Finals week is here—and with it comes the pressure to finish grading quickly and accurately. For online instructors, that doesn’t have to mean long hours of manual feedback or navigating clunky workflows. With the right tools, you can streamline your grading process without sacrificing quality or care.

SpeedGrader: Your First Stop for Efficient Feedback

During finals week, Canvas’s SpeedGrader feature is your new best friend. It allows you to view student submissions, use rubrics, and leave feedback all in one place. No downloading files, switching tabs, or digging through your inbox. You can also opt to grade by question, which also promotes consistency for open-ended questions.

Use Rubrics to Save Time and Standardize Feedback

Well-built rubrics make grading faster and more consistent. Instructors can click to assign points and include pre-written descriptors, while students benefit from knowing exactly how they’re being evaluated. Pro tip: Add short explanations or examples to each rubric criterion to cut down on follow-up emails.

Comment Banks: Say It Once, Use It Often

If you find yourself typing the same comments over and over, a comment bank is a time-saver. Canvas lets you reuse feedback across students. You can also keep your own running list in a document or notes app to copy and paste when needed.

Try Audio or Video Feedback

Leaving short voice or video comments can be faster than writing and helps humanize your feedback. Many instructors find that speaking their thoughts allows for more nuance and warmth in less time.

Batch Feedback on Common Issues

Noticing the same issue across multiple submissions? Post a general announcement or discussion board comment to address it for the whole class. This saves you from repeating yourself while still offering support.

You don’t need to reinvent your grading process to make it better—just a few small adjustments can help you finish strong without burning out.

Upcoming Events

Quick Hits: Getting Started with Kaltura

Wednesday, May 7, 2025 3:00-4:00pm

Join us for our “Quick Hits: Getting Started with Kaltura” presentation on Wednesday, May 7, from 3-4:00 pm! This quick hit will introduce you to using Kaltura, Clemson’s video storage solution. This training will cover accessing Kaltura, uploading videos into Kaltura, creating videos with Kaltura Express Capture and Kaltura Capture, and embedding Kaltura videos into your Canvas courses. When registering, please include any questions you have about this training topic.

Facilitated by John Dickinson, IT Services Specialist.

Register here to receive the Zoom link.

Quick Hits: Editing Videos in Kaltura

Thursday, May 8, 2025 3:00-4:00pm

Join us for “Quick Hits: Editing Videos in Kaltura” on Thursday, May 8, from 3-4:00 pm! This training will cover basic editing for videos in Kaltura, including adding chapters and hotspots, and editing Kaltura captions. When registering, please include any questions you have about this training topic.

Facilitated by Gray Jackson, Sr. Learning Tech Specialist.

Register here to recieve the Zoom link.

Clemson Online Summer 2025 Events Calendar

Review our Summer 2025 Events Calendar to see what Online Instruction Development opportunities await!

We have a robust lineup of topics and live training formats to support your use of Canvas and other e-learning tools. Topics cover demonstrations of using Kaltura, engaging your students, and workshops to get your Canvas site ready to teach!

All of our live training is recorded. Registrants will automatically receive a link to that day’s video after it has been processed.

Contact Millie Tullis with any questions regarding these sessions.

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