Using "Mark Done" to help students track their progress in a Canvas course

In the best of courses, readings and activities can start to blend together, especially if you’re taking multiple courses or going a few days without logging in. “Mark Done” is a Canvas feature that allows students to indicate that they’ve finished a section of the course so they can keep track of progress.

Examples

For a step-by-step guide and screenshots, refer to the following Canvas article:

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/How-do-I-mark-a-module-item-as-done-for-a-module-requirement/ta-p/311

Potential Applications for Course Design & Development

This is a useful feature that helps students remember what they’ve reviewed and what they haven’t. It also helps faculty to check what students may not have completed yet and reach out to students they suspect might be struggling.

Pros

  • Students are more easily able to track their progress.

  • Student feedback during use indicated they wanted help to remember what he had left to complete.

Cons

  • Depending on how it’s set up, if students forget to click “Mark Done” then the next module won’t show up. This could cause confusion.

Procedure

  1. Click the three vertical dots to open up a module’s menu on the Modules page.

    1. Click Edit.

  2. Click Add requirement

    1. Indicate whether students have to complete all the requirements you create or just one.

    2. Indicate whether students have to complete the requirements in sequential order.

  3. Select the module activity you wish to add “Mark Done” to.

  4. Select “mark as done” or “view item.”

  5. Add any other requirements you wish to make.

  6. Click Update Module.

Why “Add requirement” instead of just “Adding to student to-do”?

  • Adding something to student to-dos just makes that task show up on the students' calendars.

  • Adding a requirement to the module means students must mark something as done on the module page.

Other Resources

The Mark Done feature is part of Canvas' Module Prerequisites and Adaptive Release features. See the linked article for more information on that.


Need more help? Try eCampus Center Faculty Development.
Suggest more topics by contacting onlinecourseresource@boisestate.edu.