On December 16, 2020, the rich content editor (RCE) in Canvas will be updated with a new look and feel. This change is primarily cosmetic and will be visible in all course sites; all of the same functionality will remain as it is today. When this change goes live, you will use the new text editor to add and format text and other content in Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, Pages, Quizzes, and the Syllabus.
Below is an image depicting the current RCE on the left and the updated RCE on the right:
Two Substantive Changes
The first substantive change in the new text editor is that the Links/Files/Images menu that appears on the right side of the page today will no longer be visible by default. That menu is now located within “Insert” in the new RCE.
The second is that the external tool or learning app options that are visible by default in the current version of the editor must now be activated manually to enable them as a menu option. Note that when enabling a tool for a particular course, that menu option is course-specific, so you will need to perform the same action in each of your courses to make the tool option available in the RCE menu.
Prior to the December 16 update, the Teaching and Learning Technologies team will be updating our Canvas Learning Center to reflect these changes. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more, Instructure (the company behind Canvas) has published a side-by-side comparison of the old and new RCEs as well as a question-specific how-to guide for instructors who are building content in the new text editor.
If you would like to try out the updated rich content editor ahead of time, you can do so now in any of your course sites. We would recommend testing it out in a prep site before using it in an active fall course, though. To turn on the new text editor in your course, go to Settings > Feature Options within that course and then click the button in the RCE Enhancements area so it turns to a green checkmark. The updated RCE will then be available in your course. (To request a Canvas prep site, ask the Canvas Support Chatbot!)
You can also watch the video below for a quick summary of the update: