Allow wrap-around text for content items in a module

[amixon]

  This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

  Idea will be open for vote Wed. July 1, 2015 - Wed. October 7, 2015  Learn more about voting...

Dear Canvas

Recently you updated the number of characters visible in the module main page.  Now all of my assignments are truncated and end with ....

Why would you do this?

Does this look informative to students?  Why is there so much white open and available space between my assignment name and the number of points it's worth?

http://puu.sh/ipNcq.png

Now, I heard it was to make things easier to read on phones and tablets.  Except it's not. Here's my tablet.  This is awesome.  Totally - I like being able to see 10 letters of an assignment.  And since you can't hover on a tablet, why have you done this?

I would like to know who, in their right mind, looked at this and said, yeah.... that looks great!

http://puu.sh/ipNmy.png

I would like to vote on increasing the display size of assignment names in the modules.  Whatever it was before was even too small.  So I don't know if this is a vote on increasing the allowable text letters, or if it increases the width of the pixels used in that category.  No, I don't use the app for Canvas because I don't like how it's set up or organized.  It looks entirely different than the web based version, nothing is indented and so on, so that's not a reasonable alternative request Canvas.

Thanks

April

  Comments from Instructure

For more information, please read through the Canvas Production Release Notes (2016-08-27)

[don_bryn]

I just had another thought.  Dangerous, I know.

When my college switched to Canvas, it was a step forward, but my first thought was that Canvas was designed for Elementary kids.   Or possibly those really juvenile-looking training sessions that corporate H.R. departments have to give.  Everything has so much space and even simple non-linear navigation is almost impossible.

So I wonder if it's possible to have a couple themes that Admins could use, depending on the target audience.   IE, the current theme for elementary teachers and corporate H.R. departments, and one that looks more like modern web pages for colleges, universities, and any course wanting to aim at modern adults.

I realize our admins could do that anyway, but having a couple stock themes would make it more likely to happen.   Admins have so much going on, will they really want to alter the design that might get broken with a future release of Canvas?   Having official themes would give them confidence to use them, which we (as teachers) would greatly appreciate!

[khirschmann1]

I had created another feature request with a similar goal (" modifiedtitle="true" title="Annotated module items​) which is another way of handling this if the goal is to keep the module interface sparse and clean.  My idea simply provides a collapsible description field to any module item that provides a space to give context or annotate the item.  Here's a mock-up of what my idea looks like:

[DrNufer]

Kenny, I like where that is going.  I would probably want some kind of system that prevents too much text on the page.  I do like the minimalism that Canvas espouses throughout the UI, but we do need some detail sometimes (i.e. modules).

[GideonWilliams]

I like this idea as an alternative. Also rather interested in the 3 features you include in the list which I must follow up!

[chris_sullivan]

The truncating (cutting off) of each content line in the module is terrible for students and faculty using computers. This needs to be fixed. Hopefully our large district will be able to pressure CANVAS to fix ths... please talk with your admin to that contracts with Instructure. Maybe they will listen to the dollars if not the faculty.

[GideonWilliams]

Have to say I agree with you. Whilst we encourage our staff not to write lots and lots of details, it does seem faintly ridiculous where I get a sizeable amount of text cut off and then lots of blank space after...

For K12, I think it is important you create titles that engage and outline the task. The cutting off of the text can sometimes ruin the impact (and send a different message) as above...

Perhaps a 100 character limit?

[michael9]

I would say that anything would be better than what we've got right now. Our university just switched to Canvas, and I love most of it, which makes this UI gaffe stand out even more. I blame it on lackadaisical beta testers

Right now,  I have dozens of module titles that have to be cryptically titled -- e.g., "Intro - The Pow. of Prog", instead of "Introduction - The Power of Programming", which is just embarsassing. It would be really appreciated by all the instructors at our institution (and based on the threads I've read here, we are not alone)  to get this fixed before school starts.

I am somewhat distressed to note that this particular thread has been going on for over a year. How long does it take to change the number of characters that can be displayed on a line?

[amixon]

Michael

You are adorable.  Welcome to Canvas.  So..... let's see.  In one new update Canvas can change something that was working just fine and then we spend over a year asking them to change it back.  My admins will tell us we are lucky that Canvas offers us this location to vent, offer suggestions and so on.  Why it has taken over a year to go back to, at the very least, how things were before is beyond me.  At this point I am simply SO used to it, that I have structured my day 1 intro talk to include it, how to see the full text (hover your mouse on it) and, as mentioned a year ago - I moved many many things into Content Pages.  The trunctation is still a problem as best practices do state that providing a student action (PRINT ME, READ ME, WATCH ME) as the lead in to the student name is a good way to start off topics.  And my QM review team loved it.... so I have left it as is.  The good news is, my QM review team didn't knock me for not having short readable titles.

April

[DrNufer]

For me, The Pow. of Prog would equate The Power of Prog Rock.  Alan Parson's Project, FTW!

[GideonWilliams]

Ditto! Lots of my existing Module problems solved....

BEFORE

AFTER

Great work!