Using Canvas Collaborations for Student Group Assignments (One Student Submits for the Group)

Modified on Tue, 08 Nov 2022 at 02:54 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS


I. Before Working on the Assignment


1. First, you need to associate your Google account with Canvas to use collaborations. If you have not already done so, please connect your Google account to Canvas: 


How do I connect to Google Drive as a web service in Canvas as a student?


Important: It is recommended that you use your GoogleSAS account only if you use your sas.upenn.edu email address. If you have your sas.upenn.edu email forwarded to another email address, you must use a personal Google account. You can create a personal Google account by following these instructions: 


Set up a Google Drive account


2. Pick one group member to set up the collaboration in a Google Doc.  Once you have decided on someone, they can set up the Google Doc collaboration by clicking Groups > the link for the  group (for example: Group 2 1) > Collaborations. Then, that group member will follow these instructions to create the collaboration:


How do I start a collaboration in a group?


Important: 

  • Please make sure to add the following people to the collaboration:
    • Your group member(s)
    • Instructor(s)
    • If applicable, your TA(s)
  • You might be asked to to confirm your Google account again. If so, please click on the link to do this. 



Example of secondary Google Drive confirmation in Canvas

3. The group member setting up the assignment will need to copy and paste the content from the assignment document file into the Google Doc. To this, open the assignment Document file and  press the Ctrl and keys (PC) or Command and C keys (Mac) to copy the document's content. Then, open the Google Doc collaboration and click the Ctrl and keys (PC) or Command and A keys (Mac) to paste the document's content in to the Google Doc. 


Important: The pasted content will lose its formatting, and none of the figures will be copied, so you will need to consult the format and figures in the original assignment Document file to complete the assignment. 


II. Working on the Assignment


1. Find you group by clicking Groups > the link for the  group (for example: Group 2 1) > Collaborations.
 
2. Click Collaborations > name of the collaboration (for example Group 2 1 Assignment)This will open the Google Doc.
 
3. Group members can complete the assignment by typing into the Google Doc to respond to questions. If group members need to decided how to split up the work, it is recommended that you discuss this before working on the assignment. One easy way to do this is to pick a time to open the Google Doc together and use the chat feature to discuss how you will collaborate on the assignment. For more information on how to use the chat feature in Google Docs, please consult: 
 
 

III. Submitting the Assignment

1. When group members are finished working on the assignment, one of you will need to download it as a Word document or PDF, which you can do by  opening the Google Doc and clicking File > Download >Microsoft Word (.docx) or PDF document (.pdf).


Example of where to find options to export a Google Doc to .docx or .pdf


2. One of the group members will submit the downloaded file for the assignment by following these instructions:
 
 
Please note: Only one of you will submit the assignment. Please decide among you who will do this.

 

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