In this newsletter, you will find:
Updates: What's coming up this month?
Community Corner: Join Us!
Reminders: Coming up this semester
Accessibility
New Canvas Features:
The Customizable Learner Dashboard allows students to choose how they view their courses, assignments, and feedback through customizable widgets. Learn more about this feature, available now.
AI Week: Save the Date
Rice AI Week 2026 is coming this fall, kicking off the week of Oct. 19! Designed for faculty, staff, and students across all experience levels, this event will feature five days of keynotes, panels, and workshops exploring practical AI skill-building and its ethical implications. We want the campus community to help shape the conversation, so if you have an innovative idea, a lesson learned, or a critical question to share, please submit a presentation proposal. If you need assistance or want to talk through an idea you have, please email us at teaching@rice.edu.
Share the Spotlight: Fresh Ideas Fridays 2026-2027
Sometimes, the best advice doesn’t come from a manual—it comes from your colleagues. If you’ve found a better way to engage with technology or a tech tool that solves a common headache for students or instructors, we want to help you share it with the community. We are calling for short presentations from anyone who teaches or designs at Rice for Fresh Ideas Friday sessions for the 2026-2027 academic year. Submit your proposal.
New Quizzes- Transitioning Your Quiz Engine in Canvas:
What's Changing?
Canvas is transitioning from Classic Quizzes to the improved New Quizzes tool over the next year. Currently, both New Quizzes and Classic Quizzes are available in all courses. After the transition date, July 1, 2027, New Quizzes will be the default quizzing tool in Canvas.
What can I do?
The experience for students is quite similar between the two tools. You can find more information about Quizzing in Canvas on these pages.
Alternative formats are available for students to download in Canvas.
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Ally provides Alternative Formats for everyone, not just instructors. Students can access these formats whenever they want, without waiting for an instructor to make them available. Just download the course files you need in the format that works best for your learning style, device, or situation. Learn more on this Canvas page.
Dyslexia-friendly font available in Canvas settings. Find instructions for turning this setting on here.