Assign Canvas Activities/Assignments to Students
Differentiated Assignments is a Canvas feature that lets you create different due dates and availability dates Links to an external site. for assignments, quizzes, and discussions. Assignments and graded discussions can be differentiated for individual students, sections, or groups; quizzes can only be differentiated for individual students or sections. You can designate if the assignment will be limited to those students, sections, or groups or if it will also be assigned to everyone else in the course. Differentiated assignments are also used in MasteryPaths Links to an external site..
When using differentiated assignments with the Gradebook Links to an external site., the assignment appears as a column for all students, but grade cells are grayed out for students who have not been included in the assignment. Grades cannot be assigned for students who have not been included in the assignment. Additionally, assignments that are not assigned to students—whether individually or as part of a section, group, or entire course—are not factored into overall grades. Differentiated assignments are also respected in Multiple Grading Periods Links to an external site..
On the student grades page, students can only view assignments that have been assigned to them.
Assign to Everyone
By default, activities/assignments you create in your course will be assigned to everyone. You can specify a due date and availability dates that apply to everyone. You can also assign an activity to an individual student Links to an external site., course section Links to an external site., or course group Links to an external site..
*Important Note: If you unassign a student or section to a differentiated assignment you have previously graded, the grade and submission are removed from the assignment. You can restore the submission by reassigning the assignment to the student.
Canvas Guides: How do I assign an assignment to everyone in a course? Links to an external site.
Assign to Individual Students
When creating or editing an activity/assignment, you can assign an activity to individual students. You can also set different due and availability dates for a student within an assignment that is assigned to the rest of the class. Availability date Links to an external site. functionality is still available for each activity.
Only the student(s) specified in the activity details can view the activity.
When using differentiated assignments with the Gradebook Links to an external site., the assignment appears as a column for all students, but grade cells are grayed out for students who have not been included in the assignment. Grades cannot be assigned for students who have not been included in the assignment, and assignments that are not assigned to a student are not factored into overall grades.
Notes:
- To allow a student access to an activity/assignment past the activity's initial Until date, you must set a different Until date for the individual student.
- If your course is using MasteryPaths, you do not have to manually assign assignments to individual students. Learn how to assign an assignment using MasteryPaths Links to an external site..
- If multiple due dates apply to a student, Canvas will assign the latest due date to the student. For example, if a student's individual due date is November 18 and the group due date is November 20, the student will be assigned a due date of November 20.
- *Important Note: If you unassign a student or section to a differentiated assignment you have previously graded, the grade and submission are removed from the assignment. You can restore the submission by reassigning the assignment to the student.
Canvas Guides: How do I assign an assignment to an individual student? Links to an external site.