. From the dropdown menu select “Response On”
  3. Add the Start and End Date
  4. Add a Subject
  5. Add a Message
  6. Select “Save”

Add Signature to Messages

All users can now create a personalised signature on their Inbox messages in Canvas. This works similar to a signature in Emails and is assigned to internal messages in Canvas.

An example of this can be seen here:

As you can see above, my contact details have automatically been added to my message.

To do this in your own inbox:

  1. In the top left corner of the Inbox screen, select the cog icon
  2. Select the “Signature On” button
  3. Add your personalised signature in the box provided
  4. Select the “Save” button
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Announcement Updates

Over the summer there have been a series of updates to the Announcements feature within Canvas.

In this blog post, we will highlight some of the key changes to Announcements and how you can utilise these changes in your courses.

Video Overview

Mark All As Read Button

In Announcements, a Mark all as read button is available.

This update allows users to quickly and efficiently mark all announcements as read. Previously, each message would need to be manually marked then a bulk action applied. With this update, all messages can be marked as read with a single button click.

Notification for Changed Content

In Announcements, instructors can notify students when an announcement has been updated.

This feature prevents missed information, allowing users to respond promptly and appropriately to the new information.

Previously there was no way to alert recipients that there had been a change to an announcement other than posting the message again or sending another message informing students of the change.

Availability Dates

In Announcements, the delayed posting field is changed, in addition to the Available from field, instructors can add Until dates.

The update enables instructors to specify a date when the announcement will no longer be visible to students.

Announcements Timestamp

In Announcements, the Created date is hidden from students, and the Last edited date is only shown if the announcement was edited after being published. Additionally, the Posted date now reflects when the announcement became available.

This update helps prevent any confusion between the Posted and Last edited dates for students.

In the above screenshot, we can see in the teacher view, we can see the creation and the posted date (point 1).

In the student view below, we can see that we only have the posted date (point 2).

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SpeedGrader Updates

Over the summer there have been a series of updates to the SpeedGrader tool within Canvas to improve the ability to provide feedback.

In this blog post, we will highlight some of the key changes to the SpeedGrader and how you can utilise these changes in your courses.

Submission Comment Drafts

In SpeedGrader, after adding a submission comment, if this has not been saved, a Draft pill displays indicating that this comment has not been saved and a warning message is presented alerting the teacher that the comment has not been saved.

Previously there was no clear indication that a comment had been submitted and this would lead to students not seeing comments/feedback in their assignments.

With this update, it is clear for a teacher to see the status of a submission comment.

You can see in the example below that the submission comment has not been submitted and we have a draft pill alongside our comment:

When we press submit on this comment, the draft pill disappears which means the comment is visible to the student:

Rich Content Editor (RCE) In Submission Comments

In SpeedGrader, some Rich Content Editor (RCE) features are available when using submission comments. The available RCE features include:

  • Heading
  • Bold
  • Italic
  • Underline
  • Font colour
  • Insert Hyperlink
  • Bullets

This allows teachers to style feedback and provide further resources via linking. In the example below, you can see a link is provided to further resources to assist the student:

This functionality is available at the top of the submission comments box as demonstrated below:

Equation Editor in Submission Comments

In SpeedGrader, an Equation Editor function has been added to the Rich Content Editor. This feature enables instructors to incorporate math equations into their submission comments.

In the below example, you can see the new equation editor function within the submission comments in SpeedGrader:

Randomise Students in Submission List

In SpeedGrader Settings, instructors now have the option to randomise the order of students within each submission status. This update helps mitigate grading fatigue and biases by ensuring a random sorting of students. Additionally, it enhances grading efficiency by maintaining this random order within submission statuses.

Below are step by step instructions on how to do this:

  1. In the top left corner of the SpeedGrader, select the cog icon
  2. From the dropdown menu select “Options”
  3. Within SpeedGrader options, select “randomise students within a submission status”
  4. Select the “Save settings” button

Please note that when the randomised students, the preference is saved as the default in the browser for the course. When logging in on another device, instructors must select the sort by options again.

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Canvas Best Practice – Remove Any Unused Navigation Links

Do you get frustrated when you click on a link and no content appears?

If you don’t hide inactive links on your Canvas courses, your course visitors could be clicking on links that have no content.

Your course navigation bar in Canvas should only include links to active items.

Hiding unused navigation links in a navigation bar has several benefits:

  • User Clarity: When showing only inactive navigation items, users might mistakenly click on items with no content. Hiding non-active items prevents confusion and frustration when no content appears.
  • Cleanliness: By hiding unused links, you declutter the navigation bar, creating a cleaner and more visually appealing menu.
  • Canvas Mobile App: As all links are displayed in the Canvas App, by including only active items, you will improve the usability of your course navigation.
  • Accessibility: Hidden links are less distracting for screen readers and visually impaired users. It ensures that the focus remains on relevant content.

This is also a requirement in the Newcastle University Canvas Baseline.

The below video from the Canvas Baseline Requirements guidance demonstrates how you can do this in your course:

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Working inclusively: a refresh of the Accessibility in Practice course

Whatever our role, creating documents and other content that can be accessed and used by everybody is an essential professional skill.

The good news is that creating content that’s inclusive and user-friendly is actually quite simple, and the bulk of it can be done by creating good working document templates and making minor adjustments to work flows.

Accessibility in Practice has existed as an online course for a few years, but has just had a refresh to bring it up to date with the latest legislation (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WGAC) 2.2), and in using the most up-to-date tools in Microsoft365 and within Canvas.

Accessibility isn't extra steps, it's steps you've missed.
“Accessibility isn’t extra steps, it’s steps you’ve missed.”

Accessibility in Practice is an online course that will take you about 60-to-90 minutes to complete.

  • Learn about the the importance of working inclusively and embedding accessible practice.
  • Structure your documents effectively for screen readers and other assistive technologies.
  • Optimise images, hyperlinks, colour contrast, and media content for maximum accessibility.
  • Evaluate and fix your content using built-in checking tools in Canvas and Microsoft apps.
  • Create captions, transcripts, and accessible PDF documents.

You can access Accessibility in Practice through Elements.