An idea, not fully thought out. 
This is most relevant for teachers teaching multiple courses or admins teaching multiple courses. Would if be possible to have a recent activity page for all courses together? Then one could check items that have been "processed" in some way by the teacher. Checked items are removed from the "to do" list, while unchecked ones would remain.
The overview would make it much easier to manage a site with many courses, and to notice items which deserve some kind of action.
Tim.