Allowing students to view assignments but not submit

[JacquelynnPopp]

How can I post an assignment with directions and due date so students can see the details but not allow them to submit the assignment until a later date? For example, I want students to be able to see the directions and the due date on Tuesday, but not submit the assignment until Thursday (after we have workshopped it in class). It seems I can only do one or the other. If they can see it they can submit it. If I mark "available from" on Tuesday then they are able to submit the assignment on Tuesday. If I don't mark "make available" then they can't see the directions at all. 

[Gabriel33]

I don't think there's a direct way to only allow submissions after a certain date, but I can think of 2 options that could help:

1. Keep the assignment as "No submission" until the Thursday class, when you change it to the appropriate submission type
   
   
2. Make it into a quiz that is password protected (so they can see the instructions, but not open the quiz until you share the password, which you do on the Thursday class).
   Add a single question to that quiz, which can be a "file upload" or "essay" question, as appropriate

The main advantage of option 1 is that it can work for any assignment type, including "external tools".
Another is that if the assignment is "file upload", you can download all submissions (which you can't for a quiz, as far as I recall).
Its disadvantage is that you'd need to remember to change the submission type (not only on Thursday, but also later when you copy the class across different terms/semesters).

[JacquelynnPopp]

Thank you for these ideas. I don't see a "no submission" option. Only a due date and/or available from ... If I make it available students can submit the assignment. If I include a due date but don't make it available they can't see the directions. 

[Gabriel33]

The "no submission" option should be under the "Submission Type" menu.

Images below from the guide: How do I add or edit details in an assignment?:

If you don't see that, perhaps you are making a Quiz instead of an Assignment? At the top of the page, in the breadcrumbs, does it say "[Course Name] > Quizzes > [Quiz name]" or does it say "[Course Name] > Assignments > [Assignment name]"?

[JacquelynnPopp]

Ok I tried that. When I do the "no submission" option students still cannot see the directions. Here is a screenshot when I use the "view as student" lens. 

[Gabriel33]

That "locked" warning is not because of the "no submission" selection, but because the available from date is still in the future.

Keep the assignment available, but with "no submission" for now. On Thursday, you change it from "no submission" to whatever type of submission you'd want.

[JacquelynnPopp]

Ahhhh ok. That worked! Thank you very much! 

[Hildi_Pardo]

That is a great idea, @Gabriel33 -- I would say that is a great solution for this issue, @JacquelynnPopp 

Another option, which may be more work, but is just another idea would be to have a Page in the Module that is placed before the Assignment that has the instructions.  Then your assignment can be set with the submission type and dates you want/need. Or post the instructions in an Announcement.

Several options!

[dbrace]

For your recommendation, I would do a slight twist:

1. have a module
2. create a page with the instructions that are not dated
3. create an assignment and link to the page and set dates to it

In my opinion, providing a link to the instructions page helps to tie the two together.

-Doug

[Hildi_Pardo]

So many creative options! Love it!