Essay question: Sometimes typed responses are only partially visible

[JanetCascio]

Sometimes students type an answer to an essay question (classic quiz) but only some of the words are visible. If I select or highlight the entire area, I can see their answer. One student said that some of the words turned red as she was typing - those were the words I couldn't see without highlighting the area.

Any idea why this happens and what students can do to prevent this? This has happened only a few times, but I'm afraid I might not notice that part of the answer is missing and give a student a much lower grade than they deserve.

Answer I can see:

Answer I can see if I select this area:

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @JanetCascio ...

That's pretty strange.  I would think that the default should be standard black text and a white background.  Might some students be clicking on any of the text editing buttons in the Rich Content Editor of the essay question text box before beginning to type their responses?  I know it may seem unlikely, but that was my first though.  Or, might they be pasting in text from another source...such as a Microsoft Word document or (hopefully not...to avoid plagiarism) a website?

What about clearing their browser cache or trying a different browser altogether?  Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are good choices.  (I've also had fairly good success with the Microsoft Edge browser...but I am a Canvas admin, not a student.)

• How do I clear my browser cache on a PC?
• How do I clear my browser cache on a Mac?
• What are the browser and computer requirements for Instructure products?

Please keep us posted...thanks!

[JanetCascio]

Thanks. The change seems to start in the middle of a sentence often, and they say they are not changing any settings. They are in lockdown with all other tabs closed, and if they use the control button, they are kicked out of the "quiz". We are using the Google browser. It has happened to me now twice this year and to another teacher once last year. We have been using Canvas for several years. 

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi again, @JanetCascio ...

When you say "lockdown", are you referring to the Respondus LockDown Browser?  This is a different browser compared to Google Chrome, so I wasn't sure if that is what you meant or not.  If they were using the Respondus LockDown Browser, this *might* be a question for their technical support rather than for Canvas Support...because Respondus LockDown Browser would be considered a third-party integration with Canvas.

If students are not using the Respondus LockDown Browser, then I think a call to Canavs Support would be a good idea.  Students should use this Guide to contact Canvas Support so that they can get a ticket logged.

How do I get help with Canvas as a student?

Hopefully this will be of some help.  Thanks again for the reply.

[sjsiena]

I am having the same problem and students have had the problem BOTH in lockdown AND without.  

I would appreciate knowing what is causing this -- does it signify something?  Some have said it relates to using spellchecker.  But that would not be possible in lockdown (?) yet it is still happening...

I think this needs some attention.