[Modules] Hiding and Viewing Modules for Individual Sections

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.

185 Comments
jpayne2
Community Member

Would it be possible to have the ability to assign an entire module to just particular students and so that show up for only those students (like assignments within a module would)?  For differentiation purposes it would be helpful for teachers to be able to design a modified module for students that need accommodations that could be assigned to just the students who need that.  

Along with that, it would be helpful to have the ability to open modules early or keep modules open later for particular students needing extra time to complete work. 

Thank you for your consideration.

Jenny Payne

mike_ulrich
Community Explorer

Add me to the list of people who would like this feature. 

Two ways I could see this done that may not be too technically challenging…

1) Teachers can already set custom availability and due dates for assignments for students (the "Assign" section of editing an assignment). Couldn't this same functionality be copied to module editing? This would also be helpful for editing content pages. 

2) Allow the individualized availability and due dates in assignments to override the module availability date. This wouldn't help with content pages but would at least allow students to complete assignments. 

fred_bonatto
Community Explorer

Is this being developed?

MariSakiyama
Community Novice

YES, please include this feature, Canvas! I have to go thorough so many extra steps just to make it happen every time I receive a similar request from students.  

srl98225
Community Member

How do I access Math Lab in my modules. I have no i.d. code for MathLab and don't know how to make one. Help

vsenior
Community Participant

It is surprising that this idea / suggestion was put forward back in 2016 and still does not appear to be on the roadmap.  Is there any way to push this ahead.  This is a much needed feature.

katherinemarie_
Community Member

How is it 2022 and this hasn't happened yet?

pagibson
Community Participant

Yes, since 2016 this issue remains unsolved. Accommodation isn't possible with the inability to unlock modules prematurely for individual students.

Students are:

*needing ADA accommodation for early release and are not having that need met.

* in the military with scheduling beyond their control.

*attending to medical issues (scheduled upcoming surgeries, for example)

and many other circumstances which necessitate allowing early entry while keeping a later date for other students to access a module. 

Changes to assignment open/close dates are possible. Adding and changes to prerequisites are possible but NOT changes to "locked until (date)" for these no-longer-unique situations. 

Please vote up!

vsenior
Community Participant

Unfortunately, this topic was raised in 2014 and still is not open for voting.  This is really important for accessibility purposes.  Often students with special needs require their translator or assistant or DSPS specialist to access course materials early so the documents, etc., can be converted into the correct formats.  This is problematic when the module is closed until a specific date for all and there is no option for individual release.  

Does anyone know if it is on the roadmap for future enhancements?  

Have a wonderful day!

Valerie

kchatain
Community Member

Please make this a priority. It would help us immensely.