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Key Changes in Canvas

Last modified on 29 January 2025 10:04 AM

This article contains known differences between eClass and Canvas that instructors should take note of when transitioning to the new LMS. It is a living document that will grow over time. Users are encouraged to contact eclass@ualberta.ca to suggest any additions to this page. Instructors should also review the Canvas Known Issues list that identifies any specific functional problems we have identified in Canvas and reported to the vendor.

From our experience in Wave 1 of the transition (Fall 2024), the changes users found most impactful were:

Differences in the Canvas gradebook (summarized below and discussed in detail here)
The way groups can now only be used for actual group work or grouped assignments

Contents:

1 General Features
2 Gradebook
3 Discussions
3 Assignments and Quizzes
5 Other Tools

General Features

Key Difference	Summary	Workarounds
Maximum of twenty courses displayed	The Canvas Dashboard can only display up to twenty courses and will not show new enrollments.	Utilize 'Favoriting' courses from the All Courses list.
No setting available to hide/show courses	In Canvas, there is no course visibility setting. The course Publish/Unpublish option is similar but courses CANNOT be unpublished once any student submission has been graded.	Student visibility to courses is controlled by the Participation > Course > Dates options in the course settings. All Bear Tracks credit courses are created by default in a published state but hidden from students until the specified date. In eClass, all Bear Tracks credit courses are created in a hidden state until the specified date.
Labels (text and media areas) do not exist	When constructing content in modules, it is not possible to insert freeform formatted text or graphics into the display of the module page.	It is possible to enter short blurbs of text using the Text Header item but this cannot be formatted or include any graphics.
Module Navigation Link	When constructing course content using modules, it is not possible to hide the left-side course nav item for modules - this must be shown for students to see module content.	No workaround is available at this time.
Group Member Visibility	It is not possible to use groups as organizational units and NOT have students see all the other members of their group.	No workaround is available at this time. Groups in Canvas should only be used for actual group assignments and projects.
H5P cannot be direct-hosted	Unlike eClass, Canvas does not natively support H5P direct uploads. To use H5P in Canvas, users must pay to have their content files hosted at H5P.com.	This difference has been identified to the LMS transition project team and they are evaluating options. It is also possible to use Lumi to convert h5p into SCORM.
No Dark Mode for desktop	There is no Dark Mode or Dark Theme setting available on Canvas.	Users may need to see other methods for mimicking dark mode on their devices and/or consult with the Academic Success Center at the University for tips and practices. Dark mode is available on the Canvas mobile app.
No activity completion report	Canvas does not have a convenient report that matches eClass' Activity Completion report that provides data on the progress of all students in a course.	It is possible to view the completion progress of individual students in Canvas.

Gradebook

Key Difference	Summary	Workarounds
Entered grades are automatically visible	By default when student grades are entered, they are automatically posted and visible to students.	Instructors should change the Grade posting policy in their course gradebook so they can manually post grades.
Text cannot be uploaded into the gradebook	It is not possible to import text columns from a spreadsheet into the Canvas gradebook such as wrong answers columns in TSQS ScanTron results.	No workaround is available at this time.
Grade weightings	Basic grade calculations use the maximum grade of all assignments out of the total (similar to the "Simple weighted mean of grades" aggregation method in eClass.)	To achieve the eClass "Weighted mean of grades" calculation method, instructors must add/edit assignment groups and weight each group separately. Each assignment in the group can be out of any value which will be its contribution to the total, but the overall group itself can only have a single weighting.
Empty grades vs zero grades	There is no setting to include or exclude empty grade items from calculations: these are ALWAYS excluded. Instructors will need to take note of this when reviewing assignment grades and calculating course total grades.	Instructors can leverage the option to mass convert missing grades to zeros.
Manual Grade Columns	It is not possible add new columns directly in the gradebook - these are created by adding Assignments with the submission set to none.	No workaround is available at this time.
Grade Calculations	It is not possible to perform calculations on Canvas grade items as it was in eClass apart from dropping the lowest value from an Assignment group.	None. Users performing complex algebra to compute grades must now complete this in a spreadsheet and upload scores back into the LMS.
No activity completion report	Canvas does not have a convenient report that matches eClass' Activity Completion report that provides data on the progress of all students in a course.	It is possible to view the completion progress of individual students in Canvas.

Discussions

Key Difference	Summary	Workarounds
Forced Subscription for discussions is not possible	In Canvas, unlike eClass, there is no option to force students to keep their email notifications on for specific forums, including the course announcements forum.	None at this time. Communicating with students that they are required to keep the announcement forum email notifications turned on in courses.
Discussion forums consist of a single topic	In Canvas it is not possible to have multiple, top-level topics within the same Discussion.	Instructors will need to add separate Discussions for different topics with clear instructions for students about the intended function of the activity (focused vs threaded.)
No visible groups in discussion forums	In group forums, there is no functionality that allows students to see other group's discussions but not reply to them.	The only alternative is to have separate discussions for groups and the entire class.

Assignments and Quizzes

Key Difference	Summary	Workarounds
No ability to remove a students assignment submission	Students submitting incorrect files, etc, would not be able to remove their submission, nor can the instructor remove the submission.	Grant more attempts to student(s) using the Assignment settings (Canvas guide).
Rubrics scoring	Rubrics cannot be edited after any submissions are made.	None. Any required scoring changes must be completed manually so instructors should take care when building rubrics.
Unpublishing with Submissions	Canvas does not allow instructors to unpublish assignments or quizzes that contain student submissions.	Instructors can use the 'Assign to' date settings options to remove student access if required.
Variables in Formula questions may not be reused in other questions	In Canvas, generated variables reside only with that question.	No workaround is available at this time.
Quiz Academic Dishonesty Statement	There is no similar setting in Canvas.	Instructors can add blanket academic honesty statements to their course details or in the descriptions of specific quizzes.
Quiz Cross-out	There is no option for students to cross out distracting answers in MC quiz questions.	No workaround is available at this time.
Quiz adaptive mode	Providing students with homework quizzes where they can re-try questions within quizzes as many times as they want is not possible.	It is possible to allow students to re-take entire quizzes as many times as they want. It is also possible to have multiple attempts build on each other (but when doing this, any questions that are correct will not be displayed in subsequent attempts.) Any late penalties will be applied to all a student's attempts on a quiz.
Units in formula questions	Calculated formula questions do not provide the option for students to select units.	Unit options can be added as question answers in other question types.
Text headings in New Quizzes	There is no option to have free form text headings to break up questions in New Quizzes.	This feature is on the Canvas New Quiz roadmap for early 2025.

Other Tools

Key Difference	Summary	Workarounds
Labels (text and media areas) do not exist	When constructing content in modules, it is not possible to insert freeform formatted text or graphics into the display of the module page.	It is possible to enter short blurbs of text using the Text Header item but this cannot be formatted or include any graphics.
Syllabus Creation Tool does not exist	The Syllabus Creation Tool is custom software constructed in eClass that cannot be ported to Canvas.	Integration of new centrally-supported syllabus tool is underway.
Built-in syllabus tool activity list cannot be removed	By default, any graded assessment items with a due date in a course will display automatically as a list on the course syllabus (whether they are a part of a course total calculation or not.) At present, basic PDF Syllabus files are recommended.	.Work is underway to integrate an external syllabus tool with Canvas so the recommendation for now is to create syllabi as text files (pdf, ms word) just like in eClass and upload into the course as a linked file.
No Badges	There is no built-in functionality to provide gamification badges within courses.	Alternatives are being investigated.
H5P cannot be direct-hosted	Unlike eClass, Canvas does not natively support H5P direct uploads. To use H5P in Canvas, users must pay to have their content files hosted at H5P.com.	This difference has been identified to the LMS transition project team and they are evaluating options. It is also possible to use Lumi to convert h5p into SCORM.
Certificate activity	There is no native certificate activity in Canvas that pulls student profile information to automatically generate an indication of course completion.	It is possible to provide a generic course certificate in a module that require completion of other modules and/or require achieving specific scores on assignments or quizzes. Alternatives are being evaluated.

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