Add "Lock until date" to content pages

[linda_ohara]

This would add a level of control from the module to what is contained in them.

Having a lock on module availability is great but sometimes I would like to control when the contents of a module is seen. Availability dates for quizzes in modules is an obvious requirement. Why not have control for visibility of content pages?

Example: I have a "Study notes" module with a content page for every topic I lecture on. Each page contains study materials. I prefer not to let students see ALL materials at once so I have to remember to publish each content page when the time comes. Of course I forget once in a while. If I could set each of those pages to appear when needed, my worries would be over.

Thanks for your consideration.

[jordan]

Hi  @linda_ohara ​, and thanks for making this suggestion. Surprisingly this same concept was suggested by another community member, just yesterday -

I'm happy to let you know that we have another solution which you could leverage today! stefaniesanders​offered this simple alternative solution: https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/2930#comment-21301

 @James ​ offered another solution that might work for you - https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/2930#comment-21315

Will either of these solutions work for you, Linda?

[linda_ohara]

Jordan,

What does this mean create the key to an assignment as a file? Might work if I can understand that part. Thank you!

[Renee_Carney]

stefaniesanders​ can you help here?

[Renee_Carney]

There are great solutions here!

There have been great conversations in " modifiedtitle="true" title="Allow Pages to have release date functionality ​and " modifiedtitle="true" title="*content page delay post date and neither of those opened for voting.

It's time we give this concept a shot!  It will open for voting in November!

[James]

 @linda_ohara ​,

As daunting as it sounds, there's nothing special, mystical, or difficult about it. What was meant by "create the key to an assignment as a file" is that you could put your material into a document, like a PDF file or a Word document, instead of a Canvas HTML page, and then upload it into the course files. You can't easily control access to a page beyond publishing or unpublishing, but you can control when a file is visible to students.

[Stef_retired]

 @James ​, thanks for providing  @linda_ohara ​ with this explanation. As you read through it, you'll see that my post in the discussion to which Deactivated user linked is actually a response to someone who wanted to delay release of an answer key to a quiz, but the same approach, with some very slight tweaking, is equally applicable here. For your purposes,  @linda_ohara , you can interpret "you can create the key to an assignment as a file" as "you can open the content page, highlight all of the information in the content page you wish to make available at a specified time, copy it, open a document creator program (such as Word), paste the information into the document, and save it as a Word or PDF file." You can then follow the instructions provided in the link to add it to a module and control the release date of either the module or the file (or to be safe, both).

[linda_ohara]

Thanks for that information James but I don't see how to control the appearance of my files.

The action cog includes "Download" "Rename" "Move" "Delete" nothing about when students will see it, or not.

I am, however, pleased to see via Renee this will go to a vote beginning November...I was hoping for October of course but happy it made the vote cut.

I hope those of you here will vote often when the time comes, and spread the word! Thank you...

[Stef_retired]

 @linda_ohara , this is the lesson from the Canvas Guide on restricting access to files: How do I restrict files and folders to students in Canvas? To clarify, you would not focus your attention on the action cog, but rather on the colored cloud. Clicking on it will reveal an option to restrict access to the file, and the guide explains how to go about this in greater detail.

[linda_ohara]

It's November 4. Why can't I vote?

[linda_ohara]

Sorry for the delay...been busy, something called midterm exams...

It took me awhile to understand exactly what that all meant. Then I realized why it was foreign (unknown) to me, or so I think.

Philosophy adapted at my university is to use Modules and not allow the Files link to be available to students, meaning what you propose is, technically, not available as an option for me to pursue. Of course, use of Modules is only a guideline but we have found it works pretty well for students so I would rather not go down a different path.

Thanks for all the help.

Now I am hoping my idea will receive the necessary support so it will become a feature in Canvas!

[Stef_retired]

Hi  @linda_ohara ​, our philosophy is also to hide the Files link from students; instead, we design Modules that direct students through the resources in a course. Hiding the Files link does not in any way prevent you from employing the solution I proposed. Even if the Files link is hidden from the left navigation, you can create a link to any file in a module, and you can restrict the access to that file as described in my earlier post.

[Renee_Carney]

This idea has moved to the next stage and will be open for voting among the Canvas Community, from Wed. November 4, 2015 - Wed. February, 3, 2015.

Check out this doc for additional details about how the voting process works!

[linda_ohara]

Now it's active, still don't know why I couldn't vote last week

[biray]

Thank You for taking the time and energy to submit and discuss your idea. Your feedback helps our product teams prioritize feature development so we can build a product you will love. Unfortunately, this idea has been archived because it did not meet the 100-vote threshold within the 3-month voting period. Learn more at: How does the voting process work for feature ideas?

Can archived ideas still become a feature?  Potentially. Archived ideas can be resubmitted by Community members. As people’s needs change, previously submitted ideas may gain additional traction. All feature ideas are evaluated as a whole and may influence product direction.

Panda-Cat: A mythical creature that we dreamed up to catch your attention, make you laugh, and encourage you to stay invested in Feature Ideas process of making Canvas better!

[rjf227]

I really want this feature.  Is there any chance it could be revisited?

[KristinL]

Hi Renee - Any archived idea can be reopened. Sometimes ideas which did not hit the 100-vote-count in previous voting windows do well later on! If you resubmit, make sure to @mention this thread to connect the conversations.

[Renee_Carney]

This idea is one of the lucky ones that was selected to get a little more time for voting as part of our evolution of the feature idea process. It was selected because of it's vote count and/or comment thread.

*Selection criteria: Most (not all) ideas that received 70+ votes in their initial voting round.

[Tasha_Biesinger]

A couple reasons I vote up on this idea rather than using the 'open file on a certain date' workaround:

1. Changing the "open on" date for files seems to be slower (more clicks) and easier to miss because the dates aren't readily visible which makes it more irritating and increases my error rate (missed changing an "open on" date etc).
2. I really like content pages for building cohesive materials - the idea of turning a content page into a file just so I can add a lock until date is as unpleasant an idea as fingernails on a blackboard - I won't die, but it I shouldn't have to subject myself to it if I can avoid it.

In my mind, a file is something I want students to download and take with them; a content page is something to pull multiple parts (files, links, videos, etc) together and give cohesion (through the written words around the file links, URL links, videos, etc.) to the mess.  It makes sense to me to be able to lock that cohesive group, whether it be an entire module or a content page, with one date.

The workaround stefaniesanders‌ provides works (for the most part)...but if we just settle for workarounds, then Canvas will just be another semi-crappy tool with a lot of bandages - I believe the purpose of the Canvas Community is to ensure that Canvas is, and more-or-less functions as, an evolving tool.  So let's not play down the idea just because a workaround (partially) exists.  If it is something that the Canvas team can implement at some point, then let us let them know that we would really appreciate it.

Thanks for the idea,  @linda_ohara ‌.

[tbunag]

I completely agree about the visibility of Files vs. Locked modules/items. There are so many times when a faculty member has struggled with figuring out why students couldn't access a file when it seemed like it was published from the Module view, but it (or the folder it was in) wasn't.  I don't want to add to that.

Although I'm sure the last thing you want is more workarounds, could you still keep the content pages, but use the requirement to complete all items in the module in order to game the system?  For example, require viewing a file that is locked until X date, then place the content page after it?  The logistics of this make me cringe a bit.

Honestly, I'd probably just break things up into more modules instead of the Files workaround, but I don't mind Unit 1, Part 9.  In relation to the original request, I've seen a number of faculty who simply have one module per lecture session.  It results in a larger number of modules, but much higher level of control with the current design of Canvas.

[cliff_cunningha]

Personally, I would like to see BOTH dates applied to pages, Available From and Available Until. But, until both dates are provided, I'll take this one. Looking forward to it.