Canvas Plagiarism Framework FAQ for Instructors

What is the Canvas Plagiarism Framework option?

Turnitin has worked with Canvas to develop an integration that will allow instructors to enable Turnitin within the Canvas Assignment workflow. This integration allows Turnitin to be enabled for a Canvas assignment, provides a Similarity Report and Spelling and Grammar suggestions and can be accessed via SpeedGrader. All grading and feedback is expected to be provided via SpeedGrader and Canvas rubrics can be used. For more information on comparing how Turnitin can be used either as an external tool or through the Plagiarism Framework, click here.

How do I enable Turnitin for my Canvas Assignment?

In the Canvas Assignment, the Submission Type needs to be set to Online Submission and either Text Entry or File Uploads (or both) need to be selected. When these are chosen, the option to enable Turnitin for the assignment shows up in the Plagiarism Review box. Directions for enabling Turnitin for a Canvas assignment can be found here.

When using the Canvas Plagiarism Framework, will my assignment settings be remembered per teacher, just as they are when using Turnitin as an external tool?

The option to "Save as default settings " allows instructors to save their assignment settings for future use.

Which Turnitin settings can I adjust when using the Canvas Plagiarism Framework workflow?

When creating an assignment, you can customize a number of Turnitin settings to allow you to get the most out of each Similarity Report. You can find out more about these settings here.

If I copy a course, will my Canvas Plagiarism Framework settings be preserved from the original course?

The settings you have for a Canvas assignment with Turnitin enabled will copy as is to the new course. You can learn more about copying a course here.

After copying a course containing a Turnitin LTI assignment, I was required to adjust the date of the copied assignment for it to reset to the current semester. Will the Canvas Plagiarism Framework work in the same way?

Because Turnitin works with the Canvas Assignment settings, you do not have to adjust the date of the duplicate assignment for it to reset to the current semester.

Can I use Turnitin's grading and Feedback tools with the Canvas Plagiarism Framework?

The Canvas Plagiarism Framework integration was designed to provide a similarity report and spelling and grammar suggestions only. All feedback and grading is expected to be done via SpeedGrader. You should not be able to access the grading and feedback layer if the integration is set up correctly. If you would like to use these features, you should use Turnitin as an external tool instead.

Can I use PeerMark with the Canvas Plagiarism Framework?

PeerMark is not available in the Canvas Plagiarism Framework. If you would like to use these features, you should use Turnitin as an external tool instead.

Can I use the Student View with a Canvas Plagiarism Framework enabled assignment?

Because this is a Canvas assignment, you can use the Student View with it.

How are dates handled in the Canvas Plagiarism Framework?

Available from dates, Due dates, and Until dates are all controlled by the Canvas assignment. If a Canvas user sends us a paper to process within the acceptable Canvas dates, we'll process the submission. Please remember that collusion check will run on the due date of the assignment.

If a due date is not provided in the Canvas assignment settings, then the due date will default to one year in the future in Turnitin. This is to ensure that Turnitin assignments remain active, since Turnitin always requires a due date for an assignment.

Will the Canvas late submission policy work with the Canvas Plagiarism Framework?

If you allow late resubmissions, the late paper will still be processed by Turnitin and a similarity score will be returned in line with the Canvas late submission policy.

Can I grant individual due dates or set multiple due dates for a Canvas Plagiarism Framework assignment?

Because this is a Canvas Assignment, you can assign individual due dates, due dates by sections, etc. just like you can with any other Canvas Assignment.

What if the Similarity Report fails to generate in the Canvas Plagiarism Framework?

As Canvas may not immediately notify Turnitin that an assignment has been created, we advise waiting 90 seconds between creating the assignment and making the first submission. This will allow Canvas to notify us that the assignment has been created.

If you continue to encounter an issue with the Similarity Report failing to generate, you can select Resubmit to Turnitin from SpeedGrader, which forces the Similarity Report to generate.

Can multiple documents be submitted to one assignment, and if so, how is this flagged in the Gradebook?

You may want students to submit multiple files to the same assignment. For example, you may want a word document of the lab report submitted and an excel spreadsheet of the data submitted as well to the same assignment. Since both of these are readable text files, Turnitin will generate a Similarity Report for both files. It is important to remember that the color and plagiarism indicator in the Gradebook will show the highest percentage matched document to the submission and not an average percentage of both documents.

Can I control when my students are able to view their Similarity Report in Canvas?

You have the ability to control student Similarity Report access at assignment level. You can choose from the following options:

Immediately: The Similarity Report will be made available to students as soon as they make their submission in Canvas.

After the assignment is graded: The Similarity Report will be made available to students as soon as their assignment has been graded in Canvas.

After the due date: The Similarity Report will be made available to students as soon as the assignment due date passes.

Never: The Similarity Report will never be made available to students but will be available to instructors after submission.

What do students see when accessing their Similarity Report in the Canvas Plagiarism Framework?

Students will be able to view their Similarity Report (and spelling and grammar suggestions if enabled) in Turnitin Feedback Studio (which is accessed via Canvas through Submission Details or Gradebook), just as they can when they use Turnitin as an external tool.

Do indications of the report percentage appear in the new Canvas Gradebook features?

Indications of the Similarity Report percentage will appear in the Canvas Gradebook. If you would like to view the report, you can launch SpeedGrader via Gradebook to view it.