[Modules] Accurate Breadcrumb Trail in Modules

[lwuest]

It would be great if the breadcrumb trail would follow your navigation correctly when you are working in modules rather than switching to "page", "discussions", "assignments" or whatever you click on. Would it be possible to add a "modules" breadcrumb?

[aisling_wood]

I cant believe this isnt a thing yet! We have the "pages" page disabled as we want to direct students to the module structure, but when you're getting deep into the course you lose your place.

We have implemented banners that generate and have the title of the module and page title in them, to at least give the student some bearings

[kristy_bergeron]

Glad to see this is on the radar--the current breadcrumb structure for modules, assignments, quizzes are all in need of improvement. 

[kunal_ashar]

It's been nearly 3 years since this was requested, with 200+ votes. Our students, many of them from around the world, consistently bring this up. Is there any indication as to when this might be implemented?

[natasha_sutevsk]

Hi Aisling,

Did you manage to get banners to autogenerate the title of the module and page title? We were looking for a similar solution too. Would love to hear your approach.

Thanks,

Natasha

[Renee_Carney]

The Radar idea stage has been removed from the Feature Idea Process.  You can read more about why in the blog post Adaptation: Feature Idea Process Changes.

This change will only impact the stage sort of this idea and will not change how it is voted on or how it is considered during prioritization activities.  This change will streamline the list of ideas 'open for voting', making it easier for you to see the true top voted ideas in one sort, here.

[glenaz]

I know this topic hasn't been commented on for a while, so wonder if there is another thread/feature request that continued this discussion.  I appreciated all the comments, and understand the logic presented by  @James ‌ on the breadcrumb issue, so perhaps the feature folks are looking for aren't really breadcrumbs per se, but a guide to see where you are in the course/module based on how the instructor has set up the course.  Meaning, you would still have the existing breadcrumb (to know where the file, discussion, assignment, etc. lives), and additional window (that can slide-out, be minimized, etc.) to show the student where they are in the progress of the module.

I create a crude mockup image of what I'm trying to describe.  While a student/instructor is on a page/discussion/assignment, etc, there could be a slide-out/pop-up window that would have the same structure/functionality of the Main module page showing where you are in a particular module. This would be similar to looking back at the Table of Contents in a book to see where you are in reference to the rest of the book.

I understand that some pages, assignments, etc. may be navigated to through a link and isn't part of the "module" hierarchy, but the pop-out window could show you where you were last so that a user can easily go back to the module if they went down some rabbit hole.

If there is a feature like this or a best-practice of using Canvas that I'm not aware of, I would love some insight.  If not, I hope this discussion continues b/c I too get feedback and complaints from students and instructors that they get "lost" in the modules and the course.

[theotherdy]

Hi  @glenaz ‌ - would this be of any use: GitHub - msdlt/canvas-where-am-I: Theme .js and .css to add within course navigation to Instructure ... . I'm very keen to find others who might be prepared to collaborate on this with me.

[glenaz]

Hi Damion,

This looks really promising (and a lot more feature rich than what I was looking for).  I'm getting close to finals now, but will definitely take a look at this over the summer and provide feedback.  My coding skills are a bit rusty, but would be happy to help collaborate on this.

[john_hollenbeck]

This should not be treated as an option to be voted on. It's a broken interface feature, which needs to be fixed or eliminated. 

This is an instance where Instructure confuses feature with option. A breadcrumb feature is something that should accomplish the function of hierarchical navigation. Users are conditioned to use a breadcrumb trail to walk back in an orderly manner up the hierarchy of nested directories. In Canvas it is arbitrary. If the user is in a module on a page, then the breadcrumb offers to go to the pages list rather then the expected return to my place in the modules. And if Pages is disabled for students, then it says "You Can't Go There" even though it offered a live link to there. And then it takes you home with no way back to where you started save the browser back button. I have a cat that acts like that.

Users are confused by this arbitrary result and have to be trained not to expect the breadcrumb feature to act like it is supposed, but rather ignore it. And Instructure needs to fix that rather than holding popularity contests and using the results for not taking care of business.

[djaffe0660]

I also agree - in feedback associated with our courses we are consistently seeing confusion in navigation at the top of the list. Request to have Course>Module>Section (if you have them)>Page Title as asked above would be much more intuitive for our users.