New Features for Students in the Fall 2021 Upgrade

The UVACollab team is excited to announce the new features below that students can enjoy in our Fall 2021 Upgrade!

Record your name pronunciation!

Screenshot of name pronounciation recording feature in Profile. Graphic link opens modal with larger image. Press Escape to exit modal.

Have you ever wished instructors or teaching assistants knew how to pronounce your name correctly on the first day of class?  Now you can help them do that!

In your Home site's Profile, you can type in or record a short audio clip of how to pronounce your name. In the Phonetic Pronunciation field, you can enter any text that would be helpful to describe the pronunciation, for example: "kris-TEEN BEAR-it" for "Christine Berret", or even include a short description, such as "Stull, like 'skull,' but with a t instead of k" for "Tiffany Stull."

Your instructors and TAs will be able to find your recorded pronunciation in their course site's Roster.

Steps to record your name pronunciation are included in How do I set up my profile?

Choose your Rich-Text Editor toolbar!

The Rich-Text Editor you use to enter text in UVACollab has two toolbar formats with different buttons available:

  • Desktop - The full set of buttons for adding text formatting, media, etc.
  • Mobile - A limited set of buttons designed for easier use on small screens.

By default, the editor toolbar format changes automatically based on the width of your internet browser window.

A new accessibility option in your Home site's Preferences allows you to select which editor you'd like to access throughout UVACollab.

This can be helpful if you have a small computer screen or need to zoom in on text in the browser, and always want to access the Desktop editor. Alternatively, you can use the Mobile editor option to hide unneeded tools for easier navigation with a keyboard or screen reader.

You can find steps to select your preferred editor in How do I set my preferences?

Favorite sites (or remove them from favorites) easily!

Screenshot of favorite sites tabs with an arrow pointing out the icon to toggle the site as a favorite site.

Your favorite sites appear as tabs near the top of the screen when you are logged into UVACollab on a desktop or laptop computer.

Now, while you are viewing a site, you can select the star icon to the left of its name in the favorites bar to toggle it as a favorite site (add or remove it from your favorites).

Take advantage of new notifications!

Academic Alerts (Bullhorns)

Screenshot highlighting the bullhorn icon with 5 academic alerts. An example new announcement alert link is expanded to show the details.

Academic Alerts display in the top navigation bar of UVACollab with a bullhorn icon.

When a new announcement or assignment is posted, or an assignment is graded, an alert will appear. Unread alerts will display as a number with the bullhorn.

You can use the alerts to jump directly to the announcement or assignment, and clear alerts when you have reviewed them.

Check out the following articles for more details:

Assignments Due Date Reminder

Screenshot of an email that says Reminder - An assignment is due within 24 hours. The assignment title, due date, and course site are shown in the email.

When setting up assignments, instructors now have the option to send an automatic email reminder to all students who have not submitted twenty-four hours prior to the due date.