- Canvas Email: August 7, 2024 [DUE DATES ISSUE]
With the new roll out of the “assign to” features, there have been some issues when updating assignments imported from past courses. If the due dates aren’t removed on import and you try to edit the assignment, it won’t save. It will also not give you a visible error message. However, when you click on the “assign to” link to bring out the due date card, it will give you the invalid dates” warning. There have been enough complaints about this that Instructure is adding Assign To back to the bottom of the edit page as before. You can read about this upcoming change at https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/The-Product-Blog/Updates-to-the-Assign-To-Interface/ba-p/610506.
Because there’s no set date on the update yet, we recommend the following steps when preparing your content for fall:
- When importing, check the “adjust events and due dates” option and select “remove dates” to clear out past due dates
- If you’ve already imported your content, you can use the “Edit Assignment Dates” option under Assignments to update or remove dates. This guide will show you how: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-bulk-update-due-dates-and-availability-dates-as-an/ta-p/1195.
- If you are trying to save an assignment and nothing happens, please click on the “Manage Due Dates and Assign To” at the bottom of the page to update your due dates.
We will let you know when Canvas plans on making the change back to having due dates at the bottom of the edit page.
Regards, e-Learning Support Team
submit a ticket: learning-support@ufl.edu | submit a ticket via phone: 352-392-4357 | Hours: M-F 7:30am -Midnight; Weekends 8am-8pm
- ALL-IT Email: July 30, 2024
NaviGator AI is Now Available for Open Data Use
NaviGator AI is an AI assistant service now available to faculty, staff, and students with GatorLink authentication. The versatility of NaviGator AI allows users to create AI-generated images, summarize reports, review data trends, and complete various AI-assisted workflow tasks.
NaviGator AI is currently approved for open data use only. UFIT is actively working to include additional data classifications and will announce when the feature is available:
https://it.ufl.edu/ai/uf-navigator-ai/
New Suite of Data Governance Training Now Available
As part of an initiative to promote data literacy at UF, Training & Organizational Development (T&OD) and UFIT have released a suite of courses designed to introduce staff to data governance and data management concepts, data analysis, and report building. All data stewards and users are encouraged to register for the virtual, self-paced Data Governance and Data Management (DLP001) introductory course.
View the additional courses available as part of this initiative:
https://hr.ufl.edu/professional-development/training-programs/data-literacy/
- July 22, 2024 [Canvas Assign To]
The “assign to” feature has been updated. Now you no longer must click “edit” to get to the “assign to” box. While on the page of the assignment, quiz, or discussion board, you will now see an “assign to” option at the top. When you click on this box, a card will slide out from the right, allowing you to update due dates and add additional due dates for individual students, sections, or groups.
When in edit mode, the “assign to” box at the bottom has been replaced with a link. When you click on this link, the same card will slide out from the right, allowing you to make changes.
Assigning and Duplicating Modules
You can now assign modules to individual students or sections. When you click on the three dots to the top right of the module, you will see the “assign to” option. It is defaulted to “Everyone,” but you can change this by selecting “Assign To” and entering in students’ names or sections.
You are now also able to quickly duplicate a module. When clicking on the three dots at the top right of the module, you will see “Duplicate.” This will create a copy of the module that you can then update.
Inbox Signature and Automatic Replies
The Inbox has new features that let you create a signature file for all your inbox messages and set the ability to set automatic out of office replies. To access these options, click on the gear icon at the top right of the inbox.
Rubric Redesign
The first phase of the rubric redesign is now available. You can now easily duplicate and archive rubrics, as well as rearrange criterion. This video overview highlights these changes. A written guide can also be found at the Canvas Release Notes page.
Two new AI features are now available for use in Canvas. First is “Smart Search.” When enabled, this will allow your students to use natural language inquiries about course content. Smart Search will index your course content to include content pages, announcements, discussion prompts, and assignment descriptions. This is a feature still in development, and more improvements will be coming.
The second AI feature is a discussion board summary. When enabled, you can generate an AI summary at the top of discussion board page that will give you an overview of your students’ replies. You are also able to ask natural language questions of the summary, such as “what areas are my students having difficult with understanding?” This summary is only available for those with a teacher or TA role. Students will not have access to generate or read the summaries.
To enable either feature, go to your course settings and click on the Feature Options tab at the top. You will see “Smart Search” and “Discussion Summary” as options to enable. Click on the red X to right of the feature and choose “enable.” For Smart Search, you may have to go to the “Navigation” tab at the top and click “save” at the bottom for it to appear in your course navigation.
To review all of the recent changes, please refer to the Canvas Release Notes (2024-07-20). Please note that not all of the updates listed may apply to our instance of Canvas. You can contact e-Learning Support at learning-support@ufl.edu or by phone at 352-392-4357 if you have any questions about these changes.
- Changes to UF Apps Debut Aug. 12
UFIT is transitioning UFApps from Citrix Technology to a new platform, Horizon, on Monday, Aug. 12. This update will bring a new look and increased functionality to the service, transforming UFApps into a desktop environment for faculty and student users. Technical assistance installing and navigating the updated UFApps will be available through the UFIT Help Desk by phone at 352-392-HELP/4357 or in person at 132 Hub.
More information and step-by-step installation instructions are available at:
https://info.apps.ufl.edu.
- New Video: Deepfake Phishing & Sites
Scammers are utilizing the rapid advancement and increasing availability of AI technologies to create phishing communications that are more convincing than ever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCmb7bBtjOE&t=35s
- Summer B/C 2024 End of Term Grading
As Summer B/C 2024 is winding down, we wanted to send out reminders and resources for submitting grades.
GRADING PERIOD
Summer B/C 2024 grading period opens TOMORROW, Friday, August 2nd, and runs through Monday, August 12th, at Noon.
Preparing your gradebook
This guide on finalizing your gradebook in preparation for sending to ONE.UF will help you ensure that the grade displayed in Canvas matches what is sent to ONE.UF.
ENTERING GRADES IN ONE.UF
The UF HR Grades Toolkit provides resources for faculty and staff who enter grades in ONE.UF and myUFL.
FINALIZING YOUR GRADEBOOK/SEND TO ONE.UF WEBINAR
You can watch this 50-minute webinar that covers finalizing your gradebook and sending grades to ONE.UF through Canvas.
You can also request an e-Learning consultation to ensure your gradebook is ready to send to ONE.UF by going to go.ufl.edu/CanvasHelp.
HELP RESOURCES
- For questions regardingCanvas, please contact e-Learning Support at learning-support@ufl.edu
- For questions regardingEntering Grades in ONE.UF (either via Canvas or directly), please contact the Registrar at grades@registrar.ufl.edu
Regards,
e-Learning Support Team
submit a ticket via email: learning-support@ufl.edu
submit a ticket via phone: 352-392-4357
Hours: M-F 7:30am -Midnight; Weekends 8am-8pm
- Feedback Fruits AI Reflection Coach
New releases August 2024
Acai: Reflection Coach LINK
Students often find writing reflections challenging, leading to superficial and less effective outcomes. Our AI-powered Reflection Coach, part of Acai, is here to guide students in this process. This feature provides immediate, personalized guidance and feedback, helping students articulate their thoughts clearly and confidently.
What are the key benefits?
-
Personalized feedback: Provides tailored suggestions to enhance student’s writing style.
-
Better structured reflections: Helps organize reflections for a coherent and engaging flow.
-
Improving critical thinking: Boosts students overall reflection skills with continuous use.
-
Ethical AI in education: it is our utmost priority that all our AI solutions safeguard the learner and teacher needs, giving them agency over the AI suggestions, and putting pedagogy before technology.
How to use it?
To use Acai’s Reflection Coach, the teacher must enable it in the Reflection step in any FeedbackFruits learning activity with Reflection step. Click on ‘Guiding students’ setting, and then click the ‘Reflection Coach’ toggle.
-