I have one student in a course that doesn't have the writing options pop up when he's starting a di

Adrian.Vopnford19

This is what it should look like:   But this is what his looks like: 

Jeff.Geurts12

The student likely has "Turn off rich text editor and view source" turned ON in their Account Settings. If they turn it off, they should get the editor controls back.

 

Here's a screenshot: