For my writing class, I have a revision project that requires students to submit 4 files to show their revision process. Although I have provided ample instruction and tutorials on how to complete the "downloading the revision draft that shows comments and track changes," I still have students trying to submit their documents using a link in the "assignment comment" box instead of uploading their file. Unfortunately, the assignment comments box has become the "easy" option to turn in an assignment even though that option completely disregards the assignment instructions and the minor amount of labor requested. The rationale for this multi-step activity is to require students to engage with and practice using word processing tools and develop the skill of downloading copies of their work to upload to another platform. While tedious, these steps help students practice fundamental soft skills that they struggle with the most--Timmy might know how to work an iPad but has no idea how to add a page number to their header in Word.
The cleanest solution for this issue is to provide an option to disable student assignment comments when creating or editing an assignment. Similar to the Group Assignment or Peer Review check boxes, I propose adding a checkbox labeled "Disable Assignment Comments" that instructors can access when creating a new assignment. Assignment Comments will automatically populate as they do currently unless the instructor goes out to their way to check that box and disable that feature. Once instructors are ready to provide grades and comments, they can "re-Enable Assignment Comments" by editing the assignment and unclicking that box; and, once re-enabled, instructors and students can add their comments as needed. Although this proposed solution isn't pretty, providing this option enables instructors to curtail the irksome ways students try to "take the easy way out" when submitting assignments. Even if (when) students email their links, at least that process adds an extra step that might make them pause long enough to try downloading their work. Or, at least they might pay more attention to the instructor when they explain (again) the turn-in process.
