Can it be done this way...yep.
Is it great practice...not really.
You hit the key element already. Organization is hindered this way. I would be curious as to the reasoning behind not using Modules. The Grades page is incredibly valuable. I personally feel it is the top three most important spots for students, but it cannot be organized like Modules can (also top three for me). There are some strategies to potentially employ without using Modules:
- Set up the Course Home to be the starting point. For example, have the instructor create a single cell table, with a light background color. It can be a Daily/Weekly To-Do list. If weekly, it gives an overview of what they will need to do each week. Simple, but helpful.
- Consider making the Syllabus the Course Front Page. It already gives a list of the assignments by default (all linked). With Due Dates set, it even sorts the assignments in order, making it easy for students to see what needs to be done and when.
If your college expects Module use, then show them a simple way to set up modules to meet college expectations. Have them create a module for each week, then just add the assignments. It should only take a few minutes a week to do (and less time than the Home Page To-Do list mentioned above), but it helps provide a visual way for students to see how each week plots out in terms of work. Consider setting up an example to show them.
If Module use is an expectation/rule, then I would be tempted to ask why they won't use it to understand how to best help them meet the expectation. Five minutes a week to set up a weekly module and add already created assignments should not be that strenuous. Plus, if they consistently use the same week-to-week breakdown, then importing the modules page into other classes means the work is now done.
