Canvas Update: Fixing SpeedGrader for Discussions

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When Canvas recently added the discussion checkpoints feature, the way SpeedGrader operated for all discussions changed, too, removing the option to see a single student’s posts in one place and instead showing the entire discussion thread. On Wednesday, March 12, that will change as Canvas modifies the SpeedGrader interface once more to give instructors the choice of how to view their students’ discussion posts.

If you want to view discussions how they were before – only showing one student’s responses at a time – you won’t have to do anything! Canvas is reverting to that being the default state for discussions in SpeedGrader. If you want to view a student’s replies in context, you can quickly use the link at the top of the SpeedGrader window to jump to that view – and then the “Switch to individual posts” link to return.

The updated SpeedGrader discussions view showing all student replies in the window with a "switch to viewing the full discussion context" link at the top. — *The SpeedGrader discussions view showing a student’s posts without the full context of the discussion*

The top of the SpeedGrader discussions full context view showing the "switch to individual posts" link. — *The top of the SpeedGrader in context view showing the link to switch to the individual posts view*

Showing Replies in Context

Canvas also made some tweaks to how viewing a student’s replies in context works. Instead of having “previous” and “next” buttons where you could infinitely scroll through a student’s replies, you now have arrow buttons to jump to the previous or next posts – or the first or last. Canvas will also show how many replies a student made so you know that without having to scroll through and count.

The "next," "previous," "first," and "last" buttons and the total reply indicator in the Canvas SpeedGrader panel for the discussion in context view. — *Part of the SpeedGrader discussions grading panel showing the “first,” “previous,” “next,” and “last” buttons as well as the reply count for a particular student*

Changing Default View to Showing Replies in Context

If you loved the new view of SpeedGrader and always want to see that as your default – Canvas does still have that option for you! In SpeedGrader, click the cog icon to open the SpeedGrader settings menu, then click “Options.” In the pop-up, choose “Show replies in context.” This will change your SpeedGrader settings across all of your courses, so you only have to set it once.

The SpeedGrader options window showing the default discussion view options. — *The SpeedGrader options window with the option to change the default discussion view*

If you ever want to return to seeing a single student’s posts isolated, you can return to that options menu and select “Show replies without discussion context.”