Introduction
Maple T.A. is an external tool that can be utilized to allow easier grading and assignment distribution, generally enabled within STEM courses.
Curriculum Designers: Setup in a Course
Navigate to modules on the left hand side of the screen.
Under the module where you would like to add the Maple T.A. content, click on the plus symbol at the top right.
Select "External Tool" from the drop down, scroll down to "Maple T.A." and select it, add the name you would like to be displayed, check "Load in a new tab" then click "Add Item".
To create a new Maple T.A. Assignment, click on an item in Canvas that has been linked to the course's Maple T.A. page.
Once you have accessed Maple T.A., click on the "Content Repository" tab located at the top of the page.
Click the "Create New" button, hover your cursor over "Assignment", then click on the unit that you would like the assignment to be added to.
Give the assignment a name. You can also give the assignment a description and text to show before and after the quiz if you would like.
Now you will need to add questions to the assignment. Click on the "Select Questions" tab.
You have 3 options when adding questions. You can import questions, create new questions, or create a new question group. The New Question Group simply allows you to import or add questions to a question group so only importing questions and new questions will be demonstrated.
When importing a question first click "Import Question".
Navigate to the question(s) that you would like to import to the assignment. Check the box next to the content then click the "Import" button.
Now that we have imported a question, let's create a new one. To continue add questions to the assignment, click on "Add" and select "New Question" to add a new question to the assignment.
Name the question then in the large text box, type the new question.
Next, we need to add an area where the student can answer the question. Click on "Response Area"
Choose the question type (here we will demonstrate multiple choice) then in each text box add a possible answer. Click "OK" when you are done adding answers.
On the next screen, select which answer is correct. Here you can also add in feedback for each question if you would like to do so. Click "OK" to continue.
When you are done editing the question, click the save button.
Continue to add as many question as you wish. When you are ready, click "Set Policies" to add restrictions and specifications to your assignment.
On this page, you can add how long the student has to take the quiz, how many attempts they have, set a passing score etc. Feel free to customize these options that you feel will benefit the assignment. When you are done click "Save & Close" at the bottom of the page.
You will be presented with a page that shows a summary of the assignment. If everything looks correct, click "Save & Close" again.
You have successfully created a Maple T.A. assignment.
Technical Operations: Linking to an Assignment
Click on the item you just created. You will need to link it to an assignment.
Under the "Create a Link to an Assignment", select the assignment that you would like to link to and click on "Link to Assignment". You can also create a new assignment.
Usage Instructions
Click on the item you just created. You will need to link it to an assignment.
Under the "Create a Link to an Assignment", select the assignment that you would like to link to and click on "Link to Assignment". You can also create a new assignment.
From the Maple T.A. homepage, click on "Gradebook" from the top navigation bar and select "Class Grades" from the drop down.
Hold down the Ctrl button on the keyboard and select the assignments that you would like to export then click the "Search" button at the bottom of the page.
At the the bottom of the page in the "View Panel" section:
Set the style to be Percentage.
ONLY check "Last name", "Given Name", and "Student ID", uncheck all other boxes.
Once you have the correct data selected click on the "Export to CSV" button.
Click on "Gradebook" within Maple T.A. then click on "Grade Reports" from the drop down menu.
You will now have to create a new grade report. To do so, click on the "New" button at the bottom of the page.
Give the report a name. A good suggestion is to name it the same as the assignment you are exporting.
Now you need to create a group that contains the assignment you are wishing to export. Click on the "Add Group" button.
- Give the group a name. Again, you can give it the same name as the assignment so there is no confusion.
- Next give the group a weight. 100% is a good idea because then the students' score for that assignment will be based off of 100%.
- Select the assignment you are exporting from the list of available assignments.
- Look at the other options available and decide if you wish to apply any of them.
- Click the "Save" button when you are done.
Click the "Save" button to save your changes to your grade report.
Click on the new grade report you just created then click the "Load" button.
At the the bottom of the page in the "View Panel" section:
Set the style to be Percentage.
ONLY check "Last name", "Given Name", and "Student ID", uncheck all other boxes.
Once you have the correct data selected click on the "Export to CSV" button.
When you have finished choosing the correct options, click on the "Export to CSV" button.
Now that the CSV has been exported, you will need to convert the data to the correct format so it can be uploaded into Canvas. Instead of doing this manually, you will use a tool that will convert your CSV to the correct format. Follow the instructions on that page to correctly convert your CSV.
Click on this link to access the tool that will convert your CSV to the correct Canvas format:
Importing Maple T.A. CSV to Canvas
If you are using the new gradebook, click here.
If you are using the old gradebook, click here.
New Gradebook Import
In Canvas click on "Grades" from the sidebar.
Click Actions.
Select Import.
Click the Choose File button. Navigate to where the file(s) are located and upload them.
Once the file has been selected, click Upload Data.
Old Gradebook Import
In Canvas click on "Grades" from the sidebar.
On the top right of the screen hit the "Import" button.
On the next screen click on the "Choose File" button and locate the CSV file that you importing. Then click "Upload Data".
Students Not in Canvas
After clicking the Upload Data button, you may presented with a screen asking for clarification on a student. While uploading the student's assignments and grades, Canvas noticed a student that it could not find a match to meaning that the student does not have an account associated with the Canvas course.
If you are asked to provide clarification on a student, your options are:
- Ask Canvas to ignore the student by selecting the option Not in my class, ignore this row. This will tell Canvas to not add any information for that student to the course.
OR
- Match the unknown student to a student already in Canvas by selecting a student name from the list of options. This will tell Canvas to match the student in the spreadsheet with the student already in Canvas. All graded Maple T.A. assignments will be added to the course under the selected student's name.
OR
- If you cannot find a match for the student, make sure that the student's account is associated with the Canvas course. If they have not been added to the course, send them an invite to join. This will allow the student's account to be associated with the course. You can then upload the file to Canvas. Now that the student is in Canvas, they will be matched correctly and the assignments will be added for that student without issues.
Assignments Not in Canvas
If Canvas has questions about your assignments or students, you will be presented with a page asking for clarification.
Common issues are:
- The assignment being uploaded is not yet in Canvas.
- If the assignment is not in Canvas and you are wanting to add the assignment, choose the option that says "A new assignment". This tells Canvas that the assignment in question is indeed a new assignment and we want to upload it.
- If you do not wish to upload the assignment, choose the option that says "Bogus, ignore it". This tells Canvas that the assignment is to be ignored and will not be uploaded.
- The assignment is in Canvas but the assignment name in Maple T.A. is different than what is in Canvas.
- In this instance, Canvas does not recognize the assignment because the name in Maple T.A. is different than what is in Canvas.
- If you do not wish to include the assignment, choose the option that says "Bogus, ignore it".
- If you wish to make it a new assignment in Canvas, choose the option that says "A new assignment".
- If the assignment is already in Canvas but the Maple T.A. name is different and you do not want to create a new assignment for it but want to save the scores to the already created Canvas assignment, select the Canvas assignment name from the list. This tells Canvas that the assignment in question is already in Canvas under a different name and to save the Maple T.A. scores to the selected Canvas assignment.
- In this instance, Canvas does not recognize the assignment because the name in Maple T.A. is different than what is in Canvas.
If the assignments are not yet in Canvas, mark the assignment as "A new assignment". Next, add in the weight of the assignment which can be found in the Gradebook in Maple T.A. Click on the "Continue" button.
Once you have figured out the assignment(s) in question, Canvas may ask you to input a point value for the assignment if you chose the option to import a new assignment. If so, enter a number that reflects the number of points possible for the assignment ( i.e. if you input the number 5, the highest score possible is a 5/5).
If you are not importing a new assignment you may skip this step.
Click Continue when you are finished.
Upon clicking Continue, you will be presented with a page that has a list of the students, the assignments being imported, and the score they received for the assignment.
The "From" column indicates the score that the student currently has in Canvas. If it is blank, then it is likely that the student does not have a score for that assignment in Canvas yet and this will be the first time that a score is being recorded.
The "To" column indicates the score that the student has received in Maple T.A. This is the score that is being imported into Canvas.
Double check that the grades that are being imported in Canvas are correct. If changes need to be made, make the edits in the file then import the file. Otherwise, click "Save Changes".
You have successfully imported a file containing assignment grades from Maple T.A. to Canvas.
You are done. Great job!
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