File request about server

[jospoortvliet]

Additional request - let's discuss how much of this we can do.

Scenario

Teacher has to give homework to students. Google has a feature for this: the teacher selects a file, selects a group of students, and a deadline. Students each get a copy of the file and have until the deadline to finish the homework. This feature has been requested in Sweden and Denmark and also mentioned in other places. Even as blocker or a major boost vs competition.

Now this does NOT fully fit the file request feature as above, as that maps fully onto file-drop and thus would be a frontend-only task.

My thoughts on what probably needs doing for the "homework scenario" on top of the file-request feature

• ability to attach a file to a file-drop, not just a 'note'.
• when clicked, ability to automatically copy that file into the file-drop and then open it for editing.
• ability to remember what files a user has added to a file-drop and keep them visible until the file-drop expires (only for logged in users of course)

The flow for the teacher would simply be to add a file to the creation of the file request.
The flow for the student would be to go to the file request, click the document and edit..
the student can go to the link again the next day, continue to edit the file.

A partial implementation would be to allow the teacher to add a file to the file-drop. This would allow the student to download that file, work on it, and upload it manually. It's less convenient, but still a step up.