Overview
You may want to grant one or more students, but not all students, additional time to complete a discussion. It's possible to do this in Canvas using the "Assign To" feature in Canvas. Setting this up is easy, but you might be surprised or confused by how Harmonize displays dates to you, the instructor, in this situation. This article will walk you through setup and explain some of the seemingly strange behavior you might be seeing.
Assigning Different Due Dates in Canvas
You can give different due dates to different students (or groups of students) using the
"Assign To" feature in Canvas.
- Navigate to your Canvas Assignment and click on Edit Assignment Settings.
- In the Assign Access area, click + Assign To.
- In the Assign To field, locate and add the student(s) who should have a different due date.
- Update the Due Date and Time fields accordingly.
- Warning: If you are using an "Available Until" date, you must also extend this sate for the student.
- Click Save.
How Due Dates are Displayed in Harmonize
While it is easy to assign different due dates to some students, the way the dates are displayed in Harmonize can be confusing, especially for instructors. Importantly, students will always see the correct due dates in both Canvas and Harmonize.
How Due Dates Display for Students
Each individual student will see the correct final due date on their assignment whether they are viewing the assignment in Harmonize or in Canvas.
How Due Dates Display for Instructors
Instructors will always the correct final due dates in Canvas. In Harmonize, however, instructors will see the latest assigned due dates for every milestone, even if those are only the dates for one student.
Warning: Once you've given a student an extension, those are the dates you will see on the milestones in Harmonize, but you haven't actually changed the dates for any other students.
You can always check Canvas to confirm that the final due dates are set correctly for all students.
How Individual Milestones are Treated
In Canvas, students with extended final due dates will see their correct, personal final due date. However, for earlier milestones, they will see the due dates for the whole class. This is because Canvas only allows us to pass back a single calendar entry for the whole class for any earlier milestones.
In Harmonize, students with extended final due dates will see extended due dates for all milestones. For example, if their final due date is extended by 3 days, their due date for each earlier milestone will be extended for three days as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I extended a due date for a particular student, but they still can't post. What's wrong?
- Check to see if the assignment has an "Available Until" date set. If so, you will need to extend this date for the student as well.
Q. Why does it look like the due date changed for every student?
- Harmonize can only display one due date for each milestone, and it displays the latest date that has been assigned to any student. Don't panic! The due date has not been changed for other students. See How Due Dates are Displayed in Harmonize above.
Q. Can I use Activity view to see the correct due dates for my students?
- The Activity view will display the later assignment due date for all students until students begin opening the Harmonize discussions. Once students have opened the Harmonize discussion, you will be able to see the correct due dates for them in the Activity view.