What They Are
Canvas feature options are settings instructors can enable or disable in their course settings. Once available, each feature is evaluated by OIT's Academic Technology team and, if approved, is made available to all CU Canvas instructors in their courses.
Feature options associated with a "Feature Preview" tag are in active development and may receive updates outside of Instructure's regular update schedule. After a specified period of time, some Feature Options may become standard features in Canvas.
Benefits of Using Canvas Feature Previews
Enabling "Feature Preview" options allows instructors to test upcoming Canvas features and provide feedback before they are fully deployed as native functionality in Canvas.
Instructors using feature previews are encouraged to provide feedback to the Feature Preview User Groups or contact oithelp@colorado.edu.
How to Use Canvas Feature Options
To enable a feature from your course home page:
- Click on Settings.
- Click the Feature Options tab.
- Find the feature option you would like to enable.
- Click the state icon to the right of the tool to toggle the feature on or off for the course.
Feature options must be turned on or off for each course. For more detailed instructions on using new features in Canvas, see the "How do I manage feature options for a course?" tutorial.
Please note: If a tool is set as "On," it is already available in your course. If a tool is set to "Off," it hasn't been enabled for CU Boulder yet. If you would like to explore a tool that hasn't been enabled, contact the IT Service Center at oithelp@colorado.edu or 303-735-5419.
Current Feature Options
Anonymous Grading
Anonymous Grading requires all course assignments to be graded anonymously in SpeedGrader. Students can view whether or not an assignment was graded anonymously on both the student Grades page and the sidebar of the assignment submission page.
Learn more: How do I add an assignment that includes anonymous grading?
Anonymous Instructor Annotations
When creating an assignment, you can enable anonymous instructor annotations in DocViewer supported submissions. When students view a submission with anonymous instructor annotations in DocViewer, comments do not display an instructor's name.
Learn more: How do I enable anonymous instructor annotations in student submissions?
Disable Classic Quiz Creation
Instructors interested in New Quizzes are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Academic Technology Consulting team before enabling this feature or transitioning from Classic Quizzes to New Quizzes.
This feature option sets New Quizzes as the default quizzing engine and removes the ability to create Classic Quizzes. Access will not be removed for viewing content or data for Classic Quizzes. When creating a quiz from the "+Quiz" button it will take you to the Assignment Edit page rather than open the window to Choose a Quiz Engine.
Learn more: Jump to New Quizzes
Enhanced Rubrics
Provides visual and functional enhancements to rubrics across Canvas.
Learn more: How do I manage rubrics in a course using Enhanced Rubrics?
ePub Exporting
Allows students and instructors to generate an ePub export of their Canvas course for viewing offline on an ePub compliant device or app.
Instructors should be aware that ePub exports will download all published course content, including published content within an unpublished module and published course files that have not been linked in student-facing course content.
ePub Exporting is disabled by default. To enable ePub exports, instructors can follow this guide for enabling course options: How do I manage feature options for a course?
Learn more: How do I view course content offline as an ePub file?
Final Grade Override
Grade Override allows instructors to enter a final grade for students that is different from the grade automatically calculated by Canvas in the Gradebook.
Learn more: How do I override a student's final grade in the Gradebook?
IgniteAI Generator for Rubrics (AI)
This feature uses artificial intelligence.
Give rubric creators the option to generate rubric criteria automatically based on an assignment description via a large language model (LLM).
This feature option:
- Uses artificial intelligence (AI)
- Is part of a Canvas Feature Preview Program; availability may change
- Requires the Enhanced Rubric feature option be enabled
Learn more:
IgniteAI Insights for Discussions (AI)
This feature uses artificial intelligence.
Discussion Insights uses an AI-powered tool to help educators quickly evaluate the relevance and quality of student replies.
This feature option:
- Uses artificial intelligence (AI)
- Is part of a Canvas Feature Preview Program; availability may change
Learn more:
IgniteAI Questions Authoring for Quizzes (AI)
This feature uses artificial intelligence.
In New Quizzes, Instructors can use AI to author questions based on course content.
This feature option:
- Uses artificial intelligence (AI)
- Is part of a Canvas Feature Preview Program; availability may change
- Requires the use of New Quizzes
Learn more:
IgniteAI Search for Courses (AI)
This feature uses artificial intelligence.
IgniteAI Search for Courses allows Instructors and students to find course content quickly through context-aware, multilingual search results.
This feature option:
- Uses artificial intelligence (AI)
- Is part of a Canvas Feature Preview Program; availability may change
Learn more:
IgniteAI Summaries for Discussions (AI)
This feature uses artificial intelligence.
Discussion Summaries uses Generative AI to provide instructors summaries of key points, questions, and ideas in a discussion thread.
This feature option:
- Uses artificial intelligence (AI)
- Is part of a Canvas Feature Preview Program; availability may change
Learn more:
IgniteAI Translations for Discussions & Announcements (AI)
This feature uses artificial intelligence.
AI-powered language translations for instructors and students in discussions and announcements.
This feature option:
- Uses artificial intelligence (AI)
- Is part of a Canvas Feature Preview Program; availability may change
Learn more:
Learning Mastery Gradebook
Provides a way for teachers to quickly view student and course progress on course learning outcomes. Outcomes are presented in a Gradebook-like format and student progress is displayed both as a numerical score and as mastered/near mastery/remedial.
Learn more: How do I use the Learning Mastery Gradebook to view outcome results in a course?
Moderated Grading
Moderated Grading allows anyone with assignment creation permissions to assign one or multiple specific graders to an assignment submission, review the assignment grades before they are released to students, and select which grade should be set as the final grade for each student.
Learn more: How do I add a moderated assignment to be graded by multiple reviewers?
New Quizzes
This feature option makes Canvas's New Quizzes assessment tool available in the Canvas course.
Instructors interested in New Quizzes are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Academic Technology Consulting team for additional consultation and training.
Learn more:
Outcome Service Results to Canvas Reporting
Allows for Canvas Outcomes results to be made available to Administrative Canvas reporting.
Learn more: What are Outcomes?
Performance and Usability Upgrades for SpeedGrader
This feature provides a new SpeedGrader platform experience with a focus on improved performance for large courses.
Learn more: How do I use SpeedGrader with the New Performance and Usability Upgrades?
Preserve Group Set During Assignment or Discussion Copy
When copying a group assignment or discussion topic to another course, a group set with the same name is created in the destination course if no matching group set exists.
Student Learning Mastery Gradebook
Provides a way for students to quickly view progress on course learning outcomes. Outcomes are presented in a Gradebook-like format and progress is displayed both as a numerical score and as mastered/near mastery/remedial.
This feature is only useful if Canvas Outcomes are being used in the course.
Learn more: How do students view their Learning Mastery scores in the Grades page?
Submission Stickers
Allows teachers to attach stickers to student submissions.
Learn more: How do I apply Submission Stickers in Gradebook?
Support
You may experience issues with feature options. If you do, contact the IT Service Center at oithelp@colorado.edu or 303-735-4357 to let us know. For consultation on these tools, contact OIT's Academic Technology Consultants.
