We have listed the gradable items in Canvas in an easy-to-read chart format so that you can easily and quickly see what options are available to you. We have also linked to some options that can be used as a workaround for any features that are unavailable or unsupported in Canvas.
| KEY: | |
|---|---|
| ✔ Yes | Feature available |
| ✘ No | Feature not available |
| N/A | Feature not supported, but workaround possible |
| GRADABLE ITEMS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content Type | Canvas | |||
| Can be graded | Can add a rubric | |||
| Assignments | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes | ||
| Turnitin Assignments | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes - learn more | ||
| Discussion Board | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes, if Discussion is set to be graded | ||
| Assessments/Tests/Quizzes | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes | ||
| Surveys | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes, if survey is set to be graded | ||
| Journals | N/A, see workaround | N/A, see workaround | ||
| Wikis/Pages | ✘ No | ✘ No | ||
| Attendance | ✔ Yes, learn more | ✘ No | ||
| Chat | ✘ No | ✘ No | ||
| Collaborations | ✘ No | ✘ No | ||
| Blackboard Collaborate | ✘ No, but creative workaround possible | ✘ No | ||
| Conferences | ✘ No, but creative workaround possible | ✘ No | ||
| Kaltura Video Quizzes | ✔ Yes | ✘ No | ||
Turnitin Assignment Rubrics
You must add your Canvas rubric prior to linking to the Turnitin external app in assignment settings. This means, you must create the assignment as a basic Canvas assignment, then add add the Canvas rubric to the assignment, and then edit the assignment settings to make it into a Turnitin Assignment. For step-by-step instructions see How do I use a Canvas rubric with a Turnitin assignment?
Journals Workaround Option
Canvas does not have a "Journal" tool, however, you can use Canvas Assignments creatively to somewhat mimic a journal tool. The simplest option for this would be to create a different assignment for each journal. Make sure to include a due date in the assignment settings, but leave the "available until" date blank on each of these assignments. This way, you can:
- Easily view whether or not a student has submitted their assignment on time or late.
- Easily grade each "journal" submission.
- Students can refer back to their previous work if you are asking them to build on those previous submissions for the next "journal" submission.
- Students are not able to view each others' work.
Blackboard Collaborate and Canvas Conferences Workaround Option
To grade student attendance in a web-conference, you could create a single-question, password-protected quiz for each web-conferencing session. During the session, give out the password, and then students can complete the quiz after the session has ended. If a student did not "attend" the web-conferencing session, then they will be unable to complete the quiz.

