[SpeedGrader] SpeedGrader should open pdfs in DocViewer for New Quizzes

When students submit their work as pdf documents for quizzes, then the instructor need to download the pdfs for grading. When students submit their work as pdf documents for assignments, then DocViewer will open them for grading and commenting, which makes grading easier. I just want the same feature for quizzes.

Hence please add the following functionality:

SpeedGreader should open pdfs in DocViewer for grading quizzes.

Added to Theme

82 Comments
ErickCarreno
Community Member

Please include that feature!!! we need urgently..!! thanks to devs!

prof_erin
Community Explorer

@Stef_retired There seem to be more comments than stars here - can you tell us how new features are selected/reviewed? And if it is by stars how do people add stars? When I clicked on adding stars (Chrome) it didn't show up that I had done anything, but apparently the stars were added in my name. Thanks!

Stef_retired
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

@prof_erin 

You did everything correctly to apply a rating: 

star rating.png

Our product teams will be focusing on use cases and examples, so the more comments, the better. For a general discussion of the importance of idea conversations, please read through Community Feedback and Communication

judd_curran
Community Member

Yes, it is a massive waste of time to have to download each document before being able to view it.  I don't want, or need, to download it necessarily.  It's nice to have that as an option.  But, don't force us to do that.  The same goes for Microsoft Word Documents and Image files too!

mark_kerfoot
Community Participant

Yes, please allow this functionality.

Also, when using SpeedGrader for annotations, please allow the following:

  1. Let us choose to make the "pen" the default choice for annotations (currently, you have to select the pen tool every time you move to a new student - lots of needless clicks).
  2. Let us turn off the requirement to "accept" each annotation by clicking a check mark (more unnecessary clicks)

Thank you.

richard_gardner
Community Participant

Our institution bought ipads for all students and faculty 3 years ago. These include Apple Pencils. What a wonderful way to go paperless. So now I can accept assignments and mark on them. But for tests, there is no way to draw pictures, or write equations with the pencil. That's too bad. At least, there was the file upload option...I haven't used that yet, because I just did that on paper until this semester. (I used quizes for all my multiple choice/matching/ T/F questions, and a hard copy for things requiring drawing.) Due to covid, however, we can't be touching paper others have touched. So today I started writing my test and discovered that the file upload option doesn't work with speedgrader. Sure, you can see a link on speedgrader to manually download, but can't actually use it like it is meant to be used, marking up student papers. So I plan to ask students to do the test and separately upload another doc with the drawing questions. What a pain, what a bummer, what a disappointment which is piled on top of many Canvas disappointments. My favorite Canvas feature, when we adopted it a couple of years ago, was that we could suggest new features. But then I learned that let alone new features, even no brainer things that have been begged for, pleaded for, for many years and years have not yet been implemented. Things like this. Or like the inability to simply paste pictures into test questions (this has been on their list for at least 5 years). Or the clunky attendance tool--to get a report, you have to have it email you a link, then you download a file, which lists ALL the students for the first day of class. Then it lists ALL the students again for the second day of class...and for the third day...etc etc. instead of just creating a table with the students listed down the left column, and the class dates across the top. See what I mean? A no brainer! The gradebook lists students down the left column, with assignments across the top, so why can't the attendance be the same way? What were these people thinking? Has anyone on the Canvas staff ever taught a class? Then there is the new quizzes, which I was so excited to use...until I learned that if a kid gets 9 out of 10 matching questions right, they get a zero. Yep, no partial credit. That is so jaw-droppingly stupid I don't even have words for it. And that issue has been around for years. I've seen so many other teachers complain about that too, that they will not use quizzes next until this is fixed. I wonder if anyone is actually using it. Why build a new tool that no one will actually use, or why not fix it? How hard can it be to have it do partial credit?
Anyway, I've given up expecting any of these things to change, since no-brainer issues haven't been fixed in years. But occasionally I can't help venting. 

prof_erin
Community Explorer

@Stefanie  Yes, I saw that my rating showed up, but what I'm telling you the interface didn't register anything that looked like I rated it. You know when you click on a button and things change color or blink, or a count increments and there is some indication that the click did something? Yeah, it did NOT do any of those things. So, it seems that the interface for rating known issues with Canvas is also buggy. Huh.

Developers: please fix the issues with quizzes FIRST. Thanks 🙂

lindsaywood
Community Member

This is a feature that should have already been implemented and should have been the default. There's no reason why files should be treated differently in Speedgrader whether it's an assignment or quiz.  For our STEM faculty, this is an absolute must-have and Canvas is currently not meeting that need.

joshuagallaway
Community Novice

I really need to be able to grade file upload quizzes in SpeedGrader, just like homework assignments. Please allow us to do this. Thank you!

dpotter
Community Participant

@Stefanie 

Use-case example.

For my calculus online course, I use the Honorlock app for all exams. Honorlock will only proctor quizzes. As my assessment of the student's process at arriving at their solution is, in my opinion, more important than whether or not they arrived at the correct answer, the students are required to upload their work. Since uploaded files cannot be viewed in speedgrader, this means I must download all of the student's uploads, view and markup with Adobe Acrobat, and finally upload the marked up submissions to each individual students account. 

This "hack" to grade student's submissions seems unnecessary seeing as the ability is already available when submitted as an assignment. As many have already requested, please implement the ability to open submissions for quizzes in speedgrader.

Thank you