Handwritten Submissions

Situation

The instructor has a math-based exam in physics which requires the student to show the answer and the work done to find that answer.

Background

Currently, there is no way to directly enter handwriting into Canvas. The student must print the exam, write their answers while showing their work, and submit it.

Part 1: Adding the file to a Quiz (Instructor)

1. Create a new quiz. Within that quiz, create a new file upload question. This question type allows students to upload a document directly into a Canvas quiz.

Attach the test document as a file or pdf in the question text area. When uploading the file to to Canvas, restrict the dates the file is available to students to match the assessment.

Part 2: Access the document and write answers (Student)

There are a variety of ways a student can access and then respond in handwriting to the instructor's prompts.

If a student has access to a printer, they can download and print the document created by the instructor.
If a student doesn't have access to a printer, they can write their answers on a fresh sheet of paper. Tell your students what information you'd like written on each page in this case. For example, "Write your name, section # and question # on each page."
The Canvas Student App has some limited drawing capability on PDF files. Use the pen icon (#3) to draw on the PDF. This is the hardest path for a student to use and best for limited annotation rather than full handwritten assessments.

Part 3: Capturing and Uploading Work (Student)

If a student has access to a scanner, they can scan the document and upload it to Canvas.
If a student doesn't have access to a scanner, there are several apps they can use on a mobile device. There are many free scanner apps available.
If a student doesn't have access to a scanner, they can take a photo of their work and convert it to a pdf for upload. Adobe has a free image to pdf converter on their website.

Lockdown Browser or no?

The File Upload question type does not work with Respondus Lockdown Browser. If you would like to use Respondus Lockdown Browser and/or Monitor during a quiz with handwriting some instructors have used a two quiz approach.

The first quiz should include the test file and could utilize Respondus Lockdown Browser and/or Monitor. During this first quiz period, the student completes the handwritten work.
The second quiz begins immediately after the second quiz ends and is a short, timed quiz with the file upload question type. This second quiz does not have Lockdown Browser and/or Monitor enabled and is simply for students to upload the file directly to Canvas.

Contact the Teaching & Learning Technologies team to discuss any questions you have about managing handwritten assessments and alternative assessment ideas.