[Assignments] Clickable area on options when editing assignments and discussions not user friendly

[AndreaChang]

Problem statement:

The clickable pixel area across from the options when editing assignments and discussions is not proportional to the visible object and extends far outside the visible object on the page. This is a problem because assignment/discussion settings can be changed by unintentionally clicking where a user perceives blank space.

For example, when selecting a group for a group assignment or discussion, users must click "out" of the group selection dropdown and click on blank page space. Upon doing so it is common to select an option by accident because of how far the clickable area extends for no perceivable purpose. There is no way for the user to know they have accidentally selected something unless they see it happen.

It is an issue if any settings change unintentionally, especially if an important setting like turning a non-graded assignment accidentally turning into a graded assignment without the instructor or designer realizing it happened before saving. This causes difficulty for the instructor or designer and the results of mistakes will cause confusion and stress to students.

I submitted a ticket with a video of this behavior which I will include here if I can. Canvas said this is the intended use, and I was encouraged to submit this as a new feature idea. My recommendation below will help editing assignments/discussions more user-friendly as Canvas strives to do.

Proposed solution:

Reduce the horizontal clickable pixel area to the right of the options in editing mode for assignments/discussions so that it is more proportional with the visible checkbox and text and does not extend so far out into the blank space.

User role(s):

instructor,student,designer

[AndreaChang]

Two corrections to my original problem statement: 1) This only applies to the discussion redesign. The assignment pages are the same as they used to be, so this problem only applies to discussions. 2) It is not technically necessary to click off of the group selection dropdown because even though the group selection is still highlighted (appearing 'active'), scrolling will not change the selection or stop the page from moving down. As a user, I did this out of habit for other dropdowns where scrolling while the dropdown appears to still be active could change the selection or stop the page from moving down. Technically this page works so that I don't have to click out of the dropdown, but as a user I'd find it better if the new design accounted for this user behavior due to design practices outside of Canvas.

Solution addition: Maybe part of the solution could be that the drop-down box does not stay "highlighted" with the blue line after a group selection is made and the dropdown disappears so users know there is not interference with the dropdown selection and scrolling.

Here is the video I created to demonstrate the problem I am describing: