Update on Discussion Checkpoints: Changing to a Feature Option

[SamGarza1]

We’re making an important change to the rollout of Discussion Checkpoints based on your feedback. Instead of enabling Checkpoints as a default feature that is on for all users on November 16th, we will now release it as a Feature Option. This means that starting November 16th, Discussion Checkpoints will be available in production, and institutions can choose when to turn it on based on their timelines and needs. We will also be adjusting the flag in beta, on November 4th, to be visible to admins and unlocked. This will ensure consistency of feature options across your Canvas instances. 

This adjustment reflects not only your feedback on Checkpoints itself but also our overall release process. By shifting to a Feature Option, we’re aiming to provide more flexibility and control to meet your institution’s needs and give you more time to familiarize yourself with the feature and communicate with your faculty and staff.

Thank you for your continued feedback, which is instrumental in shaping our direction.

Edit: Discussions Checkpoints will be released to Production in January. More information can be found here.

[masantos]

@SamGarza1 This is great news! Just to clarify, when it is available in production, does this mean it is locked or unlocked by default?

Thanks

[james_whalley]

via GIPHY

[SamGarza1]

Hi @masantos, 

The flag will only be available at the root account level and it will be off/unlocked by default.

[JamesSekcienski]

@SamGarza1 

We are glad to see this will be a Feature Option so we can control when it is available.  This will give us more time to evaluate the feature, update training documentation (as needed), plan our launch/promotion of this change, and update custom reports/theme customizations to work with this new feature.

Is there any potential for this Feature Option to be available at the sub-account and course level for control too?  We are hoping to pilot this new feature with a small group of users since we have been looking forward to it, but want to make sure the current limitations with rubrics and grading don't cause more issues/confusion than it solves.  I know from your other blog post (Discussion Checkpoints: Beta Update and Next Steps) that you are still in the information gathering phase for how to handle rubrics with checkpoints, so we would also prefer to wait to promote this feature to all users until we know how the design will be updated to work with rubrics since we use blueprints for our course designs and all graded discussions in them use rubrics.

[jchapes]

@SamGarza1  I want to second James' question above. When Discussion Checkpoints are released as Off/Unlocked, does that mean that it could be enabled with individual courses (in Settings > Feature Options within a specific course)? Thanks!

[chriscas]

Hi @SamGarza1,

As of today, Nov 6, I see the feature flag in our root account, but it just has an enable/disable option, no locking (although I see you had mentioned unlocked here and it's mentioned in the release notes).  Is this a terminology confusion thing, or did the feature flag not get done as intended in beta?

Ideally, we'd like roll this out at the root account level as disabled/unlocked initially so faculty could choose to turn it on in their individual courses if they want, then once we're comfortable with the feature and how it works, we'd make it available/locked in the future.  This is how we have rolled out other features here in the past and hope we can do this one.

Look forward to any clarification you can provide on this!

-Chris

[james_whalley]

@SamGarza1 Do you know when documentation will be available for Checkpoints? We're about to send out a newsletter that will include an announcement for this new feature. It would be great to have our own documentation updated and linking out to Instructure's documentation.

[dbrace]

I have an update from https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Releases/Canvas-Release-Notes-2024-11-16/ta-p/619423.  "Multiple Due Dates" or "Checkpoints" in discussions will be delayed. This is as of 2024-11-14.

@SamGarza1 or @TamasBalogh, do you have any information to share with us?

-Doug

[dbrace]

Just so everyone knows, the release (even as a feature flag / option) of multiple due dates (checkpoints) in discussions has been delayed.

Canvas Release Notes (2024-11-16)

Features Q&A: Canvas Release Notes (2024-11-16)

[SamGarza1]

Hi @dbrace, 

Yes we have delayed the release of Checkpoints. More information can be found here.

[SamGarza1]

Hi @chriscas, we are working to have this flag more generally available on an account level and not just the root account. The reason it's not yet there is we're working to ensure that turning the flag off after a Checkpointed Discussion has been created doesn't cause issues. We've tested all the major workflows and are now looking at edge cases. Because the flag is currently just on the root account that's why it doesn't have a lock/unlock option.