Comment by kissickas | Hacker News Reader

Comment by kissickas | Hacker News Reader

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As a student on Canvas this year and Sakai last year (and Blackboard before that), I can tell you that Canvas is atrocious and easily the worst of the bunch.

Just so I'm not making an empty comment, here are a few quick complaints:

- Confusing differences between calendar vs module views that differ from class to class depending on where the professor tries to put things

- Zoom is shunned to its own tab rather than integrated with the calendar, causing students to constantly ask each other for the password for every session

- Everything (tests, midterms, homework assignments) is called a quiz, and it's often unclear what is going to be graded or what allows multiple submissions until it's too late

- Notification settings are terrible and most people stick with the settings they set in the first week, meaning some of my classmates are just now realizing they've been missing announcements or grade postings

- If I get an email that a teacher has released grades, I have to go to Canvas to open it - and sometimes it's not even true

- Notification counts are ignored because they appear even on things I've already seen but just not clicked on from the "home" view

- Replies to my own discussion posts are mixed in with replies to everyone else's posts, meaning no real discussion is had

Interesting.

> - Confusing differences between calendar vs module views that differ from class to class depending on where the professor tries to put things

This is actually a feature, not a bug. Courses are wildly different, professors think wildly different. I would not want the software to shoehorn everyone into the same schematic. After all, in-person courses are organized in wildly different ways. You just have learn and communicate.

> Zoom is shunned to its own tab rather than integrated with the calendar, causing students to constantly ask each other for the password for every session

That is a misconfiguration on your uni/prof's part. If they do it right, every calendar entry should a zoom link with the password included, resulting in one-click joining of class.

> Everything (tests, midterms, homework assignments) is called a quiz, and it's often unclear what is going to be graded or what allows multiple submissions until it's too late

Are we using the same software? If you click on any assignment it clearly shows every one of these things at the top. I just checked in student view.

-- I completely agree with your comments about notification settings. Also, the email system within Canvas is atrocious.

The calendar entries for the professors who use the Canvas Zoom feature don't have Zoom links (I assume it should be in the location?) - the only classes in my schedule that have working Zoom links have them copy/pasted into the event description, where the password has been embedded in the link.

And this is what I see at the top of two of my next submissions:

Due Monday by 11pm / Points 30 / Submitting: a file upload / File Types: pdf, doc, and docx / Available until Oct 20 at 12pm

Due No due date / Points 1 / Questions 1 / Time Limit None

Neither says how many attempts I have. I believe the file upload has unlimited re-uploads and the latter only allows for one submission, but I really have no idea how to confirm that without risking it.

Are they using the Zoom LTI or doing something themselves? The Zoom LTI automatically adds links to the calendar and the front page schedule view (I can see them right now).

Also, if you click on an assignment you should be able to see attempts allowed in the top view. If you can’t then your teacher may be hiding it (or you only get one). If they are hiding it, you can still see it through graphiql if you feel like looking (your-institution.instructure.com/graphiql)

If they use Canvas Zoom to schedule all classes, if you hover over a calendar entry, this box pops up https://imgur.com/lIQk5am and you can just click the Zoom link in description. The prof does not have to manually copy-paste anything anywhere.

If there is still trouble in your courses, ask your prof to paste the Zoom link with password on the hompage of your Canvas course (they can add it as first module item if using Modules as homepage)

As for the submission issue, I think Canvas will only tell you about multiple or unlimited attempts on an assignment if you have them. If only one attempt is allowed, then it says nothing. I agree that this is a bug.

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