Where Canvas shows a SpeedGrader option is haphazard and arbitrary

[arencambre]

A SpeedGrader option should be available anywhere I can see a quiz. Instead, where Canvas shows shows a SpeedGrader option is arbitrary and haphazard.

Where Canvas made bad design choices is anywhere I can see a quiz but am not presented a SpeedGrader option. Examples:

• Click Quizzes, then click the three dots to the right of a quiz.
• Click Modules, then click the three dots to the right of a quiz.
• Click Assignments, then click the three dots to the right of a quiz. (Separately, this sends me to an edit view. This violates norms in the rest of the internet. When you click on the title of a document, you generally expect a viewing-mode interface unless view-ing mode and editing are tightly integrated, which is not the case for Canvas.)
• While editing a quiz, click the three dots on top right.

Instead of providing intuitive access, Canvas arbitrarily limited where I can the SpeedGrader:

• Click on Grades, click on the little quiz link in the header, scroll to the bottom, then click a SpeedGrader button. (This view of the Quiz is a read-only view. It is what should happen, but does not, when I click on the quiz in the Assignments view.)
• Click on Grades, then click on the three dots next to the quiz in the header row, then select SpeedGrader.

Even if there are other options, great, but that doesn't excuse Canvas's haphazard choices on where to provide a SpeedGrader option.

Please fix this and provide SpeedGrader and other related options anywhere an instructor can see a quiz. Any choice otherwise is simply poor product design.

[Chris_Hofer]

Good morning, @arencambre ...

In reading through your posting, this sounds more like a Feature Idea request rather than a question.  (The area you posted in is more for asking questions about Canvas.)  However, I see that you are currently a New Member...which means that in order to suggest new Feature Ideas, you need to do more stuff (participation) to "rank up" so that you can submit Feature Ideas.  Normally, I share these documents with people:

• Welcome New Members
• How do idea conversations work in the Instructure Community?
• What is the feature development process for Instructure products?
• How do I create a new idea conversation in the Instructure Community?

I searched for existing Feature Ideas, and I am not sure if either of these would meet your needs, but I wanted to provide you with these links:

• New Quizzes: Add location for SpeedGrader Access - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)
• Access to SpeedGrader from home - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)

I know this may not be exactly what you are looking for, but hopefully some of the links I've provided will be of help to you.  Let Community members know if you have any questions about this...thanks!

[arencambre]

Thank you. This is my fifth academic year to use Canvas. It is disappointing that Canvas expects customers to pass some loyalty test before it will listen to them. That is a symptom of a company that is disinterested in customer feedback and improvement.

I looked at the two feature requests. While they are valid on their own, I think they miss the bigger picture. They should be collapsed into this: Every last place that an instructor can see a quiz, Canvas should present a SpeedGrader link. The current design, where it offers SpeedGrader arbitrarily and haphazardly, is terrible design that frustrates users.

[Chris_Hofer]

@arencambre ...

Thank you. This is my fifth academic year to use Canvas. It is disappointing that Canvas expects customers to pass some loyalty test before it will listen to them. That is a symptom of a company that is disinterested in customer feedback and improvement.

---

I don't believe this is about a loyalty test.  Rather, take a look at this document (which was linked in the first document I had provided for welcoming new members):

How do I rank up in the Instructure Community?

The first paragraph under the heading "Rank Up to Community Member" explains the reasoning for the recent change to not letting New Members post Feature Ideas.  I can tell you from my own experience (as a fellow Canvas Community member) that I've reported spam messages that have been posted in the Community...and this was a way for the Community team to get a better hold of those issues.

I hope this extra bit of information will be of some help to you.

[arencambre]

Thank you. I am logging in here using my enterprise university account. That should almost certainly guarantee I am not a spammer. 😁

The lack of trust of people using university accounts tells me I am not valued by Canvas.

[gnoack]

I guess I see it differently.

The three places you mentioned you can't get to the speedgrader I see as design and setup spaces. So the 3-dot menus have choices about designing and setting up quizzes and activities. Use those spaces when setting up the course.

Grading happens in the gradebook. So it makes sense to me that speedgrader options are there. Also, clicking on the link in the home page to-do list takes one straight to the speedgrader. It's probably the easiest way to get to the speedgrader.

[arencambre]

Sorry, I respectfully disagree. If I as an instructor can see a quiz, I should see an option to get into SpeedGrader.

Canvas's current design decision is patronizing. I do not appreciate Canvas telling me I am only worthy of seeing SpeedGrader if I access the quiz using certain paths it ordains as correct but being punished if I use a non-ordained path to see a quiz.

Show me SpeedGrader any time I see a quiz, and stop patronizing me. I need Canvas to a useful product, not a judgmental paternal figure.

[gnoack]

I get it, but having taught with and managed several different LMSs, having drop down menus that list every available option that everyone the planet might need isn't much fun either. It becomes very cluttered.

[arencambre]

You are right about the need to not throw the kitchen sink at users at every opportunity. But essential things should always be present. Could you imagine a browser that patronized me by arbitrarily refusing to display a back button? That is like what Canvas is doing here.

I'll bet you a fresh $2 bill that editing and grading are the two most common things instructors do with quizzes. If that is correct, then every time you view a quiz, you should see some link to edit or grade it.

Overall, Canvas feels like something that started out as a good idea but inherited a culture from people who do not understand UX. That culture still seems to pervade given how often I need to forage lengthy paths to do simple things.

[arencambre · Accepted solution]

Adding this post so that I can mark it as an answer.

Canvas punishes you unless you access functionality in the arbitrary ways it has ordained you to do so. This results in a UI that haphazardly permits access to functionality.

For example, any time an instructor sees a quiz, Canvas should provide access to SpeedGrader. Instead, Canvas declines to provide SpeedGrader access unless you use an arbitrary set of paths to the quiz. Examples:

• If my path to SpeedGrader has me going to the Grades page (/courses/[course#]/gradebook), then Canvas deems me a very good boy and gives me SpeedGrader access. Yay!
• If my path has me clicking on the quiz on the Quizzes page (/courses/[course#]/quizzes), then Canvas considers me a very naughty boy who must be punished by withholding SpeedGrader access.

I would love to ask Canvas fix this UI problem. However, Canvas resists feedback. I have not passed some Canvas loyalty test, so I cannot request fixes. The alleged reason for the loyalty test is phony: Even though having a university enterprise account is among the best ways to prevent spam, Canvas insists that they are a source of many spammers. 😂🤣 Without a rational basis for this prohibition, I have no reason to believe this bar is anything other than a loyalty test to save Canvas the hassle of receiving feedback.

Canvas: Frustrating your users is not a long-term success strategy. Do better!

[KristinL]

Hi @arencambre  -

I'm sorry you're frustrated with our Idea Process, but by requiring Community Members to have the Member rank or higher, we do see fewer duplicate suggestions and spam-like threads. 

It looks like you are a Member and should be able to create an Idea Conversation. If you have any questions as you use our form, please let the Community Team know.

How do I create a new idea conversation in the Instructure Community? 

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Idea-Conversations/idb-p/ideas