If your institution opts to have a log-out period for security/privacy reasons there is currently no log-out session warning due to inactivity. This means that when a user is in the Canvas system, they are not alerted when their session expires or if they have been logged out on a different tab/browser or mobile device. Activity in Canvas is defined only as clicks. Text-entry is not included, so the following:
- updating grades,
- entering an assignment or discussion,
- creating a message or announcement
- recording a video (presumably),
- composing the answer to an essay based quiz question
would not trigger or track as activity. We have had several instances where students have lost work in assignments, instructors have lost grades, announcements and messages that they were working on because they did not know that they were logged-out. Although a stay "signed-in" checkbox feature is available and could potentially help in these situations, we were informed that this option is only available when the log-out period is set to 1 hour or greater. This period was deemed too long for public computers. Potential solutions would include:
- a pop-up session log-out warning that would ask the user if they want to stay logged-in
- the availability of the check box at log-out times set to under 1 hour
Vote here: Session Log-Out Warning
