Resubmit: Mute/Unmute assignments by section in gradebook

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

 

This is a resubmission of an idea that was archived January 6.  The original idea is here:  In gradebook, change mute & unmute assignment to be section specific AND graders can mute/unmute onl...

This was  not my original idea.  The original idea was submitted by Donald Schumacher.

 

Situation 1: As an instructor or course monitor you manage multiple sections of a course on a single Canvas page, you are the instructor and grader for all sections.

 

In my case this can be two sections of one course where I am teaching and grading both sections myself, however the two sections meet different days of the week (Tuesday vs Thursday). The Assignments feature already lets me set available and due dates independently for each section while creating only one assignment, which shows in the gradebook.

 

However, when in the gradebook if I want to mute the assignment until I'm done grading all of them so students get feedback at the same time (and I don't get barraged with emails mid grading) my only option is to mute all sections at once. Ideally I would like to be able to mute sections independently so I can grade the Tuesday section's assignment first, and unmute it first so they get their feedback by Tuesday. At the same time the Thursday section would remain muted longer since I have a few more days to finish up grading that section. Unfortunately the only option right now is to mute all sections and get all the grading done earlier than it needs to be, or don't use the mute option at all.

 

Situation 2: As an instructor or course monitor you manage multiple sections of a course on a single Canvas page. You are the instructor for all sections, but you have a different grader or Teaching Assistant for each individual section.

 

In my case this is 10 sections of one laboratory course where a graduate student is the Teaching Assistant and Grader, there is a different graduate student for each section so in total there are 10 different graders. Each Grader/TA is assigned to only one section and has been added so they "can only grade the section they are enrolled in."

 

Once again the Assignments are created as a course wide assignment with independent availability and due dates for each section depending on the time they meet during the week (T-Th). Each grader only has the ability to see their section's grades and grade only their section's student submissions. However, when the individual graders use the mute/unmute assignment feature (without their knowledge or ability to know) the mute/unmute is applied across ALL sections. This is opposite what it should be. If they can only interact with grades from their section any mute/unmute they perform should only affect their section.

 

The ability to mute/unmute assignments in the Canvas gradebook is clearly a beneficial and useful feature. It keeps feedback fair and equal for all students, it by default notifies students when an assignment is unmuted and their grade is available, and it frees the instructor/grader from having to respond to grade questions before finishing grading an assignment.

 

Unfortunately as it is right now, it is mostly useless for multi-section courses managed under one course page. Changing the mute/unmute assignment feature to be applicable course wide or by individual section would greatly improve its usefulness.

Comments from Instructure

For more information, please read through the https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-16958-canvas-release-notes-2019-07-13 .

26 Comments
Renee_Carney
Community Team
Community Team

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Thank you for your Feature Idea submission. We wanted to call your attention to   which was submitted in a different voting period, but archived due to lack of votes or inadequate response.

You may also be interested in ?

Your idea will be open for vote in the next voting cycle.

In the meantime, help your idea gain traction by posting a link to this idea in the comments of the other, archived idea (which will notify author and anyone who is following the idea) and share your idea to colleagues and peers who you think would be supporters, as well.

zuberec
Community Novice

I am experiencing situation #2 and would greatly benefit from being able to mute/unmute by section.  With larger classes, studio and lab sections are usually on different days with different TAs - so it would make releasing grades cleaner with this feature

Stef_retired
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

For those of you gearing up to promote this feature idea when it opens for voting next week, you might be interested in this related suggestion (which is currently open for voting and commentary):

Renee_Carney
Community Team
Community Team

This idea has moved to the next stage and will be open for voting among the Canvas Community, from Wed. April 6, 2016 - Wed. July 6, 2016.

Check out this doc for additional details about how the voting process works!

mjennings
Community Contributor

Why is this archived if it just opened for voting two days ago?

Renee_Carney
Community Team
Community Team

All fixed!  It was accidentally archived.

mjennings
Community Contributor

Thanks  @Renee_Carney ​!

BethCrook
Community Contributor

I just had faculty come ask about this today!   Would be a great feature, as many of our classes run multiple sections.

gharbor
Community Participant

It seems that there are a lot of features which are not "filtered by section" when a section is selected in the Gradebook?? I'm trying to get a similar feature voted for, which only sends "Messages Students Who.. " by section rather than the whole course.

Maybe a wholesale look at the way Gradebook filters all features when a Section is selected is needed?

See my feature at:

Renee_Carney
Community Team
Community Team

189896_pastedImage_6.pngWe appreciate you, and the submission of your idea. Your dialogue helps our product teams prioritize feature development. Unfortunately, this idea has been archived because it did not meet the 100-vote threshold within the 3-month voting period. Learn more at: How does the voting process work for feature ideas?

Can archived ideas still become a feature?  Potentially, yes. Archived ideas can be resubmitted by Community members. As people’s needs change, previously submitted ideas may gain additional traction. Feature ideas are evaluated as a whole and influence product direction.