Unread Announcements?

[jmerriam]

Someone on our faculty forum mentioned that her students weren't seeing her announcements, and that she could tell because there was no date on "Posted On."  I just checked my announcements, and not only is there no date, each on has a "U" on the left-hand side, indicating that it was unread.

What's going on here? Many of my announcements are very important, and if my students aren't seeing them, it creates a real problem.  (I've attached a screenshot, but it may be too small to see.)

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Hello @jmerriam ...

The "U" within the circle on your "Announcements" page does not mean that announcements are "Unread".  For whatever reason, that is the letter/icon that is used when announcements are imported from one course to another.  Per this Guide, How do I use the Announcements Index Page? - Canvas Community:

"A profile picture displaying the letter U in place of a user's profile picture indicates that an announcement was imported using a course copy, the Course Import Tool, or a blueprint course. Additionally, copied announcements do not include a posted date and time."

The blue dots that you see to the left of the check-box and "U" icon, however, are the indicators that those announcements are "Unread" by you.  I don't believe there is a way (at least not on this screen) to tell if a student has read an announcement.  You might be able to get an idea of which students are viewing your announcements by reviewing the individual access reports: How do I view the course access report for an indi... - Canvas Community.

Does this help to answer your question, Joan?  Let Community members know...thanks!  Take care...

[jmerriam · Accepted solution]

Thanks so much, Chris. I did read all the posts re: Announcements, but must've missed the one related to the "U." Duh.

And you're right: the announcements were imported using Blueprint...my colleague contended that when she does that, often either the announcements don't post at all in her classes' Announcements page, or the students can't see them. She also said that if there's no date on the "posted on," that's another indication that they're invisible on the students' page.

Regardless, I'll forward this along to the faculty forum so everyone can know.

Thanks again, as always!

Joan

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Hello @jmerriam ...

The "U" within the circle on your "Announcements" page does not mean that announcements are "Unread".  For whatever reason, that is the letter/icon that is used when announcements are imported from one course to another.  Per this Guide, How do I use the Announcements Index Page? - Canvas Community:

"A profile picture displaying the letter U in place of a user's profile picture indicates that an announcement was imported using a course copy, the Course Import Tool, or a blueprint course. Additionally, copied announcements do not include a posted date and time."

The blue dots that you see to the left of the check-box and "U" icon, however, are the indicators that those announcements are "Unread" by you.  I don't believe there is a way (at least not on this screen) to tell if a student has read an announcement.  You might be able to get an idea of which students are viewing your announcements by reviewing the individual access reports: How do I view the course access report for an indi... - Canvas Community.

Does this help to answer your question, Joan?  Let Community members know...thanks!  Take care...

[jmerriam · Accepted solution]

Thanks so much, Chris. I did read all the posts re: Announcements, but must've missed the one related to the "U." Duh.

And you're right: the announcements were imported using Blueprint...my colleague contended that when she does that, often either the announcements don't post at all in her classes' Announcements page, or the students can't see them. She also said that if there's no date on the "posted on," that's another indication that they're invisible on the students' page.

Regardless, I'll forward this along to the faculty forum so everyone can know.

Thanks again, as always!

Joan

[kmeeusen · Accepted solution]

Hi @jmerriam 

A teacher can simply use Student View to verify that their announcements are visible to students: See, How do I view a course as a test student using Student View?

I hope this is helpful,

Kelley