New Changes to Canvas

Rich Content Editor

Canvas has rolled out a new Rich Content Editor, the content editing tool in numerous Canvas features (Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, Pages, Quizzes, or Syllabus). This New Rich Content Editor is intended to enhance the content creation experience in Canvas.

The toolbar includes a condensed, more intuitive look. Toolbar menus are grouped by common icons and interactions.

Per Canvas, the following enhancements are included with this feature update:

• The Rich Content Editor expands to the full width of the browser
• Toolbar menus are grouped by common icons and interactions
• The content sidebar only displays when linking to other parts of Canvas, accessing Canvas files, or accessing uploaded media
• Image and media additions include drag and drop; images include a search and content auto-scaling
• The Keyboard shortcut, Accessibility Checker, and HTML Editor icons have moved to the bottom of the editor next to the word count.
• Additionally, the Rich Content Editor window can be resized using the Move handle below the window.

For a detailed walk-through, visit the Canvas Release Notes or watch the following short videos from James Whisenhunt at UO Online.

RCE Overview I (General Organization)

REC Overview 2 (Links & Upload Options)

RCE Overview 3 (Options Pop-Up on Links and Photos)

 

SimCheck replaces Vericite

Vericite, the originality checker tool in Canvas, has been bought out by Turnitin and is being replaced by Turnitin’s SimCheck tool.  Vericite will still be active in Canvas until August 1^st, but SimCheck will also be available beginning June 19.

Like Vericite, the SimCheck tool can be turned on as an option when creating an online submission Assignment in Canvas. This tool only applies to Text Entry and File Upload submission types and will appear when you check either or both of those options. A new box will appear under the Submission Type called Plagiarism Review. Select SimCheck from the dropdown menu to enable it.

SimCheck generates a “Similarity Report,” which can be accessed from a link in SpeedGrader. Check out this guide for more explanation with images.

For more detailed information, including a guide to the Similarity Report and interpreting the Similarity Score, visit this page on Using Turnitin with Canvas.

 

Personal Pronouns Added to Canvas

As a community, UO encourages the use and sharing of elective personal pronouns (she, he, they, ze, per, etc.). In an effort to foster inclusivity, the elective identifications of personal pronouns can now be enabled in Canvas. All users can add personal pronouns to their user account.  They will display after your name in various areas in Canvas. For a step-by-step guide, visit Activating Personal Pronouns in Canvas.

The Division of Student Life has an excellent guide on Using Pronouns which includes an explanation of the different pronoun options in use.