Import .rbc files?

[Leslee]

Hello Hivemind!

My campus just lost our Turnitin account. Now we'll have to use the standard Speedgrader, rather than the pop-out we had before. I downloaded the rubrics from Turnitin -- .rbc files with no option for another format. I can't open these files in Word, Excel, or anything familiar. For the life of me, I can't figure out where or how to upload those files in Canvas!

I know we can import rubrics from one Canvas course to another...but where do they GO? What format are they in? Rubrics have to be stored SOMEwhere.

I read somewhere to convert the rbc > json > csv. Tried it. No luck. I read that the Outcomes page has an "import rubric" button. My version of Canvas doesn't.

If you think I speak computerese, you are very wrong. Pretend I'm a 5-year-old and use small words.

TIA!
Leslee

[James]

@Leslee, 

I do not use Turnitin, but a quick search of .rbc files suggest that they are just JSON files and that you can rename the extension without issue. JSON files are computer readable so there are lots of programs out there that can convert them to different formats. As you mentioned, you can convert a JSON file to a CSV file that could then be brought into Excel or multiple other programs.

Canvas is not one of those multiple other programs. There are no easy ways to export or import the contents of rubrics into Canvas, not with CSV, JSON, or anything else. I wrote a script that would import the rubric from a spreadsheet, but it won't import the completed rubrics.

Rubrics are stored internally within the Canvas databases. They can be attached to assignments through the Canvas REST API, but from your self-description of your tech skills, this is not something that you will be able to do on your own. It may be easier to keep records in a separate system than trying to get them into Canvas.

The Rubrics page was recently moved out of the Outcomes page to its own course navigation link. Look for Rubrics instead of Outcomes and then Rubrics.

[Leslee · Accepted solution]

Thanks for answering. I ended up copying the rubrics over cell by cell. I got pretty good at it!