Ohio State is gearing up for a new academic year, and many learning tools have new updates to be aware of as classes begin.
In addition to this overview, the Teaching and Learning Resource Center offers guidance on setting up your course. You can also check out upcoming learning opportunities to help you navigate these changes.
CarmenCanvas
New Landing Page
Carmen.osu.edu has a new look and feel! The new site features a more modern look, and updated branding and accessibility. A year of work designing, building, and testing by the Learning Systems team went into the new CarmenCanvas landing page.
The page offers news updates about enterprise learning tools, links to the OTDI system status page and support options, and the login where users can see all their courses in one place.
Once logged in, users can choose how to view their list of courses, and instructors have access to Ohio State's custom-built tools for course management.
Changes to CarmenBooks
Beginning autumn 2026, CarmenBooks textbooks will be delivered through a new platform: VitalSource. The only change students will notice is a different icon in CarmenCanvas. With additional resources and a broader catalog from VitalSource, this change represents both improved service and an opportunity to grow the CarmenBooks program long term.
New Rubrics in Canvas
Enhanced Rubrics is the new default rubric tool in CarmenCanvas. Accessible through the Rubrics tab, the Enhanced Rubrics dashboard provides instructors with improved tools for creating, managing, and organizing rubrics within a course. Instructors can duplicate, archive, delete, and copy rubrics to other courses as well as quickly identify which rubrics are associated with which assignments.
The enhanced rubric builder offers greater flexibility when creating and editing rubrics, including the ability to reorder criteria at any point during the design process and to customize how rubric information is displayed. When grading in SpeedGrader, instructors can choose from three rubric views to support different grading workflows and preferences.
All existing rubrics have been automatically migrated to the Enhanced Rubrics tool and remain available for editing and management. Instructors should avoid deleting rubrics that have been used for grading, as doing so will also remove any associated scores and rubric assessment data from linked assignments.
Carmen AI Assistant
Since last autumn, the Carmen AI assistant has been piloted by dozens of instructors.
With the Carmen AI assistant, instructors create a detailed prompt that can pull information from a designated Carmen course. When added to a course module, students interact with the prompt via a chat interface. Instructors can interact with sample prompts or copy one and modify it for their own use. To learn about the tool, explore sample assistants and consider whether it’s right for your course, visit the Carmen AI Assistant website and read the Instructor Resource.
Honorlock Changes
- Workspace Scan Photo: Honorlock is replacing the Room Scan Video feature with a new Workspace Scan Photo option. This setting is on by default. When enabled for an exam, students will use their mobile device to take a photo of their desk and testing environment before they can begin the exam. Students will then be asked to confirm they have turned off their phone and removed it from the area, all while being recorded. The Room Scan Video feature will remain available through the end of the AU26 semester but will be discontinued and no longer available starting in SP27.
- Updated Session Viewer: Honorlock has updated its Session Viewer, providing instructors with additional tools and improved visibility when reviewing proctored exam sessions. Updates include clearer indicators showing when the authentication process ends and the exam begins, improved identification of AI-generated flags throughout the testing session, the ability to quickly switch between student recordings, a dark mode option, and several other usability improvements designed to streamline the review process.
- Analytics dashboard: The Honorlock tab now includes two new sections: Analytics and Test Takers with Violations. While our institution’s Honorlock implementation does not use the Violations feature, the Analytics tab provides insights into exam activity. Instructors can view metrics such as the total number of sessions (each student exam attempt counts as a separate session), session review rates, and other data that can help track and manage proctored testing activity.
Simple Syllabus
All undergraduate courses, including second session classes, must have required elements published in Simple Syllabus by Aug. 25. More information and links to resources can be found on the Office of Faculty Affairs website. How to access Simple Syllabus and more “how-to” guidance is in the Instructional Guides in the Teaching and Learning Resource Center. The public-facing repository will be available Aug. 21.
Please note that some syllabus template guidance has changed since the system became available in April. Review the FAQ on the Faculty Affairs website and the guidance sections of the template in Simple Syllabus carefully and update your document if needed.
CarmenZoom
New Interface for CarmenZoom Web Portal
Carmenzoom.osu.edu is getting a new look on Aug. 26. The new web interface shares a similar look as the Zoom Workplace app, with quick access to the universal header and options to start, join, or schedule a meeting. You can try out the new interface now, look for the “Try new experience” toggle in the header after signing in.
Allow/Block Screencapture
You can now prevent your meeting attendees from taking screen captures during your meetings. If you are presenting protected material, you now have the option to prevent participants from capturing that content using third party tools. Expand the list of Options when scheduling your meeting and select “Prevent screen capture of meeting” content to enable this setting.
Accessibility
Accessibility is a journey, not a finish line. Continue making reasonable, prioritized improvements to your CarmenCanvas course materials using the Ally accessibility tool. Focusing on high-impact and reusable content supports student success and Ohio State's progress toward ADA Title II compliance. For upcoming training and digital accessibility resources, visit the Drake Institute's Digital Accessibility Support for Ohio State Educators page and the ADA Digital Accessibility Center's Faculty Guidance for Title II page.
Other Tools
Mediasite Capture
Mediasite Capture, the browser-based recording tool, has been reimagined to make recording your best content easier, faster, and more professional than ever. The interface has been redesigned to focus on a clean "Record, Review, Upload" workflow. This simplified path reduces complexity and ensures you can start recording in seconds. While the main recording process has been simplified, you can now take advantage of more options. You can now adjust the aspect ratio, mirror your webcam, blur your background, and capture desktop audio.
Mediasite Archive
In an effort to manage storage costs and more easily identify media content that must be made accessible per federal Title II regulations, Learning Systems will soon be enforcing an updated retention policy in Mediasite. As we work towards implementing this updated Mediasite retention policy, we are completing work to make the initial archiving process more efficient. On Aug. 12, we will be implementing an initial retention policy that will queue content to be archived after 20 years with no views. Over time, we plan to reduce the policy so that content will be archived after 5 years with no views. We will publish a notice each time we reduce the duration until we reach our goal.
PebblePad
Several block-level improvements for Workbooks and Template creation provide greater flexibility and efficiency for managing learning content.
- A new three-dot Block-Level Actions Menu centralizes editing options such as properties, deleting blocks, replacing images, and managing banner settings across all content creation tools and resources.
- Block Progress Tracking allows instructors to require completion of specific blocks rather than simply marking a page complete, making it easier to monitor learner progress through Progress tabs and Insight dashboards.
- Automatic Evidence in Capabilities can pull student-created assets into workbook capability blocks based on tags or date ranges set by the instructor, reducing manual effort and streamlining workflows.
- ATLAS, PebblePad’s tool for administrators, has a new look which comes with better navigation, dashboards, and reporting tools.
Top Hat
For instructors using Top Hat’s LTI 1.3 integration with Canvas, managing courses is easier. Top Hat’s Course Based Roles automatically syncs with your Canvas course to ensure every user has the correct permissions in each course. And Top Hat's overnight roster sync now recognizes when a student has dropped the course in Canvas, removing them from their Top Hat course
Top Hat’s new mobile-only secure attendance uses short-range Bluetooth signals to verify proximity and confirm that students are actually in the room together.
Top Hat is offering several ways to learn more about new features and get help setting up your course.
- Join a targeted, 20-minute virtual feature walkthrough designed to help you get the most out of Top Hat. Register for sessions covering the LTI 1.3 integration with Canvas and the New Pages Editor and Content Enhancer.
- For help setting up your Top Hat course(s) ahead of the fall, join a drop-in virtual Office Hour session! Register to receive the Zoom link.
- For those new to Top Hat, be on the lookout for a vendor-provided Top Hat Basics workshop this fall.
BuckeyeMail
To simplify email at Ohio State, students now use @osu.edu email accounts instead of the BuckeyeMail format. Emails will forward from BuckeyeMail addresses to osu.edu addresses, but we encourage you to update email lists now to avoid any future issues. This means that students will use their lastname.#@osu.edu email to sign into services that previously used their BuckeyeMail email.
Please note that Single Sign-On (SSO) should always be the default option when there are multiple ways to log in, such as on some CarmenZoom pages.