The Canvas SpeedGrader tool can be a fantastic online grading option. To maximize the experience for a specific instructor/grader, SpeedGrader downloads all students submissions and current grades at one time and instructors are then able to look at submissions and grade. Moving from student to student does not require the browser to refresh and use more bandwidth, which can streamline and improve performance for the person grading student work.
HOWEVER, this method is not the best when you have multiple users grading the same assignment and students at the same time. In this situation, each grader as they continue grading will not automatically see any edits / annotations / grades that other graders make.
Example:
TA 1 and TA 2 are grading students in the same class and assessment at the same time.
TA 1 grades a student on their response to Question 1 in the assessment. TA 2 then goes to that same student, does not see TA 1's grade, and enters a score as well.
TA 2's score will then overwrite any scores that TA 1 entered.
What information can potentially be lost when multiple graders are using the SpeedGrader at the same time on the same assignment?
- Grades added to the overall assignment grade
- Grades added using a rubric
- Grades/points added to quiz questions
- Comments made on quiz questions
SOLUTION: Working around SpeedGrader limitations
Have each TA / grader use SpeedGrader at a different time. Make sure that no 2 graders are in the SpeedGrader at the same time. The first grader should fully log out of the SpeedGrader before the next TA / grader begins their grading session.
If you do not have auto-created discussion / lab sections in your course, you can Manually Create Course Sections in your course to allow you to split students up. You can then have each TA grade just one section, or just one section at a time.
If you have graders that must be grading at the same time, graders should make sure that they are never on the same student as another grader. It is recommended that before they move to the next student they should refresh their browser before they begin entering scores on the next student.
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