[ARCHIVED] Adding a text box in CANVAS pages

[assant]

Hi,

I'm having trouble adding a text box in CANVAS pages for students to write answers to questions I pose.

Please see attachment that hopefully explains what I have done so far and where I am stuck.

Thanks

Annabelle

[Stef_retired]

Hello,  @assant  Welcome to the Canvas Community! Taking a step back, if you create a page that students are allowed to edit, each student who types into the text box would overwrite what others have posted before. 

Rather than using a page, then, have you considered using an assignment with text entry submission? That will allow each student to post their own response and you will be able to assess their entries using Speedgrader. Keep in mind, though, that submissions of the text entry type cannot be annotated with DocViewer tools.

Here are some resources to get you started:

How do I create an online assignment?‌

https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-12774-415255021 

Might this approach work for you?

[ashleya2]

Hi there! I had a look at your code. It's using the custom MSPACE code, which is enabled on the MSPACE subaccount at the University of Melbourne. You can ask MSPACE to provide you with the necessary css/js to make that work, and then request Learning Environments to enable it on the university-wide account.

I can see what the Canvas person was trying to say, but it looks like they didn't fully understand the question - the Canvas Page here isn't editable, but the text area is. It enables students to have spaced/interleaved retrieval practice without leaving the flow of the text, so that assimilation and retrieval don't have to happen on separate pages.

The reason I found this question is that I'm hunting for an Idea around this topic. The MSPACE text area is great, but it uses browser storage, meaning that the answers are dumped if students clear their browser data. I was hoping that Canvas would be developing a tool that uses persistent storage - like a text area in an assignment or a discussion, but embeddable inside a page. There are a couple Ideas around journals, but they only really work for our purpose if they can be in a Canvas Page....

[DaveKingLXd]

Hi @ashleya2, I am looking for the same thing - a text entry function so that students can enter responses to problems and questions regularly on a page, and for those responses to be complied on the backend in the same way as they are with assignments.  Do you know of a workaround (like embedding assignment questions in pages for example)?

[ashleya2]

Hey Dave,

I'm assuming that a Discussion doesn't meet your needs, correct?

That particular text area function (the one mentioned in the original post) requires admin access to the Canvas theme. Also, it just uses browser storage. BUT. We have also found that embedding Padlets on the page works quite well when we want to have a quick Q&A without the students leaving the page. I believe you can make a certain number of Padlet boards for free, and then you simply grab the embed code and paste it into the HTML view on the Canvas Page. Don't forget to empty out the board or clone it when you start a new term!

Padlets are great for things like getting students to list pros/cons, argue for/against, or using the Timeline function to get students to upload pictures of themselves or slides of a project, etc.

As the instructor, you can see everything the students post, place restrictions on profanity, delete posts if needed, etc. It's all in one place.

It's good for collaborative work, but not great for individual reflective work - there's just the one board for everyone.

For individual reflection: H5P might have some options you're looking for, if your institution has the H5P plug-in enabled. I find it a bit fiddly to go in and see everyone's responses, though. It would be great if Canvas had, as you said, a way to embed the "assignment" functionality in a page (just without marks).

[Zander254 · Accepted solution]

@MyAARPMedicare wrote:

Hi,

I'm having trouble adding a text box in CANVAS pages for students to write answers to questions I pose.

Please see attachment that hopefully explains what I have done so far and where I am stuck.

Thanks

Annabelle

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To improve SpeedGrader performance, large courses should be separated into sections, which allows SpeedGrader to display submissions for a specific section and decrease the overall loading time for an assignment's data.