Canvas Commons Preview

[kbeimfohr]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

It would be great if you could preview the actual content you find in Commons before you download it.  This is especially true in regards to modules.  I want to be able to see the quiz questions instead of just knowing there is a quiz in it.

Comments from Instructure

For more information, please read through the Canvas Release Notes (2019-01-05).

Discover more in the https://community.canvaslms.com/community/answers/commons/projects/user-group-commons-preview https://community.canvaslms.com/community/answers/commons/projects/user-group-commons-preview/pages/...

[traciebosket]

Definitely in the search box, but also in this editor in the Community (not in Canvas itself). It is not as bad at the one on the search box. But there is a lag, especially if you try to backspace. 

[penny_christens]

Thank you for asking which element of the course to concentrate on, but I would appreciate movement over giving feedback on the next preferred actions. Movement on adding abilities to preview any items as long as it appears Canvas is still investing in upgrading this product is what I desire most at this point.

[kidsonh]

As our district gets closer to using Canvas (and Commons) with a wider audience of instructors and learners, this feature seems so important!  We've chatted about a few ways to work around the problem -- using a screenshot as the associated thumbnail for Commons content, providing a link to a video preview or screenshot gallery... but it would be so much easier if we could simply view the content in Commons.  I could see it working similarly to the "Observer" role we'll use with parents (although I have no idea what that would entail on the scripting side... that's probably crazy to ask of you guys), where you can view but not interact with content that's shared in Commons... or even just an option to submit preview screenshots that appear in a mini gallery on the content page would be nice.

Hoping to see some movement on this topic; it seems like it would be so, so helpful!

[jhough]

Oh my goodness, yes yes yes! That is the biggest issue our teachers have had with Commons. They end up downloading a bunch of things, then have so much to sort through, they get overwhelmed. We've talked about making a "Play Course" that they can dump things into, but they still end up with so much material it's hard to sift through. Deleting things one at a time is also time consuming. 

To start with, if it's a single item, have a preview of that. For courses, have links to go to Pages, Assignments, etc. I would start with assignments, then quizzes, then pages, then any other content - files? that are in the course. 

Thank you for looking into this!

[bkompe]

I'm very confused about this. The Canvas documentation https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-11216-38287725343 says that you CAN preview resources within a course. Why does that document show that you can preview resources when this idea in Product Radar indicates that you CAN'T preview resources?

[Stef_retired]

 @bkompe ‌, currently, you can preview some resources within the Commons course, as detailed in the guide. The outstanding request is to be able to preview the entire course, including quizzes, which cannot currently be previewed.

[bkompe]

Hi Stephanie, I am concerned because the page I mentioned seems to suggest that resources can be previewed.

Conversely, it is phrased poorly so I got that impression - I don't always have a lot of time to be able to decipher what the writer actually means. I assume that documents in the guides contain correct information and am worried when I find this is not the case or that I got the wrong impression when I read it. Does this mean that I need to check everything rather than believing what I read?

[Stef_retired]

 @bkompe , from my reading of the lesson, it is specific about which resources can be previewed. This feature idea specifies quizzes, one of the items that cannot be previewed. If you find the wording of the lesson to be unclear, please feel free to post a comment in the comments section so the Doc Team can have a look at it.

[eduplessis]

Solution: Provide the ability to insert a link in the description area for each Commons item. The person sharing the item could then provide a link to a Canvas shell that is publicly visible with the Commons item on display, so that it can be previewed in the actual Canvas environment. 

I've been providing a URL for items that I share on Commons for this purpose, but it's not clickable. Screenshot:

(Also note my warning about overwriting, which is another concern about Commons.) 

[kmeeusen]

Hi  @eduplessis 

What a great idea for those whose uploaded courses are set to public access.

Thank you

Kelley