Documentation Gaps to Serve as Motivations
Question or Issue | Answer or Explanation | Sources Already Checked | Notes Regarding Documentation |
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T&Q: What are those three fields at the bottom of each question's edit page? | They were added for later use, not taken up, and not recorded or referenced anywhere. | KB Help files, RSN docs | Mentioned briefly in the RSN (rSmart) KB, FAQS from Vivie Sinou. |
T&Q: Why is the progression through stages so strict?? | Samigo grew out of Stanford's handling of Human Biology problem sets, developed and monitored closely by TAs for formative assessment, adapted to Indiana's need for high-stakes summative assessment. | KB Help files | What piece of documentation would contain explanations like this?? Yet this is what people seem to want when they ask for an overview or background. |
T&Q: How can I retrieve names for a quiz accidentally made anonymous? | (a) Map with Comments field. (b) Change database. | KB Help files | Both are workarounds. Anonymity is meant to persist. So where should this be documented? |
What's the difference between Feedback, Drop Box, and Assignments? |
| KB Help files | Involves pedagogically-driven comparison among tools; not addressed explicitly in Help files. Best explained in some high-level user document? |
Assignments: Why doesn't instructor X see all students listed in submissions? | Because some are null, instructor X must have asn.submit permission in Assignments tool. | KB Help files |
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Email Archive: Can students send e-mail that gets saved with Email Archive? | Yes! Instructor or organizer must set permissions so. | KB Help files | This contradicts a couple of the introductory Help files. |
Calendar: What is the format for imported entries? | It's CSV, except that extra line breaks will terminate the file. | KB Help files, with ReadMe file and Sample data | Not specified in detail. |
Wiki: How to add a link with different display text? | Use the "link" macro. Described in the "Notation Help - Full Help Page", but not in the Help files. | KB Help files, Full Help page, Oxford web page | User wants more immediate help for this task. Raises question: When is reference to other documentation acceptable? |
Sign-Up Tool: New features not mentioned, Reference to yale e-addr | Some features such as the Advanced user-defined timetable is not explained. Sections "Sign-Up Overview" directs those who want to grant student permission to "please email classes2@yale.edu" But "Suggestions for Use" is nice! | KB Help Files | What is the policy for removal of site-specific details (such as the Yale e-addr) in Contrib tools-- any agreed practice? |
Site Setup (Course Creation) process | This question, "What controls which terms are included in the dropdown?" comes up time after time on the mailing lists. Answer: Controlled by database entries. | None yet | Why is this information so hard to find? Where should it be? |