I am an instructor and use the Comments in speedgrader to direct students to make corrections to a particular assignment. These show up on their home page under Current Feedback. I have 2 questions:
1) Is there a setting that would allow students to check off/close these items after they have read it.
2) Is there a setting that would give me notifications when a student responds or make a comment on an assignment?
Hello there, @CClaycomb ...
I can help answer your second question. Yes, this can be configured in your Notifications screen within Canvas. Take a look at this Guide: How do I set my Canvas notification preferences as an instructor?. Specifically, there is a row on your Notifications screen for "Submission Comment". If you hover your mouse over "Submission Comment", you'll see a short description of "Assignment submission comment". You can choose how you want to get notified about those comments you get from students. Further, you can now turn it on/off per course. How do I manage notifications for a single course as an instructor?.
I hope this will be of some help to you. Sing out if you have any other questions...thanks! Take care, stay safe, and be well.