peerScholar

Set Up a peerScholar Assignment

You can access peerScholar from Canvas. You do not need to request an account.

Create a Canvas Assignment
Build a peerScholar Activity
Notify Students of Due Dates

Create a Canvas Assignment

In the course menu of your Canvas course, click Assignments.
At top right of the page, click +Assignment.

Add an assignment name.
Scroll down, and in the dropdown menu next to Submission Type, select External Tool.
Even if you know the correct URL, click on the Find button.
In the pop-up (shown below), scroll to find peerScholar V3 and click on it to populate the URL box.
Check the box next to Load in a new tab.
Click Select.

Save the assignment. Do not publish the assignment yet! The assignment needs to be set up in peerScholar before it can be published.
The assignment page will display. Click on Load peerScholar Link in a new window to load peerScholar so that you may begin to build your peerScholar activity.

Build a peerScholar Activity

In peerScholar, you will be prompted to build a new activity or copy an existing activity. These instructions are for building a new activity.

Select one of the following activities:
1. Classic: This is a classic peer assessment activity. Students give/receive feedback to/from a random set of peers.
  peerScholar.com Guide to Building a Classic Activity
2. Case Study: Students will see different cases (topics) and can give feedback to peers who did the same case or a different case.
  peerScholar.com Guide to Building a Case Study Activity
3. Group Work: Students will submit their activity as a group and peer assess other groups. Further options include:
  1. Group Assess: Students will submit their activity as a group & peer assess other groups' activities.
  2. Individual Assess: Students will submit their activity as a group & peer assess other groups’ activities as individuals.
  3. Group Member Evaluation: Students will only evaluate group members' contributions. *Note:* this activity type is designed for assignments where the group work has happened outside of peerScholar (e.g., in an LMS, in the classroom, etc).

peerScholar.com Guide to Building a Group Work Activity

For each type of activity, you can edit your Activity Name. By default it will match the name you entered in the Canvas Assignment.
Click Create Activity then follow the prompts. Full details on how to create activities can be found in the peerScholar Guides linked to above.
After building your activity you will be returned to an overview page. To publish the activity within peerScholar, slide the Show Activity toggle so that it is blue.
Return to your Canvas course and publish the Assignment within Canvas. You can confirm that it has been published if it has a green circle with a checkmark next to it on the Assignments page.

Notify Students of Due Dates

Because peerScholar is an external tool, the due dates set up in a peerScholar activity will not populate the student calendar or task list with due dates. Follow the instructions below to add due dates to the student calendar and task list.

There are three due dates associated with a peerScholar assignment:

The Create due date: this is the date by which the student must submit their assignment for peer assessment. This can be a written submission or another medium, such as images or multimedia.

The Assess due date: this is the date by which the student must complete the anonymous review of their peers' submitted work. Students may be required to review multiple submissions.

The Reflect due date: the purpose of this due date depends on how you set up the assignment. Students may be asked to evaluate the feedback they received and/or implement that feedback by submitting a revised version of their original submission.

The Canvas assignment can only accommodate one due date. Set the Create due date within the assignment, then set the Assess and Reflect due dates as events in the Calendar.

In the Assignments section of your course, click on the assignment name then select Edit Assignment Settings.
On the Assignment page that opens, scroll down to the Assign box and add the Create due date in to the Due box. Optionally, set your Available from and Until dates to span the entire assignment dates, as set in peerScholar.
Save the assignment.
To set the Assess and Reflect due dates: at the left side of your screen, click on the Calendar icon in the global menu.
At the right side of your screen, click on your course name under the list of Calendars.
Click on the + button at the top of the screen to add an event.
On the pop-up, ensure the Event tab is selected and that your course is listed in the Calendar drop-down, then click More Options.

Add a descriptive title, such as "Assess due date: peerScholar Assignment #1". This is the text that will display in the student calendar and task list.
Add details in the description box. You can include a link to the Assignment here (as shown).
Add the due date and time - note that both the start and end time of the event represent the due date.
Click Create Event.
Repeat steps 4-11 to add the Reflect due date.
The students will now see all three dates listed in their To Do list on the course home page and within their Canvas Calendar.

For more information, please see How is a Classic Activity Set-up (YouTube video)

Contact ctl.helpdesk@ubc.ca to arrange a consult to set up peerScholar for your specific needs.

UBC Okanagan Centre for Teaching and Learning peerScholar Directory

Updated June 2021