Death by a thousand clicks.....

[SusanNiemeyer]

Hi @greydon  @cstrikwerda and @ColtonSwapp ,

It's great seeing all of you here this morning addressing some of the questions that have come up recently. Since you're all here, I'd like to see if there is any update regarding the following problem.

Every semester, I import all of the modules from the previous semester's course into a new course shell. I have 16 weekly modules for each class, and each module can contain up to 20 separate items. That's 320 pages, assignments, quizzes, and discussions, per course. Each semester, I teach three courses, with a grand total of 960 separate items.

As you know, anything that is "published" in the original course will come over as "published" in the new course shell. That's a problem. I intentionally publish each module on a weekly basis. Until the module is ready for student view, I keep all of the items contained within it unpublished. 

So, here's what happens each and every semester..... I run the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome by unpublishing all 960 separate items. In other words, death by a thousand clicks.

Here's the solution: Whenever an item is copied or imported from one course to another, it should come over as "unpublished." 

Are there any plans to make the instructor experience easier?

[greydon · Accepted solution]

Hello @SusanNiemeyer 

Thank you for contacting the Canvas Community. We understand your issue and concern for needing assignments to all default come over as unpublished when importing or copying course content. You can use the modules as intended for your weekly sections of the class. You certainly can save lots of time and lots of clicking by unpublishing the header of the module itself. If  you have a module with 40 items housed within it, you need only to unpublish the module itself for all them to be inaccessible for students. Similarly, you can make an entire module available week by week involving  a single click each at the header. This should help immensely. 

However, currently importing a course and copying it over in it's entirety is intended do exactly that: make an exact replica. You could unpublish the headers first and then do the import process afterwards if that will bring your course in a more ready-to-go state. We also absolutely understand the need or feature for an idea such as this and it would be great to choose which items are published or not after a course copy. 

Feel free to check out our Ideas Conversation forum as we implement great ideas such as this that we find within the community. 

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Idea-Conversations/idb-p/ideas   

[greydon · Accepted solution]

Hello @SusanNiemeyer 

Thank you for contacting the Canvas Community. We understand your issue and concern for needing assignments to all default come over as unpublished when importing or copying course content. You can use the modules as intended for your weekly sections of the class. You certainly can save lots of time and lots of clicking by unpublishing the header of the module itself. If  you have a module with 40 items housed within it, you need only to unpublish the module itself for all them to be inaccessible for students. Similarly, you can make an entire module available week by week involving  a single click each at the header. This should help immensely. 

However, currently importing a course and copying it over in it's entirety is intended do exactly that: make an exact replica. You could unpublish the headers first and then do the import process afterwards if that will bring your course in a more ready-to-go state. We also absolutely understand the need or feature for an idea such as this and it would be great to choose which items are published or not after a course copy. 

Feel free to check out our Ideas Conversation forum as we implement great ideas such as this that we find within the community. 

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Idea-Conversations/idb-p/ideas   

[KristinL · Accepted solution]

Hi @SusanNiemeyer - There is a long-standing request for Unpublish content as default when import , and I know it's important for you. If you haven't already commented, please do so. You'll then automatically receive updates when the Idea enters the Product Team's discovery and development processes.

[SusanNiemeyer]

@greydon 

Thanks so much for your response. Yes, I understand how to limit student access by directing the students to modules in my course navigation bar (and disabling nearly everything else). Yes, I understand how to limit student access by unpublishing the modules themselves. Yes, I understand how to limit student access to assignments and quizzes by setting up the availability dates, and yes, I understand how to do that in bulk.

Among my colleagues at my community college, I am probably in the top 15% in terms of Canvas know-how. I provide ongoing mentoring to a lot of my colleagues at my college. I have written many of the "accepted solutions" on this forum. I am an active member of the Facebook group "Teachers Using Canvas."

I can tell you that many, many instructors don't know these "tricks." Many instructors run into trouble when their students manage to access a quiz or an assignment ahead of time. This happens a lot! The easiest way to prevent that is "unpublishing" the actual item, and that's what I instruct others to do. 

Right now, "publishing" a module "publishes" all of the items in that module (for better or worse). How about creating the reverse process?  Could not an instructor "unpublish" the module have all of the items be "unpublished?"