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How do you do a word count on a document submitted from a student on Canvas? It was very easy to do on Google Docs, but I can't figure it out on Canvas.
@psmiley , the best I can think of is to either open the document in Word or Google Doc’s and get the word count from there. There is a feature idea for this that’s on product radar and you might want to vote and add your feedback on why this feature would be helpful to have - https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/3454-word-count-for-speedgrader-grading
Pam, I'm going to add one other potentially useful idea. If you are wanting word counts on Discussion posts, click the Edit button next to a student post to see a word count below the Rich Content Editor. After seeing the number click Cancel so that no edits actually take place.
"If you use Chrome or Firefox, install an extension called “Word Count Tool”. I could not find a similar tool in Safari yet, but please share if you find one. Once installed, highlight any text (or the entire paper), right click, and then click on “Word Count Tool”, you will be able to see the detailed Word Count information."
@psmiley , the best I can think of is to either open the document in Word or Google Doc’s and get the word count from there. There is a feature idea for this that’s on product radar and you might want to vote and add your feedback on why this feature would be helpful to have - https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/3454-word-count-for-speedgrader-grading
Pam, I'm going to add one other potentially useful idea. If you are wanting word counts on Discussion posts, click the Edit button next to a student post to see a word count below the Rich Content Editor. After seeing the number click Cancel so that no edits actually take place.
I would agree with @kona that probably the easiest way to determine a word count of a student submission is to download the Word document, and then open it up in Microsoft Word. The word count in Microsoft Word can be found at the bottom left side of the screen.
true but when I have 60 short papers to grade, and I want to use speed grader, since it is, well, speedy, but the assignment has a minimum word count, this gets very tedious.
I can see where having a large number of students may present a problem opening that many downloaded documents. I would highly suggest that you consider voting for the Feature Idea that Kona referenced in her reply above. Also, as she has mentioned, add your feedback so that Instructure knows why this would be important to you. They do read our comments here in the Community.
"If you use Chrome or Firefox, install an extension called “Word Count Tool”. I could not find a similar tool in Safari yet, but please share if you find one. Once installed, highlight any text (or the entire paper), right click, and then click on “Word Count Tool”, you will be able to see the detailed Word Count information."
Another possible option. The University of Colorado has a number of Canvas Enhancements using TamperMonkey scripts. Scroll to SpeedGrader Word Count and follow the instructions to install TamperMonkey and the script.
Also, Data Basic.io Word Counter is developed by educators for educators. The site databasic.io has other text tools such as SameDiff and ConnectTheDots. See theEnsuring Your Privacy statement. There does not appear to have an extension so copying and pasting would be required.
This discussion post is outdated and has been archived. Please use the Community question forums and official documentation for the most current and accurate information.