Discussion board moderators and the gradebook

Question

Hi All,

I've looked at a couple of help docs for Canvas and haven't seen a way to do this… but maybe I'm not looking for the right terms. Basically, I want a discussion board to be worth zero points for one or two students, but regular points for everyone else. Is there a way to do this?

To explain, I teach ethics, and set up discussion boards with an ethical vignette. "Dr. X has a problem… Based on the ethics code, how would you advise Dr. X to handle this problem?" Most of the students are to play the role of ethical consultant, and they get points for their ethical consultation posts. However, 1 or 2 students do not get points for the board; rather, they moderate and play the role of Dr. X. They lead the discussion, asking questions, suggesting possible responses, getting feedback… then write a paper on what they would do in the vignette, and they get points for the paper.

The only way I know for the moderators to access the board is to be assigned to it, but then the canvas gradebook expects I should give them points for posting ethical advice… but I don't… so the gradebook is wrong. I've been just downloading the gradebook and fixing this in excel. Is there a way to do this in canvas?

Thanks!

Chris_Hofer · Accepted Answer

Hi @RichardNiolon …

Would setting the status of "Excused" work for those one or two students who will not get a numerical grade?  You would set the graded discussion to be worth however many points the majority of students will potentially receive.  But, then you would excuse those one or two students that would not get a score.

Here's a Guide with more information: How do I change the status of a submission in the Gradebook? - Instructure Community

Do you think that might work for your needs?

Greg · Accepted Answer

One of the challenges of marking an assignment as excused, @RichardNiolon, is that it changes the points possible for that student, which is likely what you're seeing in the gradebook.