Canvas Synced Assignments

TL;DR

Canvas imported assignments are locked by default so users cannot bypass app blocking by manually marking work as complete. Most assignments are completed automatically when the AssignMint Extension detects a Canvas submission. If an assignment has no submission option, the extension can check that and switch it into Manual Mode so the user can complete it manually. This is so a user can't just mark an assignment as complete when it really isn't.

How Assignment Enforcing Works

Canvas assignments are locked by default, meaning users cannot immediately mark them as complete manually inside AssignMint.

This is by design. Since Canvas assignments are tied to app blocking, users should not be able to unlock their apps just by checking off an assignment without actually doing the work.

However, some Canvas assignments do not have a real submission option. For those cases, AssignMint provides a way to switch the assignment into manual mode through the Chrome extension. This allowed makes an canvas-imported assignment able to be manually completed.

Why Canvas Assignments Are Locked by Default

Canvas-locked assignments help make app blocking harder to bypass. If a Canvas assignment could always be manually completed, a user could avoid doing the assignment by marking it complete in AssignMint. That would defeat the purpose of blocking distracting apps until work is finished. So by default, Canvas assignments stay locked and must be verified through Canvas.

How Canvas Assignments Normally Become Complete

Most Canvas assignments are completed automatically when AssignMint detects a Canvas submission through the AssignMint Extension. As long as the user is logged into both Canvas and the extension, they just need to submit the assignment normally, and the extension will update its completion status.

What if an assignment has no submission?

For unsubmittable Canvas assignments, the user can open the assignment chrome extension to set it to "Manual Mode"

The extension includes a “check for unsubmittable” option. When clicked, it checks whether the Canvas assignment page has a real submission option. If the extension determines that the assignment is unsubmittable, AssignMint can switch that assignment into manual mode.

What is "Manual Mode"

Manual mode means the assignment can now be marked complete manually inside AssignMint. This does not apply to every Canvas assignment automatically. It only applies after the Chrome extension checks the assignment and determines that it does not have a normal Canvas submission option.