Clicking a graded assignment should take you to the assignment instead of the submission

(3)

When I am viewing my grades on the "grades" page for a class, I will click on an assignment in order to view its details to remind myself of what the assignment was. Instead of seeing details and the description of my assignment, I am met by my submission (in the form of a download link without a preview) and a fractional grade and nothing else (image 1). I then have to take many steps to work around the website to find the assignment and approach it from the front. This sometimes proves difficult since my professors don't always make the assignments very accessible from the front. I believe that clicking on the assignment's name on the "grades" page should bring you to the main page of the assignment (image 2). When you are taken to the main assignment page, you can click on a link to take you to the submission page, but on the submission page, there is not a link to take you to to the assignment's main page. Even after using canvas for 3 years, I still make the mistake of thinking that I will be able to view the assignment because it seems like the logical way the site should be laid out. 

 

🔎 This idea has been archived. While this idea isn't open for comments, it is an important part of Instructure’s idea conversations and development process. Contributions like this are valuable as Instructure prioritizes work on new or existing features.

17 Comments
Stef_retired
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

Hi, andrewheifrin Welcome to the Canvas Community! A very similar and very popular idea is currently open for voting at https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/3254-making-feedback-more-visible-to-students" modifiedtitle=".... Please note this excerpt from the idea descriptIon: 

Make it obvious that the feedback has been given by putting some kind of big symbol or message next to the assignment doc (or by displaying the assignment by default [emphasis added] 

Please add your great suggestion about displaying the assignment instructions in the submission page to the comments under the idea so that it is specifically called out.  We're going to archive this idea so we can keep votes and comments unified in one spot; rest assured that when our teams scope an idea for development, they not only look at vote numbers but also read through all of the comments to get a better picture of how the feature should act relative to the use cases offered.

Thanks, Andrew. Keep learning. Stay safe, and be well.

andrewheifrin
Community Novice

The only thing I see wrong with combining these ideas is that the idea you have merged mine with was posted 4 1/2 years ago. I think his idea is taking so long to be acted on because of how general and how many parts there are. My idea is more specific (I am asking for a page routing change) and I think it could be acted on much sooner than his will. Please consider.

Stef_retired
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

andrewheifrin, we strive to keep very closely related ideas unified so that our product teams can see a unified conversation that will assist them in developing the feature. That said, we'll be happy to move this idea forward for voting as a separate request. Please take a moment to review How does the feature idea process work in the Canvas Community? and How do I create a new feature idea in the Canvas Community? to learn more about how new ideas are handled after their initial voting period expires.

andrewheifrin
Community Novice

Thank you for helping me out as this is a small feature that I feel should be very intuitive and will have no problem being supported and implemented. Thank you for being open and moving my idea forward! Let's see where we can get this!

kbarnes5
Community Member

If a teacher shows the Grades part on the Course Navigation Menu. It would be extremely helpful if the title of the assignment linked to the actual assignment. 

 

Students can see the assignment that's missing, but may not know where to access it which is why it is not being completed. 

mitchelljorgens
Community Explorer

There is a lot of evidence that this work flow is broken.  When students click on an assignment they expect to see the assignment (this from a teacher).  The submission details and feedback should be on the same page as the assignment details.  They shouldn't be two separate pages.  All info related to that assignment should be on a single clean easy to navigate and understand page.  Grades for that assignment (if awarded) and status (if it is still awaiting review by the teacher) should also be all on the same page.  

Please fix this both for students and teachers.  I spend entirely too much time trying to help students navigate around the is morass of weirdness to see their feedback and find assignments that they can see in Grades are missing. 

 

1538295466
Community Member

I would like my students to be able to re-access assignments in the same location that they view their feedback. Currently students go to grades to view the feedback. They see the assignment in this location, but cannot access that assignment from that screen.  I am an instructor. 

eleanor_reed
Community Explorer

Please renew attention to this specific issue.  I've read through the other assignment enhancement conversation referenced above, and they are not looking at the same issue, though I will post this comment there too.  Students should be able to click grades, then click on the name of the assignment and then be taken to the assignment, not the submission page.  OR if it goes to the submission page, the name of the assignment there should take them to the assignment.  The grade page is the only one that give students a summary of all their work, it would be so helpful if they could navigate from there to the assignments they need to do.  Thank you!

ROBYNBRIGGS
Community Novice

In the Grades section, when you click on the link to look at the grade, it should link to the assignment so that the student can then turn it in & see the instructions!

llomax
Community Participant

When a student is using the List View on their dashboards and they click on an assignment that has been graded with a 0 (either because the teacher manaully gave them a 0 or the late policy in the gradebook gave them an auto 0) they are directed to the preview page for the assignment and not the assignment itself. To get into the assignment they would have to click on the breadcrumb title above or go to modules. This is very confusing for students, and most of them think they are unable to access the assignment. If they go to Modules or to the Assignment index page and click on the same assignment they can get right in with no problems. Should this not function the same regardless of where they are accessing the assignment? This change would be helpful for students and teachers. I feel they should only be getting the preview page if they had submitted something prior. Thanks! 

DANICADURAN
Community Novice

When a student clicks on an assignment inside the "Grades" section of Canvas, it should show the student the actual assignment right away. Instead, students have to click on the assignment title again at the top of the screen to actually see the assignment which is one step too many for younger students. 

mitchelljorgens
Community Explorer

Is there any movement on this being fixed?  It's the start of a new school year and I am again inundated with Comments on assignments that "It doesn't work".  Could the Submission details just be included as part of the assignment page?  Why are there two separate pages.  This navigation glitch causes students hours of frustration.  They click on a Missing Assignment or the To Do list and get a notification that there is No Submission.  They should be take to the assignment so they can see what it is hey need to to do.

kbarnes5
Community Member

The best solution that I have found to this is by teaching student's to click the "breadcrumb" trail at the top of their screen. If they click the assignment name, it will take them to the assignment.

mitchelljorgens
Community Explorer

I do the same thing, which is the really frustrating part of this.  I am having to teach students (literally hundreds at the Junior high I work at) how to navigate around a clearly non-intuitive interface.  Students click on the link expecting to find the assignment and instead have a weird page that tells them no Preview is available and/or No submission.  They already know that that's why they are clicking on the link in Grades or To Do.  The SUBMISSION DETAILS page is extraneous.  Those details should simply be included on the Assignment page.  There is no need for this separate page at all.  It doesn't behave like this in the App and shouldn't in the Browser. 

mcchauvi
Community Participant

Is this feature being considered?

Grades - link to assignment 

danieljames
Community Member

When you open an overdue or a failed assignment from the home page it never takes you to where you can see the assignment and how to do it (the instructions not the rubric). Most teachers will post plenty of assignments with no meaning and name them similar to the ones that you have to do. I believe this would make canvas easier to navigate.

KristinL
Community Team
Community Team
Status changed to: Archived

With assignment enhancements, the assignment page and submission page are one and the same.