Canvas Corner: Bulk Publishing and Submit on Behalf of a Student

Canvas has been recently updated with some new features that may be helpful to instructors. These updates include the ability to bulk publish or unpublish modules in a course, and the ability to submit assignments on behalf of a student.

Bulk Publish and Unpublish Module Items

Instructors can now bulk publish all modules or individual modules, as well as unpublish them in bulk. This provides instructors with more options and improves efficiency when publishing modules. You now have the option to publish all modules and items or all modules only, along with the option to unpublish all modules and items. This can be helpful, for example, when copying over content from one course to another. Modules copied over are automatically published, however, you may not want them to be, or you may not want all of them to be published. Rather than having to unpublish each module or module item individually, there is now a new button in the module navigation menu that allows you to perform these actions in bulk. The same options are available for individual modules, allowing you to bulk publish the full module and all items, the module but not each item (allowing you to individually choose which items to publish and when), or to unpublish the module and all items. Note that if you have an individual module item that is scheduled to be published on a specific future date, the bulk publish option will not override that schedule. Instead, you will get a warning alerting you that some module items could not be published, and then all other items will be published while maintaining the previously scheduled publish date for the item in question.

To bulk publish or unpublish all modules:

To bulk publish or unpublish individual modules:

For more information on bulk publishing, please visit: Canvas Release Notes or Release Screencast: Modules Bulk Publish

 

Submit Assignment on Behalf of a Student

There is a new option in Canvas that allows the instructor to submit an assignment on behalf of a student. This feature can be helpful in several situations. There may be students who have difficulties submitting because of accessibility issues, for example. Another potential use would be when students email an assignment to a professor. Perhaps the student didn’t follow the directions properly or the assignment is closed, and the student is submitting late. The instructor can now choose to submit the assignment on the student’s behalf if they wish. Another use would be when the submission is a performance, speech, or presentation recorded on video. The instructor can then submit the video or performance review into the gradebook.

When assignments are submitted by the instructor, Canvas will show who submitted the assignment and when in both the instructor’s and student’s view. Instructors can submit multiple files at a time and can submit beyond the availability date. Please note that to use this feature, an assignment must have a file upload as an option for the submission.

To submit on behalf of a student:

In the Gradebook, find the assignment, locate the student, and click on the Grade Detail Tray icon.

Click the Submit for Student link.

Choose the file to upload, or drag it in, and click the Submit button.

The timestamp and who submitted the assignment on behalf of the student will be displayed in the Grade Detail Tray, as well as in the SpeedGrader.

For more information on submitting on behalf of a student, please visit: How do I submit an assignment on behalf of a student or Release Screencast: Submit Assignment on Behalf of Student.