Canvas Assignment Enhancements – Student View Now Enabled

Canvas has rolled out Assignment Enhancements for students, giving them a more streamlined and user-friendly way to view, submit, and review assignments.

What Students Will See

• Clearer Layout – Assignment details (title, due date, and points) now stay visible at the top of the page.
• Step-by-Step Progress – A visual tracker shows students if an assignment is In Progress, Submitted, or Ready for Feedback.
• Easy Access to Attempts – If multiple submissions are allowed, students can quickly switch between attempts.
• Simplified Submission Options – Submission types now use icons instead of dropdowns, and students can even submit images directly from their webcam.
• Better Feedback Visibility – Feedback opens automatically when available, helping students see your comments right away.

Why It Matters for You

These changes make it easier for students to stay on top of their work, understand where they are in the submission process, and engage with your feedback. The result: fewer student questions about “where to click” and more focus on the assignment itself.

👉 Learn more about Assignment Enhancements here.

📘 Cengage LTI Update in Canvas

The Cengage LTI has been upgraded in JSU Canvas.

✅ The good news: You don’t need to relink anything. When you click an existing link, Cengage will automatically migrate it to the new tool.

🔎 What’s different?

• Previously, you could find Cengage in the course navigation menu.
• Now, to add new integrations or links, go to Modules.
• Click the three-dot menu next to +Module → select Cengage LTI Advantage.

🎯 Canvas Tip: Why Zeros Appear Before Due Dates

Sometimes zeros pop up in your Gradebook before assignments are due. Here’s why and how to fix it.

🔎 Why it happens

• A Late Policy was copied over from a past course.
• Settings (with old due dates) were included in the course copy.
• Canvas automatically applied zeros to all students for those past due dates.

✅ How to prevent it next time

1. When copying, choose Select specific content (not All content).
2. Do not copy Settings (or External Tools).
3. After copying, update all due dates right away.
4. Re-enable Late Policies once dates are correct.

🛠 How to fix zeros now

Option 1 (fast, no submissions yet):

• Go to the assignment column → ••• → Set Default Grade
• Leave the box empty → check Overwrite already-entered grades → click Set Default Grade

Option 2 (if submissions exist):

• Manually remove the zeros from affected grade cells to avoid overwriting real scores.

✨ Once students submit, their real grades will replace the cleared zeros.

For more information on zeros in the Canvas gradebook, visit our website!

Helpful Resources and Links from Online@JSU

• Online@JSU Faculty Landing Page
• Online Teaching and Learning Central
• Software and Technical Support
• Tutorials 101 (Site for Faculty)
• Tutorials for Faculty
• Tutorials for Students
• Tutorial Videos for Faculty (YouTube Channel)
• Tutorial Videos for Students (YouTube Channel)