[Assignment Enhancements] Clarify terminology and processing

[rdudley]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas LMS

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Problem statement:

Back in December we activated the "Assignments enhancements" feature to allow students to access their previously uploaded assignment submissions via the browser (functionality that was only previously available via the Canvas Student app). Since then, we have received many reports (from lecturers and students) regarding confusion and mixed messages regarding the updated/terminology and process being utilised:

1. The "Upload" button - users persistently click on the blue "Upload" button and wonder why they cannot upload their work (not realising that they have to click on the rocket image to proceed).
2. The "Try Again" button - once the file is uploaded, the user sees the "Try Again" button in the lower right corner of the screen and thinks that there has been an issue with the upload process and that they must try to submit their assignment again (note: this said "submit another file" previously).
3. The progress cycle indication - students see there is still a part of the progress cycle marked as incomplete (due to the fact their work is not marked yet) and think they have to complete something else as part of the upload process.

Proposed solution:

In order to improve understanding of the "Assignment Enhancements" feature, the terminology and communication of the submission process must be updated:

1. The "Upload" button should direct students to the upload process rather than appear as a button that students think they can click on.
2. Rather than "Try Again", students should see "Submit another file" to indicate to them that their work has been submitted and they can upload another file if they desire.
3. The progress cycle should state that the submission process is complete and that their work is now awaiting marking/moderation.

User role(s):

admin,instructor,student,ta,designer,observer

[SamGarza1]

Hi @rdudley , Thank you for your feedback on assignments. I've moved this idea into development and created multiple tickets to address the three major points for our team. As we complete tickets I will provide updates here; you can also watch the deploy notes for any updates. 

[SamGarza1]

Hi @rdudley , I wanted to update you that we've completed work on two of the pain points you have above and you'll see them in the change log for Assignment Enhancements soon. The "Try Again" button has been updated to "New Attempt". And we've shifted the emphasis on the progress indicator to be on the next step the student has to take. Making changes to the upload workflow needs more consideration and input from our team before we make any changes, and has been grouped with other improvements we're looking at making long term. 

[KristinL]

Comments from Instructure

Two of the three requests in this idea have been completed. For Ideas & Themes, this idea is being marked as Complete. Sam Garaza will provide an update when the third element is worked on.

For more information, please read through the Canvas Deploy Notes (2023-07-05)