[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.

[sleevenlee]

It's ridiculous that this hasn't been addressed yet. We have many open enrollment courses that do not use due dates for activities, so the To Do list serves no purpose other than to confuse our students.

[kleslie]

Our distance team has teacher buddies who are available to take over a course if/when the main teacher needs to be away for a planned trip or emergency. We would love to have our buddies enrolled in our classes already and have the "grading to do list" disabled for them. Instructure, please make this a feature... 

[Ramon_C_Sunico]

Agree.
Please add the option to disable the To Do feature

[Jeff_F]

Hello @jmccarth, all,

I am wondering if the capability to optionally remove the hyperlinks from the items under the Student To-Do list would be a workable solution vs. removing the section entirely.  I offer this approach as I feel having a summary of required assignments with the due at dates and time visible on the home page is useful.

To illustrate, see the image below. For this I edited the page html to remove the html tags that create the links.

To-do - no links

[mcarpenter2]

Good Morning Everyone in the Thread,

This is kind of a "hack" work around but it gets stuff off the dreaded "Student To-Do List."

• On instructor side menu of the class (to the left)
• Go to "Pages"
• Once the pages are listed, look to the column to the far Right. This is where items that are assigned to the "To-Do List" are indicated.

Now, this is kind of a pain but it works. As an instructor you won't have to hunt them all down.

Scroll through and edit each page that shows on the "To-Do List" to not show.

It is one click per page. Simply "un-click" the Add to student to-do box.

I hope you find this useful.

[george_franz]

@mcarpenter2  The problem is not the pages showing on the to do list.  I've actually started having to add them on purpose, because the default is for them to NOT appear on the to-do list.  The problem is assignments and quizzes that automatically ALWAYS appear on the to-do list.  Students click on those links without having clicked on the lesson pages that come before.  Becasue I cannot remove quizzes and assignments from the to-do list, I've started adding the pages to the to-do list, and putting them into separate modules that MUST be completed before they can move on to the quiz or assignment.

It's a real ain to have to add all of that, and set up requirements and prerequisites,  but If students can use the to-do list to skip your content, then something has to be done.

[ChGao]

I have to put a comment on my course Home Page like below to remind my students:

Important Note: Follow the instructions in the Modules; the To Do list on the right is just a partial of the assigned work, which is a flawed design of Canvas.

[wills004]

YES. PLEASE PUT AN OPTION IN to let us configure this. As a program administrator, course designer, and teacher I do not need to be "reminded" of actions that are triggered by due dates in template courses that are not live and in front of students.

[lpeterson15]

I agree with removing the To Do list from the home page.  Make it an icon on the tool bar so that students get access to it but it is not the first thing presented.  I want my students to come in through the home page and then go to the modules.  I have a big Start Here button to get them there.  But they still click on the To Do items and try to do the work without the prep.  At least make it so we can configure it out of the way.  

[JanuaryJernigan]

Instructors need to have the ability to DISABLE the Student "To Do" List.  Middle school students cannot utilize this tool properly.