Written Exams in Canvas

Owned by Clint Tuttle
Last updated: Aug 22, 2023 by Zia FoxVersion comment
2 min read

If you tend to have exams that cannot be robo-graded, i.e. written exams with short answers or longer essays, there are two options as I see it:


OPTION 1

Canvas Quiz

OPTION 2

Canvas Assignment

Description

This is useful if you want students to submit short answers in a single text box and see all the questions in Speedgrader.   If you have a written exam like 4-5 long essays and you’d rather be able to annotate on the test, you can have them download the Exam via an assignment in Word doc and then have them write directly in the Word doc. 

Advantage

An advantage of using a quiz is that you can password restrict them and set a timer on it to end but not sure these features are worth it.When they upload it, you can view it in Speedgrader and annotate it when it’s an Assignment.  There’s also a mass download option if you want to open and comment in Word doc with track changes and then you can upload submissions back into Canvas. 

Disadvantage

Drawbacks are that you can’t annotate on the short answer response in Speedgrader like you can on an assignment but you can leave a comment in a box under their text submission.

Also if the student uploads a Word doc in a quiz via a "File Upload" question type, it does not show the file in a viewer in which you can annotate. It just shows a link to the file they upload

The Disadvantage of Assignment is that you can’t set an “official timer” on it but if the goal is to limit time, I think a workaround could be implemented using availability date/time on assignment settings.  Also, you can’t password protect an assignment but not sure this is needed in most cases.


Considerations

Decide if you care more about the timer and password feature. If you need some robo-grading you can consider a quiz to speed up that part of grading but if you care more about being able to annotate consider assignment option to the rightIf you don't need robo-grading, it seems natural to go with an Assignment since you can annotate on the document in Speedgrader. The only considerations of sticking with a Quiz would be the timer feature and password protection but consider workarounds on these.


Recommendations

  • Test out both options!  A quick way to do this has a student or TA (that you temporarily change to a "Student" role in Canvas) submit an exam in two ways: 1) Canvas Quiz and 2) Canvas Assignment.  After they submit, see how the results look in Speedgrader and then decide which you'd prefer.
  • Check out this post on Canvas message boards for more info
  • Here is a link to Harvard's page on Proctoring a Closed Book Exam in Zoom with more information on giving a remote written exam

Still, need help? 

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For all other UT faculty, please contact your respective college or school



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