[SpeedGrader] Replace tiny asterisk with "DRAFT" for draft comments in SpeedGrader

[adam_engel]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas LMS

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I'm an Instructional Designer who supports faculty using Canvas. In SpeedGrader, when an instructor enters a general comment but doesn't submit it, then navigates to a different student, the comment's text is auto-saved as a draft. When the instructor returns to the first student's submission, this draft status is indicated by a tiny red asterisk to the left of the comment. This is confusing, since it doesn't say "Draft" anywhere. This is also an accessibility issue, since users with color blindness or users with any level of visual impairment may not be able to see the tiny red asterisk. I propose replacing the asterisk with the bold word "DRAFT," which is clearer, more accessible, and more inclusive.

It would also be helpful to clarify that the grey "Submit" button is specific to the draft comment and works differently than the blue Submit button, which submits both comments and grades.

Screenshot of the asterisk to the left of a draft comment:

Mock-up of proposed replacement:

[laurelp]

I second this suggestion! It's incredibly easy to miss the tiny asterisk, and trying to get new graders/teaching assistants to learn to notice it is even more difficult. It should be easy for Canvas to implement a more obvious way to notify the instructor of the comment only being a draft.

[laurelp]

I second this suggestion! It's incredibly easy to miss the tiny asterisk, and trying to get new graders/teaching assistants to learn to notice it is even more difficult. It should be easy for Canvas to implement a more obvious way to notify the instructor of the comment only being a draft.

[JoeA2]

I agree - it needs to be clearer if the student can see the comment or not as a lot of work goes into comments.

I think you could check by going into marks and clicking on the student's name and then the arrow. If the comment appears there with the mark, apparently it is visible to the student. 

[hburgiel]

We're one month into the semester, and I just got a question from an instructor wondering why none of her students had seen her feedback.  Please fix this.

[bec_plumbe]

+1 here for a large "DRAFT" tag to replace the tiny asterisk.

These measures would also make draft comments more functional:

• All staff should see a notification on the front page of their site with a count of total unposted comments in the site. From the posts in these forums, we can see teachers are frequently not realising just how many unposted comments there are in a course, especially if the comments are posted by another marker.
• Admins should be able to submit draft comments for teachers.
• Instructors should be able to submit draft comments for TAs.
• There should be a built-in Canvas report to pick up unposted comments.

[KristinL]

Comments from Instructure

For more information, please read through the Canvas Deploy Notes (2024-07-17)