"Random" Group Selection Not So Random - possible security risk?

[bernardo]

So I've noticed a bug (or feature?) in Canvas when you go to assign students to groups "randomly" where if you have two students with the same surname, they will always be put in the same group. I tested this across two Canvas classes in multiple testing groups and it happens every time if there are 4 students or more per group (it doesn't seem to happen if there are only three students in the group).

Besides destroying the meaning of the term "random," this raises potential security issues as happened in my class when I first noticed this as I had a married couple in the class and in three different group assignments they always wound up together in the group. The same was happening in another course though I am not sure if the students were related. Is there a way to turn off this "feature" if it is a known behavior? And if not, can it be fixed? "Random" should be random, and at a minimum should not operate in a manner that automatically creates a structural advantage for members of the same family taking the course.

[dbrace · Accepted solution]

Hi @bernardo,

Have you reported this directly to Canvas Support?

If you have not, I would recommend that you do that so that they can investigate why this is happening and work on implementing a fix.

-Doug

[bernardo]

I have not. I reported it to my local IT administrator who said they would be contacting them but perhaps I should report it separately.

[dbrace]

@bernardo,

I would recommend first contacting your institution's IT/Canvas adminsitrator and ask for an update. Depending on what they say (or how quickly they respond), then contact Canvas Support directly.

I say that because (based on my own experience on both sides of the "coin") duplicate support tickets for the same occurance can be confusing and frustrating.

-Doug