In this blog I will cover a few updates in Falcon Online. Select a link below to jump to that section.
Instructors now have the ability to specify the file formats accepted for assignments. NOTE: this is not available in the classic create/edit experience. It is only available in the new create/edit experience for assignments.
The Allowable Filetypes field provides options for the types of files that learners can submit for the assignment. Options in the drop down menu include:
If an instructor selects Custom File Extensions, they can then enter file extensions that are allowed for file submissions.
When file type restrictions are used on an assignment, learners see the list of allowable file types listed on the Submit Assignment dialog.
When a learner attempts to upload a file submission for an assignment of a file extension type that the instructor has restricted, an error message appears.
The first thing you'll notice when entering the new discussion eval experience is that is looks just like the New Assignment Evaluation Experience. Evaluation tools like Grades, Rubrics, and Feedback are moving to the Right-Hand panel to display in the same way. No more scrolling up and down to see both the rubric and the post at the same time! This is the same rubric component as the New Assignment Evaluation experience uses. That means that it will drop down the side panel or pop out into a new window for grading.
Also consistent with Assignments is the header panels with the activity name display, navigation - either back or iterating through submissions, and the learner's name and profile card. The draggable divider will work the same here, too! The best part? It stays where you put it. This also means that the adaptive mobile view is just as useful in this view with the evaluation tools tucking into a neat drawer when the screen gets smaller.
The differences in the display of the Discussion topic and replies are slight. One change that may be noticeable is that the title of the topic or the reply is a link. It will open the post in a new window so that the evaluator can get an idea of the context in which the post was made. Some of our most popular PIE items for discussions are around providing more context. We hope that this helps!
Users now see this new evaluation experience with an option to opt-out.
In late December 2021, this new experience will be the default and only discussion evaluation experience moving forward.
With this new feature, users can expect the following to happen:
As noted above:
By locking a topic, an instructor prevents new posts by learners. Although unlock dates and lock option are being removed, additional properties of availability dates will be added to support locked Discussions.
Change isn’t easy. Here’s some of the rationale.
There are many combinations of availability dates and unlock dates supporting different use case for interacting with discussion topics. When the unlock dates are removed and additional properties on availability dates added, all but a single use case (locked between two dates) will still be supported.
The availability dates for Discussion topics and forums will have new properties as described below. Eventually, these new properties will be applied to other activities across Falcon Online.
The Availability Start and End Dates each will have a set of three options. You will be able to select one option for each date. By choosing an option, you are deciding whether learners can see the discussion and access it.
Property | Description |
Visible with access restricted before start | The topic/forum will be visible to learners before the Start date, but they cannot click/open it. This behavior will be consistent with how the legacy Content tool shows content topics outside of availability dates. |
Visible with submission restricted before start | The topic/forum will be visible to learners before the Start date and they can access it but cannot post new threads or replies. This will effectively make a discussion read-only, which will replace the current method of setting up read-only via unlock dates. |
Hidden before start | The topic/forum will be hidden from learners until the Start date. This will be a new feature. Calendar events for Availability Starts and Availability Ends will be hidden until the Start date. Notifications will also not be sent until the Start date. |
Property | Description |
Visible with access restricted after end | The topic/forum will be visible to learners after the End date, but they cannot click/open it. This behavior will be consistent with how the legacy Content tool shows content topics outside of availability dates. |
Visible with submission restricted after end | The topic/forum will be visible to learners after the End date and they can access it but cannot post new threads or replies. This will effectively make a discussion read-only, which will replace the current method of setting up read-only via unlock dates. |
Hidden after end | The topic/forum will be hidden from learners after then End date. This will be a new feature. Calendar events for Availability Starts and Availability Ends will be hidden after the End date. Notifications will also not be sent after the End date. |
When the new dates feature is enabled, you can expect the availability date properties to affect the information learners can see about forums and topics.
Forums
Visible with access restricted | Learners:
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Visible with submission restricted | Learners:
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Hidden | Learners:
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Topics
Visible with access restricted | Learners:
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Visible with submission restricted | Learners:
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Hidden | Learners:
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Visibility of forums and topics is controlled by availability of the tool, group restrictions, release conditions, visibility status, availability dates, and the 'access hidden' permission.
Assuming no release conditions or group restrictions, visibility and access to forums and topics is determined by visibility status, availability dates, and specific tool permissions.
In all scenarios in the following sections, we assume the user has permission to compose or reply (post).
Outside of Availability Dates
Access Hidden Forums and Topics = ON Override Locked Topic Restrictions = OFF |
Users can see forums Can see topics; can post to non-locked topics |
Access Hidden Forums and Topics = ON Override Locked Topic Restrictions = ON |
Users can see forums Can see and post to both locked and non-locked topics |
Between Availability Dates
Access Hidden Forums and Topics = OFF Override Locked Topic Restrictions = OFF |
When forum/topic visibility status is hidden:
When forum/topic visibility status is visible:
|
Access Hidden Forums and Topics = OFF Override Locked Topic Restrictions = ON |
When forum/topic visibility status is hidden:
When forum/topic visibility status is visible:
|
Access Hidden Forums and Topics = ON Override Locked Topic Restrictions = OFF |
Visibility status of the forum/topic doesn’t matter:
|
Access Hidden Forums and Topics = ON Override Locked Topic Restrictions = ON |
Users can see and post to locked or unlocked topics which have any visibility status |
Across Falcon Online, tools will uniformly respect the availability date properties. Ignoring release conditions, group restrictions, and tool access, whether users will see and be able to post to Discussions will be influenced by 3 different permissions.
Outside of Availability Dates
Availability Date Property / Permission |
Visibility and Access with Permissions |
Hidden | |
Access Hidden Forums and Topics = OFF |
|
Access Hidden Forums and Topics = ON |
|
Visible with access restricted | |
Manage Discussions = OFF |
|
Manage Discussions = ON |
|
Visible with submission restricted | |
Override Submission Restrictions = OFF |
|
Override Submission Restrictions = ON |
|
Between Availability Dates
Between availability dates, generally, users see all forums and can post to all topics that have a visibility status of ‘visible’.
Permission | Visibility and Access with Permissions |
Access Hidden Forums and Topics = OFF | Can see and post to all topics that have a visibility status of ‘visible’ |
Access Hidden Forums and Topics = ON | Can see and post to all topics that have any visibility status |
Today, combinations of unlock dates, availability dates, and locking option (along with the specific tool) currently lead to what learners observe in Falcon Online with respect to visibility and access. That behavior will be one of four possibilities:
What is the net effect to visibility and access for learners? Consistent behavior across tools!
Today, some tools hide topics and some tools show them but with restricted access (i.e., users can’t click into the topic).
The following table highlights a few changes to visibility of discussion topics and forums when learners view discussions outside of availability dates.
Tool | View of topics outside of availability dates | |
Before enabling the new dates feature | After enabling the new dates feature | |
Discussions Reading View | Hidden | Visible when access restricted |
Classic Content | Visible with access restricted> | Visible when access restricted |
Class Progress | Visible | Visible when access restricted |
User Progress | Hidden | Visible when access restricted |
Most combinations of dates and lock options that lead to visibility and access of topics are preserved when the new dates feature is enabled. However, …
After enabling the new feature, what is not preserved? Here’s a summary:
Said another way, it’s the period between two dates where a topic is read-only that is not persisted when the new dates feature is enabled. The date range is collapsed and to avoid learners accessing discussion topics when they shouldn’t, the switch of dates favors a greater level of restriction. For example, where previously a user might have a read-only view of the discussion topic for a week (and no access outside of that), learners may no longer have access.
Calendar events are created for discussion topics and forums whenever the “Display in Calendar” option is selected for Availability Dates. The date that is picked for the calendar event is decided by the Discussions tool.
Here are the current rules when the Availability Dates “Display in Calendar” option is selected:
Additionally, the same logic applies to Unlock Dates – depending on which are set, a calendar event is created; the unlock end date is given priority for a new event. Here are the current rules when the Unlock Dates “Display in Calendar” option is selected:
When the new dates feature is enabled, the Discussions tool will no longer give priority to an end date event. Instead:
In other words, no more hidden logic.
When “Display in Calendar” is selected, the new, simplified rules for topics and forums are:
Learners will see the following changes to calendar events when the new dates feature is enabled:
The following illustrates the Restrictions tab of a Discussion topic before and after the new dates feature is enabled.
Before
After
Like the Discussions tool, users can edit the availability date properties also from Content.
Once clicking on a date, a link is available to launch a dialog where the start and end availability date properties can be updated.
Clicking one of the links opens the date properties dialog:
Instructors can choose the default settings for availability dates for any new Discussion topic and forum. This settings page is in the Discussions tool, under the Settings gear (top-right of most pages). Making a change on the Settings page will not affect the availability date properties of any previously created topic or forum.
Tool | Changes |
Discussions | Reading View - Date format
Reading View - Presentation of Availability Date Properties
Reading View and Grid View – Icons
Statistics
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Content | Topic Edit
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Manage Dates | Changes:
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Notifications | Changes:
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User Progress | Summary and Detail Sections
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Class Progress | Discussion Participation Summary Indicator
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Calendar | Additional Changes:
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Course Copy | Changes:
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. |
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Pulse | Notifications
Work-to-do
Course Content
Activity Details page
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Content Browser Widget Work-to-do Widget |
Changes:
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You can see this new consolidated date experience on the Falcon Online Test site.
In late November 2021, this new consolidated dates experience will be the default experience moving forward.
As always, we encourage you to subscribe to this blog so you can comment and ask questions. When you subscribe you will also receive email notifications of future posts. You can also contact the FIC at fic@daytonastate.edu or 386.506.3485 for assistance or visit between M-F 8AM - 5PM.
Bill Harrison
Director, IT Instructional Resources and Training
bill.harrison@daytonastate.edu | 386.506.4306
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