[To Do] Disable the To Do List

[jmccarth]

I want students to work from the Modules and complete work in the order on the Module.  This ensures student learning progresses in a sound pedagogical order.  The student To Do list completely sabotages student learning.  If they click on an assignment on the To Do list without doing all the preparatory pages and information I have listed, in order, on the Module, they are not properly prepared or reinforcing their learning.

I have to put big red words to asking them NOT to work from the TO DO list, but some students will take the short cut anyway.  

Also, the student To Do list takes up too much screen real estate.  This right frame is completely counter-productive and unnecessary. 

Please put in a feature where the instructor can control or disable the student To Do list.

[davidh1]

In order to be successful completing the assignments in the "todo" list, my students need to first read though the content on the pages in the module that lead up to the assignment--the todo list doesn't take them to those pages. Trying to skip past those pages by clicking that link will hurt them, not help them. 

[morgana715]

The way I have my canvas page set up, the "assignment" on the to-do list is labeled in numerical order.  Logically, if you (the student) start lesson 1.3 before doing 1.1, that's on you (the student).  If you (the teacher) link everything into the assignment (including announcements, quizzes, discussions- which is possible!) Clicking the to-do assignment link makes it a one stop shop for the whole assignment.  Build all the individual pieces in the module but insert them into the assignment like a cooking recipe. Put them in order with links how you want them completed.  Problem solved.

I also "lock" the assignment with the module functions so you can "see it" but can't read it until you have done the pre-requisite module assignments.  Similarly, I also use the date-time release function to keep students on a pace within the assignment itself.  If a student is "behind", then yes- they can access the material faster (because it was already released).  

The To-Do list is a necessary calendar/organization tool that is worth having.  It matters how we set up and use that capability to help the student be visually aware that they have an assignment due/coming up.  Much like a "to-do" board in the classroom... How many reminders do they need from us?  Electronic system reminders are a tool that we can take advantage of.   They need to learn agency and independence.  

All this being said, if you (the teacher) don't set up your Canvas page to fit within the programmer's scaffold and how they built the logic of Canvas, then that means the system doesn't "think like you".  So, we are left with the question of who needs to adapt?  The tool or the teacher?  Having control over the "to-do" list seems like a logical functionality- because (afterall) we can manipulate the system to remove the assignment link and have only the module link shown on the student dashboard/page.  

Alas, I am NOT in favor of abolishing the to-do list.  I feel that it is a necessary function and tool that can be used well-provided we adapt to the logic framework of Canvas.  We need to have consistency across the platform so that students are not mentally spent trying to adapt to 6 shades of Canvas.  Their home page has a to-do list for all courses of upcoming assignments.  Eliminating your class from this to-do list (essentially) could have the negative effect of de-prioritizing the workflow of your course from their mind. I would rather they see my assignment on the to-do list and teach the workflow than have them NOT do the work altogether because they "didn't see/know" there was an assignment.

[Steven_S]

Logically, if you (the student) start lesson 1.3 before doing 1.1, that's on you (the student).

Unfortunately not all assignments in all courses are allowed in any order, and not all students are mature enough to understand the "that's on you" policy.  The module settings that require activities to be completed in order makes a big improvement in student participation in ungraded activities, which ultimately improves grades. 

 If you (the teacher) link everything into the assignment (including announcements, quizzes, discussions- which is possible!) Clicking the to-do assignment link makes it a one stop shop for the whole assignment.  Build all the individual pieces in the module but insert them into the assignment like a cooking recipe. Put them in order with links how you want them completed.  Problem solved.

When I first started setting up my own online courses, I used this approach.  However, when it came time to copy my course into a new section, I discovered that internal links within assignments often default to pointing to the previous course (which I have access to, but the students in the new course do not.)  This results in a time consuming hunt for which links are broken.  However, if you (the teacher) set up module requirements that are required to be completed in order, canvas automatically creates the same list for any student who clicks on the assignment before completing the prerequisites. 

So then you might wonder why the problem is not solved by that list supplied by canvas.  The page displayed by canvas gives them the message that they cannot yet access this assignment first and students react to that instead of scrolling down to see the list of what still needs to be done.

I agree that the to-do list serves an important role for students, and it helps that I can add pages to the to-do list.  However, until everything that is a required activity in the module shows up in the to-do list in the same order as set in the module, with no omissions or re-ordering, the to-do list is consistently confusing some of my students.  I believe that the solution is to redirect all hyperlinks to activities for which prerequisites are not yet met to the modules page or to turn the links off entirely as suggested in https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/16391-option-to-turn-off-hyperlinks-in-calendar-to-do-and-cour...

Their home page has a to-do list for all courses of upcoming assignments.  Eliminating your class from this to-do list (essentially) could have the negative effect of de-prioritizing the workflow of your course from their mind. I would rather they see my assignment on the to-do list and teach the workflow than have them NOT do the work altogether because they "didn't see/know" there was an assignment.

That is exactly why I believe everything should still show up in the to-do list, but with any links aimed at the modules page instead of at the individual activity.

[cmiller-starks]

Please make this change!  I want students to go directly to modules and the TO DO LIST distracts them from that.  I want ONE PLACE to go to see the assignments that are upcoming.

[justinjoslin]

Not only does the To Do list need to go away, the whole side bar needs to disappear. I want to set my Home to a page that I have designed and that includes the information that I want my students to see, not what Canvas thinks my students should see. Every one of those features is, quite frankly, a waste of screen space that could be dedicated to actual course content. At a minimum, this content needs to be forced to the bottom of the page so that the page can be displayed over the full width of the screen.

[emilyreagan]

Yes Please Make this Change.  It is okay sometimes to have it I understand but at some times I would like to turn it off and then go back and turn it on.  Give us the option at an instructor level.  PLEASE

[george_franz]

The to-do list is horrible.  I just started using new quizzes, and even though the quiz was NOT published in the page (IFRAME workaround to use Next button), and it was in a LOCKED module, with a future open date, but it was somehow published in quizzes.  Students found it in their "TO-DO" list and started it.  Since I can now not unpublish, I had to delete the entire quiz and reimport from a sandbox.

The "To-Do" list is the bane of just about every teacher on my campus.

Make it go away or let me turn it off.

It entirely removes my ability to control the flow of my own course.  

[csanford]

This is a great idea!  Students focus on completing quizzes and etc from the to-do list when those are NOT the important part of a module. 

If I could add modules to the to-do list, that would be great.  Or if there was an option to redirect assignments on the to-do to the modules those assignments are in. 

[george_franz]

You can put pages onto the to-do list, there is a button for that in the page/edit view.  Still - this isn't the way I prefer to do things.  I want control of stuent navigation, not way's students can get around it.

[perez_m]

Hi Fellow Teachers! I know we have all come across this! I would really like for canvas to allow teachers(give them the option) to either disable or enable the to do list from the student's view. It would allow students to go straight to the module or subect button and complete assignments from there instead of them trying to go out of order and complete from the to do list.