[Modules] Provide students with option to pin or bookmark a page in a module

 

Students need a way to pin (or perhaps bookmark) where they are leaving off in a module so they can quickly return to that location on subsequent login.

 

This previously posted idea Bookmark is interesting and would seem to me to be beneficial if it could be incorporated into a solution as well. I see value in the added benefit of being able to bookmark pages you wish to return to for any reason.

 

There is a bookmark option in the Android Mobile App How do I bookmark content in the Canvas app on my Android device? I see benefit in applying this concept to all versions of Canvas.

 

Please note that I am identifying a problem but am not suggesting a specific solution. I trust the Product Management team will determine the best manner to implement a solution to the problem. I think it would be interesting for others to comment with recommendations of how this might look in the product.

34 Comments
gauthier_alan
Community Explorer

Hi Eric, Thanks for your response. Yes, I am going to explore module requirements - and for the time being, advise students to CTRL+D and bookmark the page. (This browser bookmarking is inconvenient, works most easily when students are using a single computer, and is of limited value for a student with multiple Canvas courses).

As for the complexity of the imagined bookmarking tool - Kindle/Amazon has been doing it for years, I don't see their software/apps as being very sophisticated. I know Canvas is far more sophisticated, but I suppose - that is just what makes adding a "simple" feature like this all the more complicated.

In terms of Navigation - our school is promoting a mostly linear use of Canvas: All required activities (and content) will appear in sequence in the Module pages. This way students are less likely to miss something. This strategy is why I am so keen on the idea of bookmarking.

Thank you for your feedback!

gauthier_alan
Community Explorer

Regular bookmarks require students to work on the same computer, since they are saved with the browser on the hard drive. Students often bounce from computer labs to their home computer, so traditional bookmarking wouldn't help.. In addition, these bookmarks must be managed. For several classes that a student may work on several times each during the week, the number of bookmarks increases dramatically - they must be named properly, or previous ones deleted.

It is possible to use a third party website to bookmark - but then students would have to log into Canvas AND another website.

This might not seem like that much extra work, but understand the greater context: There is the very well known benefit that many experience while reading Kindle books. It is super simple to add bookmarks, and later to return to them - and they travel with the book/software - independent of device. Imagine, similarly, that whatever Canvas course you are in, on whatever device, the module page you are on can be bookmarked - maybe by clicking a star or by pressing a keyboard shortcut. After your next session, you may bookmark another page and the previous bookmark is removed. That is the idea with this. The bookmark is IN the canvas app, and instantly accessible, and requires no management.

gauthier_alan
Community Explorer

Consider having your colleagues vote on this - maybe share the url with them!

gauthier_alan
Community Explorer

Hi Sharmen, have you shared this voting opportunity with your colleagues? Maybe if enough votes come in, the Canvas team will work on this!

gauthier_alan
Community Explorer

Thank you :Laura, you understand the issue well, and how traditional browser bookmarking or website "social" bookmarking is a very poor "work-around" for what should be a standard feature.

gauthier_alan
Community Explorer

Hi Stacy, apparently the idea is still alive - maybe your colleagues can chime in and vote too?!

InaFromChina
Community Member

Now that we can bookmark things, can we get a list of what we bookmarked and where they are?

kgamboa2020
Community Member

tarea destacada (o mark favorite) Por si se quiere regresar a alguna tarea donde se tiene un listado de materiales a utiizar 3 dias después. De esa manera al marcarlo, ya se pueda "pin" pinear o dejar en alguna seccion para que se pueda consulta rápidamente

DakotaRaye2012
Community Novice

I think they should add the option too book mark and/or favorite certain files/modules in canvas. such as link to pdf files you may want to re-read later so it  not as hard to find them

jcarmstrong
Community Novice

Many learning platforms (Udemy comes to mind) remember where you were in a course and start you at that point when you log back in. Would it be possible for canvas to recall the user's last location and start them there? Failing that, could there be a way to bookmark a location in a course?