An owl sitting in a field of flowers

Photo Credit: Andy Chilton


New features coming soon to OWL

Added on April 21, 2021 by Shawn Foster
Updated on April 26, 2021

This May, we will be releasing an upgraded version of OWL. This upgrade includes exciting new features, an improved interface, a redesigned mobile experience, and many improvements and performance enhancements throughout OWL.

Here is a preview of some of the new features coming to OWL.

  • Need more room on an OWL page? The new full-screen mode hides the top bar and side tool menu, providing you with more area to focus on the content.
    Screenshot of Calendar with an arrow pointing to the new Fullscreen button

  • Want to know when you've been added to a new site? OWL can now automatically add new sites to your favourite site bar.
    A screenshot of the new option to automatically add new sites to your favourites bar

  • Instructors can now enable a 24-hour reminder for students in Assignments to remind them of an upcoming assignment deadline.

  • OWL’s rich-text editor now has new customizable templates, including “Key Idea”, “Instructor Insight Panel”, and “Learning Outcomes”, which can be easily added to your written content throughout OWL.
    A screenshot of the new editor templates

  • Site maintainers can now control the layout, arrangement, and display of widgets on their site’s Overview page using the Manage Overview option.

  • The new Date Manager lists all the tools’ dates on a single page, making it easy for instructors and site maintainers to adjust open dates and due dates for things like assignments and assessments all from one spot.

  • The new Rubrics tool allows instructors to create their own custom rubrics for use when grading assignments, assessments, and forums.
    A screenshot of the new Rubrics tool

  • Tests & Quizzes has a new consolidated main page for instructors and quick filtering of active and inactive published assessments and of working copies.

  • No need to duplicate assessments in Tests & Quizzes for academic accommodations anymore. The new assessment exceptions feature allows instructors to adjust availability dates and time limits for particular users or groups from existing assessments.

  • The Gradebook has been updated with a new single-page layout, faster filtering of students, and resizable columns.

  • Gradebook Items can be released to students separate from including the item in the grade calculation.

  • Instructors now can exclude a particular Gradebook item for a particular student.

  • Do you reuse the same comments when grading? The Gradebook now auto-suggests previous comments as you type new ones.

  • Automatically generating new groups is more flexible and has a guided process.