Annotation notifications

[HBreazeale]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

For more information, please read through the  Canvas Deploy Notes (2021-07-21).

---

I am an instructor in Canvas, but recently took a course in Canvas. That is when I realized that Canvas generates a new email for each annotation that is made on an assignment. This would be fine except when you consider the volume of annotations that are made on 6 or 7 page writing assignments, I know that sometimes I make over 20 annotations and getting an email for each one of these would be frustrating to say the least.  I would suggest modifying the emails associated with annotation comments to decrease the notifications. I think students become jaded to the notifications because of the volume of notifications and then they miss important information (think of the boy who cried wolf). I have looked at my notifications settings and I was not able to find how to turn annotation notifications off. 

[Stef_retired]

@HBreazeale Thanks for sharing this idea. As it moves forward for broader discussion, you might also want to add comments to a related conversation: Disaggregate "submission annotation" notifications...

[jmullinix]

YESSSS!  Please allow us to turn off notifications for annotations separately.  If you use the feature for students to digitally fill in a worksheet, it sends the teacher an email for every single thing they write and every line they draw...multiplied by all of the students in the class.  The only way to turn it off is to turn off notifications for submission comments.  Unfortunately, those are often used for students to communicate when they need help.  Please allow us to turn off annotation notifications completely and separately from submission comments.

[tdiesch71]

With the new ability for students to submit a 'student annotation' on a document template provided by the teacher (2021-05-15 Release), when students work on their 'Document' with annotations, every annotation they make triggers a Teacher 'Submission Comment' notification which means that if teachers have they notification settings to receive 'Submission Comment' notifications, their inbox fills with notifications when students are simply working on an assignment via annotation (see below).

I would like to request that the notification either gets distilled out so that 'Student Annotation' can be a separate notification OR that student annotations don't trigger a notification at all. 

Here is an example of what one students working in a document looks like in my mailbox:

[DCottingham]

While the student annotation tool is great, and I appreciate the possibilities it has for application in my courses...the sheer number of notifications is ridiculous. There should be no notifications associated with this tool, as the submission should trigger that anways, there is no need to be informed for each separate input on the file. 

[brandib]

While testing the student annotation assignment using student view I noticed I received an email notification for every single annotation made on the assignment. Even if I just clicked to add a point annotation without actually making a comment I received an email notification. This would be overwhelming for a full-time instructor teaching multiple courses. There does not need to be a notification for annotations (especially individual annotations) since the student will be submitting the assignment and the submission will create an alert/notification.

Based on reading some of the other comments it looks like students are also receiving these same notifications. This would be overwhelming to them as well having a notification multiple times that takes them to the exact same assignment. This may cause them to start ignoring or turn off those notifications and miss important comments from instructors. 

[cpadavano]

Good new everyone! I brought this to Canvas since an instructor at our university was having the same headache and it seems to have been updated/fixed! Please see release notes: 
https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Deploys/Canvas-Deploy-Notes-2021-07-21/ta-p/472270#toc-hId... 

[Stef_retired]

You are correct, @cpadavano ; this idea is complete!