[Modules] Hiding and Viewing Modules for Individual Sections

[GideonWilliams]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas LMS

---

Parts of this have been mentioned in previous requests (Modules within Modules and others) and I wonder if this is more to do with the needs of K12 than beyond?

We run a model based on UK curriculum which may be different to other school models (10+ subjects in a timetable, classes selected by ability, external examinations in 2/3 year groups, different content taught depending on the class etc). Having begun our implementation of Canvas the last thing we wished to do is create individual courses for each class and teacher in a subject. With up to 9 classes in a subject this would be an administrative nightmare and would go against much of what I believe a VLE is for - forward facing, collaborative, personalised, sharing of resources etc.

The reality is at school level it is very very difficult to create a core course that is truly personalised without some form of conditions/restrictions especially as "content is king". We add our classes as separate sections which enables assignments to be posted to individual classes. We would dearly like Canvas to go further and enable this option for other content such as pages/links etc.

The idea being suggested though is for teachers to be able to hide/view modules for individual sections

This would allow content (pages, links etc) to be viewed by individual sections. It would give teachers and students the best of both worlds. Modules could be 'turned on' for all sections or individual sections. It would allow you to create differentiated blocks of content/resources eg for those students who are perhaps sitting the 'Higher Level' exam. It would also allow us to support subjects where they have banded/set ability groups. It would also support subjects where topics are done on rotation due to resourcing. It would also reduce the risk of common core subjects such as Maths/Science developing vast 'silos' of resources/modules and making navigation harder than it should be. Would it also be less messy than Conditional activities?

I know that some suggestions have talked about creating extra courses but with the majority of our students having up to 15 courses to manage, the last thing I wish to see is doubling up courses and reducing engagement.

I think this is more of a K12 issue and it would be nice to see a little bit of love sent their way...

UPDATE: APRIL 2018

I was at the Dutch Users Group consortium on Friday. This consortium represents a sizeable and growing number of universities, colleges and schools within the Netherlands. As a group, we identified a number of ideas we wished to take forward and the one above emerged as a clear favourite (without any prompting from me!)

This is now an idea that has support across multiple educational organisations and the benefits of this idea are seen as hugely positive and wide ranging.

As the last comment on this was 16 months ago and 2 years since the idea was published, it would be nice to know what progress, if any, has been made here.

[blake-whitten]

Yes. The idea is so obvious that it’s not surprising as to be perceived as a universal need at every large school.

Kind of like the American electoral system: The two “top candidates” are so bad that the need for a (better) first choice is obvious. Yet the U.S. electoral system and culture is slanted against real inclusion beyond the two-party duopoly. (I’m thinking in particular about Gay Johnson, Libertarian candidate for U.S. president.)

Musings from Iowa,

Blake

[craigring]

That setup is exactly my ideal too! I would add a few benefits to this layout:

- Head of Department can have an overview of all students in that particular year group studying their course.

- All students need to go to one place for that particular subject

- Announcements can be made once and reach all students and parents

- Consistency as a department is at an all time high

[cward]

We're investigating ways of accomplishing this, but I can't unfortunately communicate any timelines or commitments at this time.

[cward]

This is an interesting thought, and I can see the usefulness of being able to do this. We'll take it into account in any future rework of modules that we'll do. Thanks!

[mdurler]

What I would really like to see is a way to lock and unlock individual pages and/or files based on some criteria such as a score on an assignment.

[kona]

 @mdurler ‌, have you looked at Mastery Paths in Canvas - https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10442-4152668299 It seems like it would accomplish what you are wanting. 

[mdurler]

Kona,

Yes I have. No it does not. I want a one-to-one conditional visibility feature.

[connors5]

Yea! I did vote down, but after thinking this would be good, for those classes where it's old school instruction and the Instructor wants his/her assignments in too soon, because the student didn't quite get the assignment, for example, research papers, there should be at least a two to three weeks to be able to do a research assignment instead of expecting it by the following week when you have other classes. 

[jbader]

I teach in higher ed, 4 - 5 courses per term where I use canvas for every course. I have already needed this option on five occasions. Students need to leave for Military and need to work ahead or have medical issues and need to catch up.  Please add this as an option where a student can be assigned to view and use a module even though it is locked to the public. 

[GideonWilliams]

Latest Canvas update includes Announcements for Sections within a course. Are we on the right track?