What's new in Canvas?

The list below shows the latest Canvas features and enhancements and when they were communicated as available to faculty at UNC Charlotte. Select the Month Released for additional details on the Canvas Updates web page.

 

Feature

Summary

Month Communicated

AI Summaries for Discussions

The IgniteAI Summaries for Discussions feature instantly recaps long discussion threads. It pulls out main themes, key questions, and ideas. This helps instructors review student participation without reading every single post.

August 2026

Performance and Usability Upgrades for SpeedGrader

SpeedGrader has been updated to improve load times and stability, with interface enhancements including a streamlined "Section" drop-down, a clearer "No Submission" alert, a drop-down "Submission Status", "Multi-Select Sections" filter, and support for moderated grading, among other refinements. 

February 2026

Partial Credit for Categorization Question Type

  • Automatic partial credit scoring is available for Categorization question types.
  • Student scores are calculated based on the total number of correct decisions rather than all-or-nothing scoring.
  • Correct decisions include placing items in the correct category and correctly leaving distractor items unplaced.

August 2026

Default Font Setting

An Edit default font toggle is available in New Quizzes settings, allowing instructors to set a default font and font size that automatically applies to all Rich Content Editors within the quiz.

August 2026

Peer Review Enhancements

When the Peer Review Allocation and Grading and other required feature options in the table are enabled, Peer Review includes an updated Allocation Engine and support for independent due dates and point values.

August 2026

Notebook

When the Notebook feature option is enabled, students can capture and organize highlights and notes on pages directly within their course content. Students can mark content as Unclear or Important, add notes, and manage their entries from a dedicated Notebook page in Course Navigation.

August 2026

Customizable Dashboard-Students

When the Customizable Dashboard for Learners feature option is enabled, students can use a personalized dashboard with widgets to track their progress.

August 2026