[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.

[DianeArdolino]

Hi! Have there been any recent updates on the to-do list issue?

[george_franz]

Unfortunately, No.  On its third year as a suggestion and still no action.

[oinge]

Adding my vote as well, especially to disable it for teachers. Because of the to-do list, I have to turn notification badge off for the app, making it harder for me to know when students have messaged me.

[c-mc]

Adding my vote here too. Having the option to disable the to do list will really help with student confusion for what they need to do and when — especially for our continuing education certificate-based courses. 

[PatrickStone]

Another name to add to the growing list of people that would appreciate the ability to configure the To Do list.

Can we at least get a response from someone at Canvas saying that you hear us?

Please?

[gpavlovich]

Another voice asking desperately to give us the option to turn this off. I am the director of an online program and have students across the state of TN. The homepage of every course has a big arrow pointing to Modules and says- Don't trust the To-Do List, Click Modules to find all content pages and assignments! It's ugly and we still have many students use the To-Do list because it shows on their dashboard as well as the homepage of the course.

Please give us the ability to remove this. @canvas 

Thank you!!!

[CDotson1]

Another voice to the mix...yes, it would be great to have the ability to turn the to-do list off for students.  It's useful for teachers, so we see when things have been submitted and need graded.  For students, they want to go straight to the assignment or quiz, without going through the prep material.

If we set the homepage as the 'modules' page, students miss out on important information about their instructor.  

[BradMoser]

Problem statement:

The Todo list is a great tool to help teachers and students quickly see what they need to do next. However, the only option for the list items is to leave them or remove them. Sometimes you want to address them at a later date but you don’t want to permanently remove it from the list. Recently, on FaceBook a user shared a concern that promoted me to submit this request. So I know that many teachers and students could benefit mentally by allowing this simple setting to exist. #ThanksCanvas!

Proposed solution:

Could Canvas add a button or toggle as an option for the entire list and/or by item to snooze/hide the todo list or item? Perhaps when you click the “x” to clear the item you see a popular to remove or snooze.

User role(s):

admin,instructor,student

[deborah_okey]

Problem statement:

Including links to assignments on the TO DO list you provide students enables them to skip course materials they are to study. They can take quizzes and even exams without ever even access CANVAS pages that present information they are expected to study. If you must coddle and spoon-feed students a TO DO list, don't include links to assignments unless professors request those links be provided. These days, teaching includes finding ways to work around all the methods tech provides to help them get a degree without learning anything. I can find no way to disable those links. You are helping students avoid learning. Is that what this program is designed to do?

Proposed solution:

Eliminate links in the TO DO list or at least allow teachers to disable them. College courses are more than assigned readings. Professors spend a great deal of time writing handouts and producing videos to teach our online courses. These links allow students to skip that information unless we make the quizzes very specific and difficult, which we might not want to do. Online courses are by nature inferior to on-campus courses without tech providing ways for students to skip work entirely. We are heading toward being the nation with a high percentage of degreed people who have very little education. We do not need tech contributing to the problem of an uneducated populace.

User role(s):

instructor