Save Time with the
SpeedGrader Comment Library

Reuse Common Feedback

A relatively new Canvas feature, the SpeedGrader Comment Library, allows instructors to easily save and re-use responses, routine or otherwise, across their Canvas courses!

Reuse Can Be a Good Thing

Because they have a broad overview of their feedback and comments across a course, instructors can feel ambivalent (or worse) about reusing comments and feedback for multiple students. But the reality is, as long as the comment is accurate and aligned with your grading criteria, the comment is new and useful to the individual student. There are plenty of other places we can use this time saved, including more personalized feedback!

Using the Comment Library

Accessing the Comment Library

When grading using the SpeedGrader, you will see a small speech bubble icon above the text editing area with a number showing how many existing comments are in your library:

Click that icon to open your Comment Library.

Adding, Editing, and Deleting Library Comments

The Comment Library interface is fairly intuitive:

1. Select and use a comment by clicking on it (you will have a chance to edit the comment before submitting it).
2. Use the pencil icon to edit a comment.
3. Use the trash icon to delete a comment.

At the bottom of the same window is a window to add a new comment to your library:

Simply compose your new comment and use the ‘+ Add to Library’ button to add it to the list above.

Using Comments From the Library

There are two ways to use a comment from your library:

As noted above, click on any comment in the library to have it fill the comment box in SpeedGrader.

Assuming you didn’t disable the “Show Suggestions When Typing” option in the comment library, Canvas will suggest comments that match words in a comment you are typing:

The auto-suggest feature is a bit, umm…, temperamental, so comments you expect to appear may or may not.

Enabling/Disabling Comment Suggestions

If you find the Canvas comment library suggestions less than useful, you can enable or disable them from the main Comment Library window using the toggle at the top of the window:

Issues

Current usability issues with the Comment Bank include:

• You can’t edit draft comments.
• There is no way to limit the comment library to individual courses.
• There is no way to organize the comment library.

Resources

Canvas Instructor Guide: How do I use the Comment Library in SpeedGrader?

SpeedGrader: Comment Library (2021-06-19 Release Screencast)

Teaching Tip by Chris Lott <clott@uw.edu> | 11/3/22 | Photo by Paul Melki on Unsplash