[ARCHIVED] Ability to Create Optional Assignments?

[KOliveras]

I imagine that this is possible, I'm just not sure how to do this. 

I would like to have a variety of assignments (some including discussion board posts) where students receive points for participation.  However, I don't want to require that students complete any one particular assignment.  I also don't want the assignment to show up as "missing" should the student choose not to participate.  I would like for them to complete at least X number of points over the course of the term.

From the gradebook side of things, I would like for the points within this "participation" assignment group to accumulate but have an absolute maximum recorded value.  For example, there may be 200 points worth of opportunities, but a "full participation score" might be 150 points.  I don't want students scoring higher than that.

My current work flow involves two different assignment groups - one called "raw points" that doesn't count towards the course grade, and another called "recorded" which I manually update every-so-often.  This is where I manually max the participation, and give a relative indication of "how on track" the student is in terms of "participation points". 

With that background, here are my questions:

1. Is there any easy way to set up an assignment category that behaves like I described above?
2. If so, is there an easy way for students to monitor their progress?  That is, know how many points are available, as well as how many point they have earned? 

I know that I can do this manually,  but I would rather have something that is more automated and integrated within Canvas. 

[rmbutterfield]

I have no idea if there is an option like you describe, but I think it's a great idea!

[cindyk]

This sounds like something I would like to use to support personalized learning.  I want students to have choices but not feel like they have to do everything.  Some of the choices will be auto-graded quizzes which I really don't want students feeling life they have to - this is just one option for students who value feedback.  The 'missing' tag would be very misleading and confusing for students.