Java source files in SpeedGrader no longer showing

[ebonakdarian]

As of yesterday I am unable to preview any of the Java source files in the Canvas SpeedGrader that my students are uploading. These files have a .java extension. I have been able to preview these files ever since we started using Canvas a number of years ago, so this is a recent thing (within the last week or so).

There's no error message, just a blank screen. While the source code never looked great in SpeedGrader, it was still helpful for scanning the submissions quickly. I wonder if anyone else is experiencing this?

Thanks.

[VerdonWalker]

I see the same tonight when grading. However, in my case it is python files with a .py extension.

[barrybrown]

Previous question on this topic: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Question-Forum/Speed-Grader-not-allowing-annotations/m-p/5...

[ebonakdarian]

Thanks .. I had searched before, but not come across that thread. Seems to be the same issue. Glad they are looking into it.

[tfrankie]

We are also noticing this at our school; the removal of this preview also means that we are no longer able to provide feedback to students via marking up the code, which is a huge negative impact especially for online students.

I had an issue several years ago in which the text for a .java file did not render correctly (it tried to make an ordered list out of a series of a.method() lines - yes, the student poorly named their variable "a", but did not actually variables named "b", "c", or "d", as Canvas displayed). When I spoke with Canvas support, they told me that .java files were not supported, and my argument that they are just text files with a different extension was beyond the technical expertise of the person I spoke with.

Because of my previous experience, I have low hopes for this actually getting resolved. Unfortunately, my school does not have the funding needed to pay for CS-specific grading tools/LMS.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to handle the lack of preview for programming assignments? The workload involved in downloading every piece of code is huge, especially when a student is just resubmitting to show that they have appropriately updated comments.

[ebonakdarian]

Yes, the source, even when visible, was poor for annotation (only portrait orientation, lines wrapped etc). I would always require students also submit a "print to PDF" version from inside of Eclipse (in our case) for regular weekly programming assignment. I would use that purely for annotation with SpeedGrader since it rendered correctly, with syntax highlighting etc.

I still required the java source to compile/run and test. And I would briefly scan to make sure the source corresponded to the PDF.

On exams, I only have them submit the source (to save them some time), so for instance yesterday after the exam I couldn't do a brief scan to see what if anything the students had submitted. Sometimes they submit just the starter file I give them by accident, if that's easy to see in Canvas I can tell them right away. As it is now, this can't happen (I can't be downloading files continuously at the end of the exam to check their content).

Anyway, I hope Canvas fixes this, at least to the level it was working before.

[AndrewT1]

Canvas support chat tells me this is a known issue and will be fixed with the next Canvas deployment. But a date of this deployment was not known.

😕

[KristinL]

Hi Everyone - Many Canvas users reported this issue, and we recognize how the change disrupted your grading experience. I have news to share: our engineering team deployed a fix today. If you still experience issues, please reach out to Canvas Support. How do I contact Canvas Support? 

[bgamrat]

This is no longer working.

All programming source code is in text files. Instructors MUST be able to annotate student submissions. We've been doing it for 5 years, please restore this functionality.

file --mime-type --mime-encoding tally.py wi_fi.cpp test.txt 

tally.py:  text/x-python; charset=us-ascii

wi_fi.cpp: text/x-c; charset=utf-8

test.txt:  text/plain; charset=us-ascii

file tally.py wi_fi.cpp test.txt 

tally.py:  Python script text executable, ASCII text

wi_fi.cpp: c program text, UTF-8 Unicode text, with CRLF line terminators

test.txt:  ASCII text

[_kt]

I am currently having this issue as well. 

I can still preview old student submissions of Python files from a prior term, but none for this term :[ Not being able to annotate student submission files is going to have a huge impact on my ability to deliver individualized feedback to my students.

[ihate3puttss]

This problem is Back again.   

[barrybrown]

I haven't seen the problem this week. Speed Grader is still working as well as it did prior to February. If it stops working, I'll open up a ticket.

[VerdonWalker]

Why does this problem keep coming back? We need to be able to annotate text file even text files that include code. This is a SERIOUS problem for providing feedback to students.