Can you Create Two Deadlines in Discussion Post?

[u0806611]

Can you create two deadlines in a discussion post?

[kona · Accepted solution]

 @u0806611 , greetings! There is no direct way to add two due dates for a discussion in the discussion settings. What I've seen some people do is either set the due date as either the initial-post due date OR the follow-up due date and then add an "event" in the Calendar for the second due date reminder. 

After trying this a few different ways, what seems to work best for me and my students is to set the discussion due date as the initial post due date (Ex: Thursday). Then in the calendar, I add an event that is the for the follow-up due date (Ex: Sunday). In addition, in the syllabus, discussion directions, etc I explain that there are two due dates and go into more detail on what is required for each due date. The first few weeks I also send out a reminder email to students about the two due dates and overall this seems to work and students catch on quickly and don't have any problems.

Hope this helps! Kona

[kona · Accepted solution]

 @u0806611 , greetings! There is no direct way to add two due dates for a discussion in the discussion settings. What I've seen some people do is either set the due date as either the initial-post due date OR the follow-up due date and then add an "event" in the Calendar for the second due date reminder. 

After trying this a few different ways, what seems to work best for me and my students is to set the discussion due date as the initial post due date (Ex: Thursday). Then in the calendar, I add an event that is the for the follow-up due date (Ex: Sunday). In addition, in the syllabus, discussion directions, etc I explain that there are two due dates and go into more detail on what is required for each due date. The first few weeks I also send out a reminder email to students about the two due dates and overall this seems to work and students catch on quickly and don't have any problems.

Hope this helps! Kona

[garfinkledebora]

This is the biggest and most problematic issue in Canvas. If we were able to set two deadlines, we wouldn't have to keep sending out reminders. Why is it that Canvas can't seem to add this to discussion functionality since everyone I know wants to be able to do this. My students are constantly posting their contributions late no matter how much I remind them and post that they must set a reminder for a day ahead for their contribution. This should have been one of the primary changes to make - I remember the thread going back several years. 

By creating dual dates, we won't need all the reminders and our discussions will be more robust. This seems like a no-brainer. 

[VTRockDoc · Accepted solution]

Here's what has worked for me in Canvas--I have an original post deadline of Thursday and then their responses to classmates must be completed by Sunday of the same week.

If you don't want to check students' original response deadlines to ensure they're completing their first posts on time, you can set the "Due" date as the first deadline for students' original response to the discussion, and then set the "Until" date as the final deadline. Then the discussion will automatically close after the Until date, plus you can set it to auto-deduct late points for any first posts past the Due date. I have been doing that and it works great. If you need to set an extension for a student or reopen the discussion for any reason, you can always edit the discussion and click "Add" at the bottom and then select the student and new due/until dates.

[nesterd]

This is such a glaring feature omission for Canvas and all LMSs, really. All of our solutions are workarounds for something that Canvas could easily add. Just about every instructor I know requires a midway point in a discussion cycle type of deadline to have a quality discussion and to discourage students commenting at 11:58pm on the last day of a discussion. Short of manually grading and keeping lists, we have no solution. Canvas, figure something out! 

[KimGeorge]

Absolutely agree! This is an interesting work around, but it should be there in the assignment settings. I'm having a similar problem with Peer review--2 due dates are needed. 

[nesterd]

I don't think it's an exotic problem when learners wait until the very last hour post in a discussion. It's human nature, after all. All the announcements and reminders won't get some learners to contribute in the optimal way, which in my classes I say one comment by the midpoint of the discussion cycle, and one comment or reply by the end of the cycle. What *would* get learners to get into the mix by the midpoint is another deadline in the same assignment. 

[scombs426]

I see this discussion started in 2019 - has there been any progress to this issue with the new re-design?  we need to have a due date for initial reply and a second due date to reply to the student. 

Are any others using a different application for discussions? 

[loribergstrom22]

I could not agree more! Every instructor I have spoken with has the same frustrations. I am tired of the support staff explaining that I can make this a 'suggestion'.