[Discussions] Multiple Due Dates (checkpoints) for Discussions

[chriswhite]

This idea has been developed and is On Canvas Beta •  How do I access the Canvas beta environment?

For more information, please read through the Canvas Release Notes (2025-01-18) 

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With the way that many schools set up forum discussions and require "check-ins" to the forum throughout the week, it would be great if we could include multiple due dates in the discussion activities. For instance, I have classes that require everyone respond to the prompt by Thursday night and respond to at least 2 peers by the following Sunday. Being able to remind students that they have responses due, especially if we could scatter responses over multiple days, would likely increase participation.

[dfleskes]

Please make sure that the multiple due dates allow different point options.  In my class, the initial post is worth a lot more points than the required same-subject-replies -- students need to easily see how many points they got for each part.  Multiple due dates will help keep students on task and will make grading so much easier.

[Beth_Young]

My solution is to get discussion replies into the dashboard by using an assignment with no grade and no submission. This shows up in the to-do list and the calendar without an additional grade book column.

 @dhulsey ​, I just saw this comment and I am puzzled. Assignments with no grade and no submission do not show up on the "to do" list for my students, which has been a huge problem. (They do show up on the calendar.) I've posted screenshots here: " modifiedtitle="true" title="Put everything with a deadline into the to-do list ​

What settings are you using, specifically?  And are you talking about the "To Do" list on the dashboard, or the "Coming Up" list?

[Beth_Young]

What you describe sounds great,  @peytoncraighill ​. The least important feature for me is this one:

• Should be able to “lockdown” a piece of a discussion after a checkpoint is passed (e.g., no one can create a new post after date x; they can only reply to other posts until date y).

My reasoning is that I can easily see the dates of original posts. And I suspect that some students who are barred from making original posts late will just try to squeeze them into a reply anyway, which would complicate the grading of replies. I think it's a great feature--just lower priority for me than the others. Just saying in case you need to pare something back.

[James]

 @Beth_Young ​,

I've been using the zero-point reminder assignments since summer and they appear in the student's "Coming Up" list. They do not show up in the "To Do" list.

My problem is that despite the multiple times I had told the class "The initial post is due on Sunday and there's a follow-up discussion that occurs Monday through Friday", they still don't get it. Every Monday's class starts with a reminder that there was an initial post due yesterday and now there's a discussion going on. Every Friday's class has a reminder "There is an initial post due Sunday". The latest excuse was "There were no points associated with it, so I didn't think I had to do it." This is despite 5 weeks now of reminders and losing points for not turning the initial post in on time.

 @kona ​ had some success over the summer with going in and entering a 0 for the grade, even though it wasn't due yet, to serve as a wake-up call to those who hadn't submitted yet. That got some student's attention.

[dhulsey]

Indeed, you are correct, Beth. It is the "Coming up" list. Sorry about that slip. ​

[Beth_Young]

Thanks,  @dhulsey ​. I'm happy to know I haven't been overlooking something, but sad to know the problem remains. 😕

[garth]

I have a similar request at my school, where faculty have a requirement that a student make a post, and a second requirement that students reply to at least two posts made by their peers.  Having the ability to assign two point values would be incredibly helpful : )

[peytoncraighill]

The entire product team understands the value of this request, but unfortunately, it's a substantial amount of work to make happen. In 2016, we'll be researching and prioritizing improvements to our Discussions tool, and this will be one of the items we continue to investigate. Since it won't happen within the next six months, I'm going to archive it. Please see other comments in the thread for existing (though potentially suboptimal) workarounds.

[jvolkman]

I agree completely. This is a critical need. Also, we want separate rubrics to be attached to the original post versus the replies (since they are graded differently) and with separate due dates for the post and replies.

[franke]

 @peytoncraighill ​ is there any chance this issue will be on the map anytime soon to resolve?  This would be such a huge help for everyone at our school.