It’s a New Year and a New Rich Content Editor (RCE) is making its way to Canvas. Starting January 16, the new RCE will be enforced, so consider making the change now. Here is an introduction of changes you can expect to see.
Here is a comparison of the editors in full (left is old, right is new):
Right away you will notice a change in the editing buttons and the slight difference in the imagery (example the embed cloud). The accessibility check has moved to the bottom as well as the ability to expand the editor screen for more content visibility.
One advantage of the new RCE is that when you embed a link you have the choice of external or within Canvas. Choosing external link will force the link to open in a new window, preserving the student’s current view of Canvas.
Another big change is the external tools icon, which was a blue V in the original editor and is now the plug. This is where you can access your external tools like BrainPOP, Newsela, and Kaltura.
In the old content editor, we had quick access to course content and files available in the right sidebar menu.
Now with the new Rich Content Editor, the sidebar is gone and we will find those under the Insert options such as this option to insert an image (file). They are also available as quick access icons in the menu options.
While the change might seem overwhelming at first, turning it on in at least one course to start to get the feel for it could be helpful. To turn on this feature, you will need to open your course, navigate to the course settings and then to features. You can then slide on the new RCE as shown here.
There are many resources available in the Canvas Guides for specific questions about the new RCE. Here is a great summary to review.
As always, for questions regarding Canvas, please contact your Ed Tech Lead or Ed Tech TOSA.
BITS AND PIECES 