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How do I upload a file as an assignment submission for a course using Assignment Enhancements?

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Canvas Update: Instructors Can Upload Files to Assignments for Students 

Canvas has recently added a feature to allow instructors to upload files to assignments for students. To use this feature, you need to start in the gradebook. Click on the student’s cell for the assignment you want to upload, then click the arrow.  

Canvas will slide out a panel from the right side of your screen. Click the “Submit for Student” link.  

Drag and drop or use the file picker to add the assignment file(s), then click “submit.” If you upload multiple files, they will be added as one submission.  

The file is now available to be graded in SpeedGrader! Any files uploaded using this method will show both who uploaded them and when in SpeedGrader as well as the gradebook panel. 

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University Center for Teaching and Learning

New canvas feature: submit assignment on behalf of student.

Scheduled to be released March 18, Instructure is adding another much-requested feature to Canvas: Submit Assignment on Behalf of Student. This will allow a teacher in a course to submit a student upload to an assignment. The teacher can upload a document that their student has given them in some other way while retaining the ability to annotate and retain submission history in Canvas.

This new feature is part of the March 2023 Canvas release. You can read more below, or you can go to the Canvas release notes page .

Feature Video

Submit Assignment on Behalf of Student

Recommended Use

We do recommend, when possible, that the teacher use the existing standard in Canvas for student submissions. That would be to assign missing assignment to the student individually (as one would for an accommodation or extension) and then ask them to submit it through the standard process.

Additionally, a teacher can only submit on behalf of a student for a file upload assignment (not text entry, quizzes, or discussions).

Related directions: How do I assign an assignment to an individual student?

To submit on behalf of a student:

• Go to the grade book
• Find the assignment and student (use the student and assignment search filters above the gradebook to find it quickly!)

• Follow the prompts to select the file and upload from your computer

Details and Limitations

• Canvas will track who submitted on behalf of a student. It will display this in the same sidecar as above, as well as in in SpeedGrader.
• If you use late policies, you can manually set (override) the late from the same part of the gradebook. Directions: How do I apply a Late Submission Policy?
• This is only for assignments in Canvas. This does not work for external tools. Some integrations have their own ability to submit on behalf of a student while others do not.
• If using Canvas assignments in conjunction with Turnitin framework plagiarism detection, you can go to SpeedGrader after the above to ask for a resubmit. Note, however, that doing so bypasses the student’s consent to accept the terms and conditions of the submission and database retention.
• This feature also works with group assignments and peer review assignments, as if the student you selected had submitted. When viewing the submission, other students will see that it was submitted by the teacher on behalf of the student.
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Getting Started with Canvas Assignments

• Last modification date Updated On October 26, 2024
• Categories: Assignments , Canvas , Uncategorized
• Categories: assessment , Getting Started , Grading

Canvas  Assignments  are a way for instructors to provide students opportunities to practice using the knowledge and skills they have gained or to assess student performance related to such knowledge and skills. (Creating an Assignment is the  only  way to create a new column in the Gradebook.)

In Canvas there are four basic  Submission Types  for assignments. The submission types include:

• No Submission : For assignments for which you are not collecting any content from the students.
• Text Entry : For students to enter text directly into a text box on Canvas.
• Website URL : For students to enter a URL (usually to a blog, video, podcast, etc.).
• Media Recordings : For students to upload or record media for submission.
• File Uploads : For students to upload files for submission ( Restrict Upload File Types  will allow you to limit which types of files may be submitted).
• On Paper : For assignments students will submit in person.
• External Tool : For assignments which students will submit through a third-party tool (such as Turnitin, Panopto Video Quiz, and PlayPosit).

Managing an Assignment

Managing assignment groups.

When getting started with Assignments, learn to

• Create an assignment shell with the Canvas guide  How do I create an assignment? 

If you select  Peer Reviews Appear Anonymously , annotation tools in  SpeedGrader  will become unavailable.

If you change the  Assign To  area from  Everyone  to select students after submissions have already begun, and do not have a second set of Assign To dates, submissions from unassigned students will disappear.

• Published assignments are visible as existing outside of availability dates, but students cannot see the details.
• If looking to update the due and/or availability dates on multiple assignments, see   How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?
• If choosing the option to make an assignment a  Group Assignment : If only assigning to specific groups, make sure to click the  X  on the  Everyone Else  choice under  Assign to .

Media Recording  Assignments are not recommended due to technical reasons. Instead, have students submit media by embedding it in a  Text Entry  assignment through Panopto .

Clearly express expectations and criteria for grading by using a  Rubric .

Be cautious limiting submission attempts, as students often make mistakes loading documents and need multiple attempts to ensure you have the correct submission.

• Delete an assignment with the Canvas guide  How do I delete an assignment?
• This duplication process will not work for Quizzes.
• Attach a rubric to an assignment for grading or to communicate expectations to students with the Canvas guide  How do I add a rubric to an assignment?

Accessibility Tips

• Use descriptive text for links, instead of long URLs or ‘click here’. 
• Make instructions brief and to-the-point. Avoid long paragraphs and sentences.
• Consider allowing multiple submission types to accommodate technical limitations students may face.

Assignment Groups  are a way to categorize different graded items in Canvas. For example, you may have journals, blogs, and essays which your students create in your course. Assignment Groups allow you to label and group different types of assignments separately in order to better organize and for ease when applying weighting (see  How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups? ). When getting started with Assignment Groups, learn to

• Add and delete assignment groups with the Canvas guide  How do I add an assignment group in a course?
• Move or reorder an assignment group with the Canvas guide  How do I move or reorder an assignment group?
• Make rules governing grading expectations within assignment groups with the Canvas guide  How do I create rules for an assignment group?

Additional Resources

• CTI Resource: What is the Assignments Index Page?
• How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?
• How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups?
• Canvas Student Guide

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