Redesign New Assignment Pop Out Menus - 0/10 Stars, WHY did Canvas make this change???

[kr1901]

Please tell me my school is not the only one with teachers grumbling about the new changes to the assignment process?

1 - Submission Type automatically changes the Assignment Name
At first, I was incredibly irritated that if I attach anything to the Submission Type - my assignment name is automatically changed. This is not helpful for me, or my peers, teaching online that import courses over repeatedly, and then have to go into each assignment to change the actual important information, such as due dates. I already have a module in place, exactly as I need it, I do not want to change the names of the assignments. It would be great if that auto feature was able to be opted OUT of for whoever choses.

2. When Submission Type is added, it automatically selects the "Load This Tool In A New Tab"

It took me a few days to catch on this one. When you select "External Tool" or, I'm sure Mastery Connect as well, as a submission type, under the drop down menus appears a check box, which auto selects "Load This Tool In A New Tab." In an online environment, this too needs to be an option to opt OUT of because not all online learners are at the same level. I have students still learning to use computers and navigating websites and Single Sign On, I do NOT want additional windows popping them up, further adding confusion and adding to the amount of THINGS they have going on. I want all my assignments in one single area, on one platform, inside a nicely wrapped box. This is extremely frustrating as well for lower performance students that have learning special powers.

3. The addition of a new pop out menu for Manage Due Dates and Assign To is an unnecessary additional step. SEE UPDATE BELOW!!! as of 8/30/2024

The rule of thumb for number of clicks for efficiency is maxed at 3. Why would we add yet another window that needs to pop out to incorporate identical information that we could already enter ON THE SAME PAGE with OUT having to navigate away to a new pop out page? I really don't understand if Canvas is truly trying to make things more efficient, or simply make changes that make the platform seem more "technologically savvy," but I can assure that less is more - and this additional tool pop out takes more time to complete than when it was on the same page. I wish I could include quantifiable data showing how many more minutes this adds to my lesson planning and creation process because it is too much additional time. Not only do I have to take more steps to complete this now, I have to wait for the pop out to actually load. Not awesome.

As an online teacher and the only one in my program for my entire content area, and also teaching courses for other content areas (yes, I am certified in 3 subject areas), I have 14 canvas courses this year alone that I have to prep and maintain.  Maybe this is an issue JUST for me, having so many courses, where I understand most teachers may have 3 or 5, I am not sure. However, all of these changes are extremely frustrating and time consuming for me, and I would love to have the old system back. That's just assignments....now on to the Grading forum...

UPDATE!!! I do not know when this change was implemented, I just noticed today when I was editing an assignment, but PRAISE TO ALL THAT EXISTS!!! Lol, Canvas has removed the pop out window and added the Due Date back into the regular window. YESSSS!!! It is truly the small things in life... 

 Thank goodness!!! 

[steelea]

3 is a horrible design flaw.

"Manage Due Dates and Assign To" should not be a dropdown; it is literally the most-used edit, and should be available on the first edit screen, preferably at the TOP.

Also, One should be able to edit the due date and 'available until' date from the calendar edit option, as that's usually where I discover import date errors that need correction.

[kr1901]

100% Agree!

[distance_ed1]

Hi! Can you go into more detail about what exactly is causing the assignment name to change on you automatically? I'm doing my testing on this feature before we promote it as an option for our instructors, and that sounds incredibly problematic, but I can't seem to replicate it.

For what it's worth, this post from the Product Blog indicates that they're removing that extra click for "Manage Due Dates and Assign To" within the month because yes, it was...quite silly.

[kr1901]

YES!!! That is awesome news! I am so happy to hear that, thank you for letting me know!

In the "Submission Type" section, when I select "External Tool," let's say I select a Nearpod - the tool automatically selects the "Load This Tool In A New Tab" box, under the selection section, and then simultaneously changes the name of my assignment to the name of whatever the Nearpod assignment was that I selected. So, either I go into my Nearpod account and change the names of all my assignments, that I am pulling from the Nearpod Library, OR I have to manually change the name back to the title I had in the first place to keep it the same. If you don't use Nearpod, the link is only good for I believe 30 days. So, if I want to pull over a course from the last semester, I will have to reset that Nearpod link to my assignment. Here's how my process typically goes:

1. Click Edit Assignment

2. Copy original assignment name

3. Click "Submission Type"

4. Select Nearpod

5. Unclick "Load This Tool In A New Tab"

7. GO BACK TO Assignment Name and Paste the one I copied from before....

8. SAVE

If I forget to copy the assignment name, which I do, I have to remember what I named it, often having to save and exit the "edit" mode to go back to my modules and change the name there. *Whew* That was a lot. Lol ...And that doesn't include when I have to also edit the dates XD XD XD

[audra_agnelly]

Certain tools are not able to load as an iframe inside the Canvas page due to browser security features. Defaulting to load in a new tab ensures that the student is able to open the application.

[kr1901]

I understand, however it is not required for all tools. Thus, why I say it should be something that gives the user the ability to Opt out. It could be something we select in our personal account settings.

[chriscas]

Hi @kr1901,

This is generally something that is set in the external tool's configuration.  I do not see the new tab option checked by default for every tool here, but it is for some.  Usually the tool vendor knows whether or not their tool will function 100% correctly inside of an iframe in Canvas or not and sets that up appropriately.  The teacher can uncheck that when creating an assignment, but they're likely doing so at their detriment if it's checked for them to begin with, as I'd generally take that to mean some students will encounter issues with the tool if it's just inside Canvas.

As a Canvas admin for my institution, I would not want this to be a user setting at all because of all of the extra issues it would create.  I know you may feel differently, but I did want to at least provide a bit more explanation for you here.

-Chris

[kr1901]

I work strictly with Canvas all day, every day. For me, it is not necessary or useful and creates extra steps. I was not trying to say it happens with every tool, I will try to be more specific in the future. For what I need/use, it is not necessary, as the tool operates and integrates very well without the need of the pop up. Would the external tool configuration be something the tool company operates, or are you referring to the Canvas admin that set it up for the district? We do not have admin at the school level, only at the board for the entire district.

[chriscas]

Hi @kr1901,

The setting to open external tools in a new tab is generally something that admins can control when the install the tool.  There are some cases where the installation method of a tool makes this more difficult than others, but it would still be doable by a Canvas admin with the knowledge and correct access (usually full root admin).

One caveat I didn't explicitly say in my original message is that the experience can be very browser-specific.  Some browsers will work okay with things not loaded in a new tab/window, while others will give errors (usually related to security) on the exact came content.  Safari is usually the browser that will have the most errors with framed content, as it's arguable more privacy-focused than other browsers at the time of writing this.  Admins will probably do some testing before they'd attempt to change the setting to try to ensure things work in all of the major browsers.

Hope this extra info is helpful!

-Chris

[kr1901]

In that case, yes, I understand and agree. Safari is not really designed to support use of several of our programs, and we offer students free loaning of district devices. The platform is Chrome as a default, but we always encourage our students to use their school devices to complete work. We do not recommend iPhones or iPads, or macs. So, we don't really have the issue you're referring to with safari. The majority of our students use google and microsoft edge browsers.

[JFord6]

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@kr1901 wrote:

The rule of thumb for number of clicks for efficiency is maxed at 3. Why would we add yet another window that needs to pop out to incorporate identical information that we could already enter ON THE SAME PAGE with OUT having to navigate away to a new pop out page? I really don't understand if Canvas is truly trying to make things more efficient, or simply make changes that make the platform seem more "technologically savvy," but I can assure that less is more - and this additional tool pop out takes more time to complete than when it was on the same page. I wish I could include quantifiable data showing how many more minutes this adds to my lesson planning and creation process because it is too much additional time. Not only do I have to take more steps to complete this now, I have to wait for the pop out to actually load. Not awesome.

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Agreed!    This is a NIGHTMARE.   PLEASE put it back to the way that it was.   Why would anyone ever want to have to click twice on an assignment to change the due date!?!!?  We are *already* in the EDIT page.   We *really* do want to edit the assignment.

[jbarr]

I can’t overstate the lack of intuitive design here. Change it back.

[marjeta]

Changing dates is something I did very frequently last semester. It would be really great if we could change dates in "Modules" (clicking three dots and "edit"). I already have to:

1. open the page
2. Click "Edit"
3. Scroll all the way down

And now we have 4th step... 

[audra_agnelly]

@marjeta You can change dates right from modules and have actually gained the functionality to differentiate due dates for students or sections. Instead of Edit, click 'Assign To'.

[kr1901]

UPDATE!!! I do not know when this change was implemented, I just noticed today when I was editing an assignment, but PRAISE TO ALL THAT EXISTS!!! Lol, Canvas has removed the pop out window and added the Due Date back into the regular window. YESSSS!!! It is truly the small things in life... ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ Thank goodness!!!