Canvas Corner: Updated Features – MathJax, Gradebook: View Ungraded as Zero, Pretty HTML Editor

Canvas Corner Update

On February 20th, 2021, Canvas released 3 feature updates:

  • MathJax is loaded if Canvas detects an equation image added by LaTeX delimited characters.
  • Gradebook: View Ungraded as Zero is a visual change only and does not affect any grades.
  • Pretty HTML Editor includes an enhancement to the Rich Content Editor in addition to the raw HTML editor.

A comprehensive summary of these features is highlighted below.

MathJax

Summary

LaTeX equations can be entered in any Canvas text field, and MathJax is loaded if Canvas detects an equation image added by delimited LaTeX characters.

Benefit

LaTeX equations can be entered in any Canvas text field, and MathJax is loaded if Canvas detects an equation image added by delimited LaTeX characters.

Manually Entered Equations

Equations can be added manually in any Canvas area that includes a text field, such as the title of an assignment or in a calendar event. Manual entries must be formatted according to LaTeX specifications. For help using the LaTeX Editor, please see the Canvas Equation Editor Advanced PDF.

Latex In the Calendar

LaTex in the Calendar

Text fields support MathJax $$ or /( delimiters to identify equations. Adding equations added in a \(…\) format indicates the equation should be in an inline format. Generally, equations entered with text should be formatted inline. However, an equation in a $$…$$ format indicates the equation should be in a block format.

Inline Example:

\(area = \int_{a}^b f(x)dx\)

Block Example:

$$y = mx + b$$

Latex in the RCE

 

LaTex in the Rich Content Editor

When saved, MathJax renders the LaTeX equations in the editor window as inline and block text, respectively.

Rendering of RCE

 

 

Rendering of LaTex in the Rich Content Editor

Gradebook: View Ungraded as Zero

 

Summary

The Gradebook View menu includes the View Ungraded as 0 option, which is a visual change only and does not affect any grades.

Change Benefit

This change aligns parity with the Individual View Gradebook and provides instructors with a visual change in identifying grading calculations for ungraded assignments.

Affected User Roles

Instructors

When this feature is enabled for an account, the View menu includes the View Ungraded as 0 option, which allows instructors to view student grades as if all ungraded assignments were worth zero points. This setting also persists for the Individual View Gradebook.

Each time the View Ungraded as 0 setting is selected, the Gradebook displays a window explaining the details about the setting. The user must agree to the details before the setting can be used.

This setting only affects the user’s view of student grades and displays grades as if all ungraded assignments were given a score of zero. This setting is a visual change only and does not affect grades for students or other users of the Gradebook. When the setting is enabled, Canvas will not populate zeros in the Gradebook for student submissions within individual assignments. Only the assignment groups and total columns will automatically factor in all scores of zero into the overall percentages for each student.

View Ungraded as Zero

View Ungraded as 0 Message

When selected in the Gradebook, the View Ungraded as 0 option displays as a heading in all assignment group columns and the total column to indicate this feature is turned on in the Gradebook. This feature also includes grading periods, if used for a course.

Gradebook

Ungraded as 0 in Headers

Enabling this option has no effect outside of the Gradebook; students cannot see any difference in their grade pages. Similarly, TAs or other instructors in the course will not see any change in their view of the Gradebook. Only the user who enables this option in the Gradebook will see the affected grades.

Note: This feature affects the configuration of the Total Column in the Gradebook, which also applies to CSV Exports. The CSV file displays columns for the Current and Final scores: the Current score reflects the total while ignoring unsubmitted assignments (option disabled), and the Final score counts unsubmitted assignments as zero (option enabled).

Pretty HTML Editor

Summary

The Rich Content Editor includes a pretty HTML editor in addition to the raw HTML editor.

Change Benefit

This change provides an enhanced HTML experience for users.

Affected User Roles

All Users

When using the Rich Content Editor, users can switch to the HTML editor by clicking the HTML editor icon.

HTML Editor Button

HTML Editor button

By default, the HTML editor displays an improved, pretty version of the HTML.

Users can switch to the existing (raw) HTML editor by clicking the Raw HTML Editor link. Only the Raw HTML Editor is currently accessible to screen reader users.

Pretty HTML Editor

Pretty HTML Editor

Both HTML editors can be expanded to the width of the screen by clicking the Full Screen icon.

Full Screen Button HTML Editor

Full Screen button for HTML Editor

For more details on this Canvas update, click here.