Marking and Grading in Canvas

Overview
Curriculum
Instructor
FAQs

Marking and Grades in Canvas is a free, self-paced course for lecturers, teachers and learning designers who mark in Canvas. It follows an assessment from end to end: marking in SpeedGrader, marking with a rubric, making sense of the Grades page and building reusable quizzes with item banks.

The course runs over four weeks, and each week takes about an hour and a half. Every week follows the same PANDA pattern: Prepare sets out the week, Activate gets you thinking about your own practice, Navigate covers the core content in short lessons with activities to try, Demonstrate gives you a practical task and a short graded quiz, and Articulate helps you look back and choose a next step.

Each quiz has five questions and a pass mark of 70%, and you can retake it. The practical tasks use your own Canvas course, so you finish each week with something done rather than just something read.

Curriculum

4 Sections
24 Lessons
4 Weeks

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Week 1: Marking in SpeedGrader
Why SpeedGrader is worth learning, what is on the screen and a marking routine that keeps feedback fair and consistent.
7
Week 2: Marking with a rubric
Get a rubric ready to calculate the grade, use it in SpeedGrader and write criterion comments that give students a next step.
7
Week 3: The Grades page
Set up how grades add up, use the gradebook for everyday tasks and understand what students see.
7
Week 4: Reusable quizzes with item banks
Understand item banks, build one for a New Quiz and keep it organised and shared.
7

wiseoldowl

Some Bio info

How long does the course take?

Four weeks, at about an hour and a half per week. It is self-paced, so you can go faster or slower.

Do I need to be a Canvas expert?

No. The course starts from opening SpeedGrader and builds up. It suits people who are new to Canvas as well as those who want to tidy up how they mark.

How are the quizzes graded?

Each week ends with five questions. You need 70% to pass, you can retake each quiz up to three times, and every answer comes with an explanation.

Do I need live student work?

It helps, but it isn't essential. A sandbox course or a test student works for every practical task.

Requirements

Access to a Canvas course where you can create assignments and quizzes
Ideally, an assignment with a few submissions to mark, or a sandbox course with a test student
About an hour and a half each week

Features

Mark submissions in SpeedGrader using a consistent routine.
Apply a rubric in SpeedGrader so ratings set the grade.
Write criterion comments that give students a next step.
Set up assignment group weights and a post policy before students submit.
Build an item bank and draw from it in a New Quiz.

Target audiences

Lecturers and teachers who mark in Canvas
Learning designers who set up assessment in Canvas courses
Staff new to Canvas who want a practical start on marking and grades