Quick Links: | Environment | Solution | Root Cause |
When instructors set up graded group discussions in Canvas, it generates both individual group discussions and a course-level discussion. If a student is not added to a group, they may post in the course-level discussion instead. Posts made in the course-level discussion are not visible in SpeedGrader, making it difficult for instructors to assess and grade these submissions.
Environment
- Canvas LMS
- Graded group discussions
- Courses using groups during the add/drop period
Solution
There is no fix for this issue after it's already happened.
To avoid the issue of student posts not appearing in SpeedGrader in the future, follow these steps:
- Navigate to the People tab in your course.
- Ensure all students are allocated to a group within the group set.
- Under Discussions, create a new graded group discussion.
- In the Assign To field, manually select each group rather than assigning the discussion to "Everyone."
- Ignore the Canvas warning that the discussion isn't assigned to the entire class and select Continue.
- Confirm that only students in those groups can see and participate in the discussion.
- Regularly check the group set to ensure no students are unassigned, especially during the term's add/drop period.
Now, all future student responses will be captured in SpeedGrader, allowing for accurate grading.
Root Cause
When Canvas creates graded group discussions, it automatically generates a course-level discussion that serves as a link to the assignment's grade column. Canvas allows students who are not part of any group to post in this course-level discussion, but SpeedGrader only shows posts made within the individual group discussions. As a result, posts made in the course-level discussion are not displayed in SpeedGrader, which is the intended behavior.
Still need help? Reach out to Canvas support or the Technology & Learning Program for further assistance.