Do Not Accept Blank Original Discussion Post

[NormanHahn]

Would like to have Canvas not accept a discussion post if it is blank/null or with less than x number of non-repeating characters. We use the "must post before read" (my words) feature. Students are posting a blank discussion so they can "see" what others are posting before they post. Thank you for considering.

[James]

I remember the advice that Stefanie (now retired) gave years ago on this. Tell the students that you will grade based on their initial post and if it is blank or an obvious attempt to bypass the "must post first" requirement that you are grading their actual first attempt, not the one after they have been able to see what others have done.

I have a student doing that this semester. For the first discussion, he typed a dot and nothing else and I took off 25% of the points and warned him about the purpose of the post first requirement. The student's first language isn't English and I realize that sometimes instructions can be challenging.

The initial post for the second discussion, he once again typed a dot and nothing else. This time I took off 50% of the points and warned him explicitly that I would not give any credit if he did it again.

In retrospect, I should add to the directions what Stefanie told me and that attempts to bypass it won't be graded.

On the other hand, sometimes our -- well, other people's 🙂 -- instructions suck and students are legitimately confused. It's up to the instructor to decide how to handle the case of the student who feels like they needs a little help. Just communicate to the student how it's going to be handled and then stick to it.

[ProductPanda]

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