Best Practice for Collaborative Document with Restricted Edits

[sima_tarokh]

Hello Canvas Community,

I am a Canvas administrator and instructor. Our nursing department needs a collaborative document (currently in Word) where students add data, and instructors provide weekly feedback. We need to prevent students from modifying instructor entries.

I'm considering using OneDrive shared via a Canvas assignment for version control. However, I'm open to better solutions.

Would OneNote Class Notebook be a suitable alternative? I'm unfamiliar with its capabilities in this context.

Any advice on the best approach would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[JeffCampbell]

Two options to try. I feel like the second one might be better as locking feedback might need to be done each time feedback is added.

Option 1: Track Changes & Lock Instructor Comments

1. Upload the Word document to OneDrive or SharePoint.

2. Open it in Word Online.

3. Use "Track Changes" to monitor student edits.

4. Instructors add feedback using the "Comments" feature or in a dedicated section.

5. Lock feedback:

   • Select instructor feedback text.

   • Use "Restrict Editing" (only allow students to edit certain sections).

   • Apply password protection to prevent unauthorized changes.

Option 2: Separate Instructor Section with Editing Restrictions

1. Divide the document into "Student Input" and "Instructor Feedback" sections.

2. Use "Restrict Editing" to allow students to edit only the student section.

3. Instructors retain full access to the feedback section.

4. Save and share with students with "Can Edit" permissions (but restricted to their section).

[sima_tarokh]

@JeffCampbell 

Thank you, Jeff. I’ll share your recommendations with our faculty so they can try them out and see which approach works best. Thanks again!

[JeffCampbell]

By the way, I provided options for using OneDrive but if you were considering Google Drive, it has the ability to set it so only specific people can add comments. Here are some things to try if you are considering Google Drive:

Option 1: Suggesting Mode + Comment Locking

1. Share the Google Doc with "Anyone with the link can edit" (or limit access to specific students).

2. Instructors add feedback using comments (students cannot edit comments).

3. If instructors write directly in the document, switch to "Suggesting" mode (edits require approval).

4. (Optional) Use Version History to track any unwanted student changes.

Option 2: Table-Based Approach (Best for Organized Feedback)

1. Create a two-column table:

   • Left column: Student data (editable).

   • Right column: Instructor feedback (protected).

2. Use "Protect Range" (via Google Sheets if needed) to prevent students from modifying the instructor column.

[sima_tarokh]

@JeffCampbell 

Thank you again! We'll give this option a try as well. I really appreciate all your suggestions.