It's been a long time coming but the new Assign to feature is a very welcome addition to Canvas.
Of course, like its purpose, we have already thought of a number of cases where it could make an impact.
Here is one of which I have tried which has not worked and I need to know why!
Scenario
We have 3 separate classes of 40 students that are working on their eportfolio using a personalised Canvas page. When a student signs in to the Canvas course, I want them to click on a button to take them to their module and only show them their page. I don't want them to see any other modules or pages.
What we did
We created Canvas pages for each student, saved them with their name and gave editing rights to them. Next, we created 3 sections, one for each of the classes and moved the students to those sections.
We then designed three modules - one module for each class.
Using the Assign To feature, I first assigned a Module to just that Section. I hoped that this would mean the student would only see their module and all the rest would be hidden.
I then moved the student pages into the different modules and changed the Assign To feature so that the student signing in would only see their page and no-one else.
What happened in Reality!
It did not do what I wanted!
The Positives - When students clicked on a link, they only saw their module and not the others
The Negatives - Students saw and had access to every page in the module, even when I had personalised the page for the individual!
The Fix
I removed the Assign To feature for the Section on the Module. When a student signs in, they see their Module and their page. Unfortunately, they see the other modules. Although they dont see the other students work, they do see resources that I have given just for that class.
Help?!
I'm trying to find out how the permissions hierarchy works and why I cannot do something like this. I had hoped for some more flexibility and Section permissions working with Individual permissions.
If anyone can give some guidance or suggestions that I would love to know more
The Future of Permissions
I appreciate that the feature is new (albeit 8 years in asking) but here are some areas I would like to see developed:
- Sections and Individual permissions working together - like different sizes of filters
- Assign to for Text Headers - these are integral parts of good UDL and we need them to break up content. It is not a great look when they are left on their own.
