[Gradebook] Default Comment

[andrew_starnes]

When I use the grade book I like to enter zeros for work not submitted by using the "set default grade" feature. It would be very beneficial if there were also a "Set Default Comment" feature that operated in the same way. Currently I have to go back into speed grader to leave a comment. That defeats the purpose of the "Set Default Grade" feature for me. I would just enter the grade and comment at the same time in Speed Grader.

[scottdennis]

This idea seems to have a lot of positive feedback in the comments and had a total of 96 up votes but it also has 13 down votes.  Because there aren't any critical comments I suspect that some of the down votes are actually mistaken.  Do any of you who have voted down care to share your reasoning?  Or, did you actually intend to up vote (unlike with a vote by mail ballot, is is not too late to change your vote if that is the case).

[joes238]

I feel this would save teachers a lot of time and effort for the students who feel the need to not give any in return. While automated comments shouldn't be used for grading proper assignments, I think this would be perfectly acceptable to use for filling in the zero's and then a comment such as "did not complete or turn in assignment".

[jennifer_makosk]

I agree this would be SUPER helpful for missing assignments ( I think commenting on students work is very important, however when the work is not there I would also like to leave a comment with the zero.  Its extremely time consuming to go in and give feedback on 0's in the grade book AND the speed-grader .

[wrasmana]

This can be helpful for even adding a comment for everyone, those who submitted the assignment and those who didn't.  For instance, in an online course, I could create an answer sheet for an assignment and add a comment for everyone that gives a link to the answer sheet, or a link to a video that shows me going over the worksheet like we would in a class. If I want to give more detailed information for a specific student, then I could add another comment for that single student. 

Just as we can message students that don't submit the assignment, we should be able to leave comments just for students that didn't submit the assignment.  Or comments just to those who did submit the assignment, as a generic comment that goes to all of these students.  This will save about 200 clicks/screenloads/pop-ups for me for my classes with 100+ students.

Add this feature now, please, pretty please.  Thank you.

[Renee_Carney]

This was brought up earlier in the conversation, but with the recent comments here I want to make sure to bring up the Message Students Who feature, again.  This is a great way to message all students who have not submitted before filling in their default grade of zero.  It will not be recorded in their grades page, but they will see it in their inbox.

[andrew_starnes]

Thanks Renee, we operate so frequently out of speed grader it helps to be able to have similar comment feature that works like the default grade feature. Thanks again for the reminder!

[andrew_starnes]

Looks like this idea may be in product radar purgatory. I still maintain that it would be super helpful to have a default comment feature to go with default grade. 

[Renee_Carney]

The Radar idea stage has been removed from the Feature Idea Process.  You can read more about why in the blog post Adaptation: Feature Idea Process Changes.

This change will only impact the stage sort of this idea and will not change how it is voted on or how it is considered during prioritization activities.  This change will streamline the list of ideas 'open for voting', making it easier for you to see the true top voted ideas in one sort, here.

[gulick_24]

This would also be helpful in my scenario: 12 instructors teaching 1,700 students, all with the same assignment coming up in a couple weeks. The assignment is graded for completion, and we add that phrase ("graded for completion") to each assignment as a comment in speedgrader.  We copy-and-paste, but a customize-able "stamp" feature where we just click one button and it applies that stamp to the submission (or as a comment) would be such a huge time saver. A previous school I worked at had this function in their electronic records system "Image Now".  We used it for name/time stand as approval for forms, but you could've typed anything in as the default text, then edit it next time if need be.

[kholt12]

I often find myself copy/pasting the same feedback to multiple students when digitally grading work in Canvas. Since this kind of work is often invisible in classes, having the ability to add feedback to a whole class at once can help normalize some of the struggles of students, as well as minimize the amount of times we have to post individual comments, especially when supplemented with a discussion in class. This information could be posted in announcements, but I prefer to keep announcements for major course highlights and time-sensitive updates, and including this kind of (often-weekly) feedback could devalue the urgency of other announcements.