[ARCHIVED] Announcement copied but not broadcast

[cantanima]

Yesterday I posted a weather-related announcement to the students in two courses, telling them class would be online.

• The students in the class where I originally posted the announcement received it and stayed home.
• The students in the class to which I copied the announcement did not receive the announcement, even though it appeared on the home page. Nearly all the students showed up to class, and they didn't realize what was going on until I sent another announcement because I was running late.

This is not the first time I have observed this. How can I ensure an announcement I have copied from one course to another will actually broadcast to the students' devices?

[gnoack · Accepted solution]

HI @cantanima,

What I do after copying an announcement is to edit it and set a post date and time, even if it's just five minutes in the future. 

It isn't included in the directions for copying an announcement, but when it is copied, it isn't posted to students until you at least set a post date and time.  (It may post if you simply open and save it again, but I haven't tested this.) If you consider, it's good that it does this as it allows you the opportunity to edit the announcement before it's posted to students.  However, the guide should explain this, and it doesn't. 

How do I copy an announcement to another course? - Canvas Community (canvaslms.com)

[cantanima]

Thanks, this makes sense. I'll try it sometime. I don't think it should be mentioned in the manual, though; it ought to be a prominently displayed option when copying it. Otherwise, the user who doesn't read the manual (which includes most human beings) or who forgets the details of what's in there (which includes the vast majority of the rest) will be caught unawares. 😞

[cantanima]

OK, I just tried this, but when I edit the announcement I don't see any options for setting a post date and time. Do you mean the "Delay posting" option?

[JMT_Mizzou]

This is unacceptable and needs to be addressed/changed ASAP. Especially since they are listed as ANNOUNCEMENTS -the place where instructors typically post important ANNOUNCEMENTS. We had no idea our students in other class sections were not seeing these, and Canvas gave no indication that they weren't visible or sent to the students in those sections.