My Ideal World for Assignments and Tests

jeffrey_weimer
Community Contributor

In Canvas today ...

We have sections for Assignments and Quizzes. Assignments can hold quizzes. Quizzes cannot have points given to them unless they have questions. The Grade Book can only show what we designate in the Assignments section, not in the Quizzes section ... unless the Quiz in the Quizzes section is first made as an Assignment. The Gradebook has columns for Assignment Categories that are given 0% weight to the class (e.g. reading), which only serves to add to clutter in the Grade Book.

This is a bit too confusing for me (and perhaps even for the students) compared to the days of straight-up hard copies.

In my ideal Canvas world ... We would have Sections for Assignments and Tests, not Assignments and Quizzes.

Assignments

--> hold reading, homework, reference, ... and other equivalent TASK-DIRECTED work

--> NEVER (or should not) hold quizzes, surveys, exams, ... and other equivalent EVALUATION-DIRECTED work

--> anything set up as an Assignment may or may not have user-defined points, due dates ...

--> we can choose to include or exclude Categories of Assignments from showing in the Grade Book

Tests

--> hold quizzes, surveys, exams, ... and other equivalent EVALUATION-DIRECTED work

--> NEVER (or should not) hold reading, homework, reference, ... and other equivalent TASK-DIRECTED work

--> anything we set up as a Test may or may not have user-defined points, due dates ...

--> we can choose to include or exclude entire Categories of Tests from showing in the Grade Book

The key changes from today's Canvas to get to my ideal Canvas ...

  • The Assignments section is task-directed, and the Tests (not Quizzes) section is evaluation-directed. This gives us (and the students) a clearer distinction of what belongs where the administration of a course.
  • We will be able to assign points to a quiz or survey or test without needing first to put a question in the quiz or survey or test. This gives us an easier way to create placeholders for quizzes or exams or surveys or other materials that we give out and collect as hard copies during class.
  • Categories in either Assignments or Tests will count in the Grade Book. Now, only those things entirely classed in Assignments are included in the Grade Book (Quizzes are not unless they are first created as Assignments).
  • We will be able to exclude Categories of either Assignments or Tests from the Grade Book. Now, the Grade Book has "clutter" from Categories that have zero weight to the course.

I will be starting feature requests on the above ideas ...

- Rename the section Quizzes to Tests

- The Tests section should include exams, quizzes, and surveys

- Allow a quiz or exam to have points even without having questions (i.e. to be a placeholder in the grade book)

- The Tests section should be included in the grade book (in addition to the Assignments section)

- We should be able to exclude Categories of Assignments or Tests from showing in the Grade Book

What are your thoughts?

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JJW