"To-Do" in Canvas Student App - Graded Items Only?

[passerinij]

Hi! I am an instructor (higher ed.). I am trying to learn which items are supposed to appear in my students' to-do lists. I have read in the Guides about assignments vs. activities, using the sidebar, etc. And I know that sometimes when students can't see ungraded items (e.g., a Page with a To-Do date) in Canvas on their laptop, there are several reasons why this might occur (as when students have not manually marked items as done). So I'm learning to navigate (and help my students navigate) issues with the To-Do list.

But after reading as much as I've been able to find re. the mobile Canvas Student app, I cannot tell whether students are actually supposed to be able to see ungraded to-do items or not. The Student iOS guide explains, "The To-Do List gives you a quick view of upcoming graded course activities that you have not yet completed." Does that mean that the app To-Do list shows exclusively graded activities?

Does the app NOT show ungraded discussions, for instance, or pages within a Module that have a To-Do date?

If the app does not show ungraded assignments or activities in the To-Do list, where should I (or my students) have learned this? Did I just overlook it in the Guides? If so, please point me in the right direction. Thank you!

I've discovered a lot of great stuff (including hacks I wouldn't have known to look for!) exploring the Community, but I have a feeling that I must be missing some key stashes of info. I thought if I set a to-do date, an item would be on my students' to-do list... but with the app it seems not to be the case. So I just want to know if items with to-do dates are supposed to be there. (If not, I'll stop trying to make those items appear.)

--JoLee

[rseilham · Accepted solution]

@passerinij,

Great question, and as you learned, it's not a straightforward answer. 

Items that have a grade do show up in the To Do list, which you already know. The other item that shows up is an assignment marked Display Grade as Ungraded. It only shows up because these assignment types still have a due date. 

Now for setting To Do dates for Pages and calendar items, the student can view these in the calendar, not the To Do list. As for an ungraded discussion, it doesn't show in either the To Do list or Calendar since it has no due date. My suggestion would be to make it a graded assignment worth 0 points so you can set a due date which would then display it in the To Do list and Calendar. 

Hope this helps!