Statistics of Number of Times Item is Viewed

[pksmith]

I wish Canvas would add ability to get statistics on how many times students viewed/downloaded  a particular item in Files or on Pages. It would be useful to instructors to see which items get a lot of use and which don't (which should we continue posting and which to stop posting). I'm told that currently I'd have to open a student's individual information to see if that person opened a particular file.

[kmeeusen]

This is a great idea, Patricia! In fact, a very similar idea is in the gathering information phase. You can view, comment and even vote on this idea @

If this idea meets you needs, please come back and let us know and we will remove your.

If this idea does not meet your needs, please also come back and tell us why not.

I hope this helps,

KLM

[biray]

Where'd you go? We haven't heard from you in 2 weeks?

For now, this idea will be archived due to no response. If you would like this idea to be reconsidered, please provide the feedback requested along with examples and use cases. Then be sure to @mention me or anyone on the communityteam (by typing '@' symbol plus a name to notify one of us) and we would be happy to bring it back into the feature process rotation!

[Renee_Carney]

This idea will remain in the open voting forum as an idea related to Priority: Analytics 2: Teacher & Student‌

*Being a related idea does not guarantee it is slated for development, instead it indicates that the idea is related to the overall scope and is being used to inform the process.

[caryn]

Just to add to this discussion, here are two use cases for this type of functionality.

Understanding how students are accessing content in a course space can help instructors both tailor the presentation / curriculum, and it can help them remove the items that are less than helpful.

So, for example, if an instructor wants the students to engage with the content before they arrive in class (i.e. a flipped scenario), then it's helpful to see that the item was viewed X number of times

Alternatively, if "supplemental" material is identified and loaded into a course, but no one looks at it, then the material might not be helpful (or needed).

[ezaurova]

I was just about to post a similar idea.  In addition to number of times viewed and, if a file, downloaded, it would be even more helpful to know how long it was viewed for each time.  In particular, I have lecture videos that I want my students to watch for each class.  It would be helpful to quickly open the statistics for that page, seeing who's opened the page and for how long it was open each time they had it open.

[hannah_rosenber]

This is a very important suggestion, and I was surprised that this function currently does not exist. Please consider adding this function. 

[ann_martin]

I'm also surprised that this information isn't already accessible - it is a basic component to any web page, and crucial for monitoring engagement etc. Very important to get this added a.s.a.p.

[ann_martin]

 @biray ‌, can you please open/un-archive this thread - it is an important feature that needs consideration. 

[scottdennis]

Hi Ann,

This idea is currently open for vote.

Thanks,

SD

[lori_ingle]

 @biray ‌

This feature is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to teachers. Does the Instructional Designer or Administration role have it? The Teachers MUST have it. A number of reasons follow:

1 - One size does not fit all: Individualization for students requires constant assessment, and therefore analytics, of pages, downloads, screenings of clips, and other elements of a course that isn't a graded assignment. 

2 - Unfortunately, the quick assignment list view on the student home page means that students don't read much. They bypass the modules and go straight to the assignment. With such behavior, there is no way to measure what a class needs without understanding how a class is using the course.

3 - Over the last fifteen years, students have changed their learning habits. So, the "times" are critical and change rapidly given the nature of technology and experiential habits and expectations. We can't stay current if we can't see. We MUST SEE how students are responding. The biggest problem with online learning is that, in fact, teachers are blind. In the face to face classroom, we adjust to the students. Online, we can't do that easily. The course-wide analytics of general student behavior would be a huge help.

Please rise this feature up quickly. You clearly have tons of requests to field, but keeping the teacher empowered to do a good job should be at the very top of the list.

Thank you.

[Stef_retired]

 @lori_ingle ‌, we encourage you to follow the developments at Priority: Analytics 2 and add your feedback to the discussion currently underway at Analytics 2: Participation Measures .

[sarachem]

I desperately need the same thing, too. It is a powerful assessment tool for some projects that received funding.

[gulick_24]

Patricia Smith's original comment of "It would be useful to instructors to see which items get a lot of use and which don't (which should we continue posting and which to stop posting)," is exactly what I would use this for. I'm making changes to the content in my course, and I want to see which old links are/aren't being clicked on so I know if I should leave that content in the course or replace it with new content, and then which new content is being accessed, as well.  Seeing in this aggregate for a course is the data I need; I don't have time to pull each student's individual data and aggregate it. Thanks for considering this idea!

[ProductPanda]

Comments from Instructure

As part of the new Ideas & Themes process, all ideas in Idea Conversations were reviewed by the Product Team. Any Idea that was associated with an identified theme was moved to the new Idea & Themes space. Any Idea that was not part of the move is being marked as Archived. This will preserve the history of the conversations while also letting Community members know that Instructure will not explore the request at this time.