What’s New in Canvas?

Overview

Canvas is rolling out some exciting updates! Whether it’s using AI to summarize lengthy discussion threads, trying out the new Smart Search feature to quickly find course content, or letting Canvas automatically mark withdrawn students as “inactive,” these tools are designed to save you time.

Discussion Summary

Canvas has introduced a feature that should make a little easier to review your Canvas Discussions. The intended purpose of this feature is to summarize key points, ideas, and questions that may arise in a discussion thread. This feature uses Generative AI to summarize student responses into a short recap making larger discussions easier to manage.

These summaries are only visible to the “Teacher” role and Canvas Admins and will never be visible to students. Summaries can be cleared and regenerated as more student responses are submitted to the discussion. Instructors can also provide prompts to the Discussion Summary to focus on specific aspects of the discussion.

Users can use the thumbs up or thumbs down buttons at the bottom of the summary to provide feedback to the tool.

Smart Search

Earlier this year Canvas released a search function called Smart Search. Smart Search is a new Canvas feature option that when enabled, allows both students and instructors to search course content using natural language. With Smart Search, you can quickly find relevant information in your course* by typing in questions or words related to what you’re looking for. What differentiates Smart Search is that it uses AI to not do simple keyword matching, but it tries to understand context and semantic meaning when searching.

*(As of November 2024 Smart Search is limited to content pages, announcements, discussion prompts and assignment descriptions; it does not search files, content within files, or item embedded in Canvas).

About Smart Search

Smart Search, currently in development for Canvas, uses semantic algorithms and AI to understand query context and semantic meaning, not just keyword matching.

Using Smart Search

Smart Search employs “embeddings” to mathematically represent content and queries for comparison, understanding keywords or general queries in any language, thanks to its multilingual AI model. Write search queries using keywords, questions, sentences, or whatever is most natural for you to describe what you are trying to find.

Searchable Content

As of June 1, 2024, searchable items include content pages, announcements, discussion prompts, and assignment descriptions, with plans to expand.

Contributing to Development

Smart Search is in feature preview. Feedback can be provided through result ratings and the Canvas Community space for Smart Search Beta. Canvas community space can be found here: Smart Search User Community.

Since Smart Search is still in development, you must enable it manually in each course you would like to use it in.  To enable it; Go to [Course] “Settings” —> Click on the “Feature Options” tab —>

Students Withdrawing From Courses Automatically Set to “Inactive”

Prior to Fall 2024, withdrawn students remained active in Canvas and had to be manually requested to be removed from the Canvas course. However, we now have a process that will set a student to “inactive” automatically once they withdraw from a course.

When a student is set to inactive in a course, they will no longer be able to participate or receive any communications/updates from the course. They will also no longer see the course appear in their Dashboard or Course list in Canvas. Instructors will also no longer see the student in the course Gradebook or any other previously graded work. Canvas however will “archive” any previously submitted work and any grading and feedback.

After the add/drop deadline for the academic term has passed, students choosing to remove a course “Withdraw” from courses. Withdrawn status is different from Drop status, because a withdrawn course will remain on students’ transcripts. This nuance sometimes led to confusion for students and faculty incorrectly thinking that a class withdrawal is the same as a class drop. When the label “Inactive”* appears next to a students’ names in the course’s “People” area, it means they have withdrawn from the course and are no longer able to access the Canvas course.

* Inactive students will only appear if you have checked the “Show inactive users” button box checked off.