Rename submission type from "on paper" to "in class"

[kylecage0]

Is it possible to customize and rename the default submission types? The built-in options are Online, No Submission, On Paper, or External Tool. Obviously "on paper" and "no submission" accomplish the same thing, but "on paper" indicates that students will be handing in something in class. We are wanting to rename "on paper" to "in class" to cover things like speeches, presentations, and demonstrations.

Is it possible to rename the built-in submission types, or to add our own submission types?

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

@kylecage0 ...

There is no built-in way within the Canvas interface to change the names or add/remove options.  I don't even know if there would be a way to program this with custom code on the admin side of Canvas to change these names.  Keep in mind that if you start changing these names, then the custom names you have will not match with the official Canvas Guides that you can find here in the Canvas Community.  So, you might be creating some confusion for people looking for documentation that is different than what you've done to customize your courses.  See the section on "Select Submission Type" in this Guide as an example:

How do I add or edit details in an assignment? - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)

Also, if there was a way to add this via custom code, it's going to affect every single course in your Canvas environment...not just one course.  Some instructors might like this change...while others may not.  So, you need to keep all of this in mind by making a change like this.

Hope this will help a bit.

[kylecage0]

Thanks Chris. I remember at a conference years ago I was talking to someone who had customized the submission types at their school. No idea how they did it - the guy was way smarter than me but he was showing me what it looked like. They had added a submission category for their nursing department for clinical portfolio assignments or something. It was pretty cool. 

[TrishaMeyer1]

Hi @kylecage0 ,

The "No Submission" option is intended for speeches, presentations, and other activities (not necessarily done in class) whose grades will be recorded in Canvas. The "On Paper" option is for instructors to use when something is to be submitted physically (a paper, a poster, etc.) but needs a column in the Gradebook on Canvas. You're right that they behave the same way in Canvas in that there is no online submission; in each case they serve to create an entry in the Gradebook and a place to provide feedback in Speedgrader. 

[paul_fynn]

@kylecage0 Moodle was here years ago where the language pack allowed you to add local names for core features (eg Instructor, Teacher, Tutor etc.)

This is one of a number of areas where there would be significant benefit in being able to add a new name associated with an existing label; we might want to have a submission based assignment that was "Present and upload" for example, or a non-submission which included 'In Class", "To Reception" etc.