Implemented feature idea or fixed bug
We use the continuous enrollment course type and assignment due dates are automatically calculated using enrollment start and end dates. This works very well for us because we have a continuous enrollment. However, automatic due dates are problematic because they do not take breaks or holidays into consideration. The net result is that students who take holidays and breaks off will fall behind in their classes if they rely on due dates. While students can set an earlier projected end date to adjust due dates, it would be extremely helpful if students could also block out holidays and breaks in their calendar to further adjust due dates. Any thoughts?
Comments (19)
Great suggestion, Dennis. We actually are interested in providing a smart calendar to take these blackout dates into consideration. I will make sure that your specific comments get included.
We are also in the same situation where we are using continuous enrollments and would very much like to have the calendar allow students to black out dates. Also, it would be very helpful if Buzz would show the due date items in the calendar and not just on the to do list. This happens in BrainHoney but not Buzz.
Are these features possible?
Tami, activities with due dates should be displayed on the Calendar page, in an activity list. It is in an agenda-view to improve visibility.
Are you not seeing activities listed here?
We are not seeing any activities in the Calendar view. All of our students calendars are blank but they have items in their to do lists.
This is what the to do list looks like and the calendar for the same student.
We have discovered the issue that is causing this to occur. We are working on a fix for this. I'll let you know when it is available or when we know when it will be available.
Dennis and Tami, you will be happy to learn what has been announced and released.
Dennis, we announced a new feature called Blackout Dates. This allows an admin to specify dates in which automatically assigned activities (for continuous courses) cannot have due dates. Check out the announcement.
Tami, in today's update, due dates from continuous enrollment courses now appear in the Calendar. Check out today's release notes.
Brad, this is exactly what we needed and thanks for following up with me!
Dennis
Brad - I echo Dennis's comments - this is exactly what we needed and we are very pleased with this new update. Thank you for letting me know.
Tami
This is nice if students follow the same blackout dates; however, we need students to have the flexibility of entering their on blackout dates to generate a new calendar. I know there is a ticket to add this functionality. Can you provide an update on the timeline?
We have continuous enrollment and give 20 weeks to complete each course. So we love the due dates. But to confirm, the system will allow a student to submit an assignment (quiz, discussion, or submitted document) after the due date has expired, correct?
And can we manually change any of these dates?
Thanks
Mike,
The due dates for continuous courses are soft due dates, meaning students are able to submit items after the suggested due date. There is not a way to manually change the dates for students as they are automatically generated based on a number of variables including: the length of the enrollment, weight of the items, and any blackout dates.
Does each student receive a 'soft' 0 when their unique due date passes?
The pacing (soft due) dates in continuous courses are not enforced in a way to assign a 0 when it passes the pacing date. They are designed to be guidelines to help ensure the student is distributing their work to not be rushed at the end. There is no penalty however if the student wishes to complete all the assignments in the last few days of the enrollment.
I understand, thank you.
I just want to make sure I am not missing a way to do this:
Is there a way to have students receive a 0 after the due date that does not override the navigation restriction of "submits this activity"?
Items that are set to complete with a submission will be marked as complete when a past due 0. The only way to ensure an item is not marked as complete after the auto 0 is to utilize a different completion trigger.
Thank you. Is there a way to set a completion trigger so no action is required by the teacher?
Requiring passing score would still allow a student to complete and not require teacher interaction on server graded activities.
Thank you. Is there a way to set a completion trigger so no action is required by the teacher on a non server graded activity?
In this context, no, as grading a non-server graded activity would require the teacher to provide the grade. If one was not worried about an automatically assigned 0 triggering a completion then the completion trigger of "Submits this activity" would mark the item as complete without teacher interaction.