AI-Assisted Grading at Scale – Enabled by Canvas LMS

Grading and providing feedback is a crucial but time-consuming task for instructors. As courses scale, this challenge only intensifies, with instructors spending more time on grading, providing feedback too late in the learning process and spending less on impactful interactions with students. What if there was a way to streamline the grading process while giving students feedback much earlier?

That’s where TimelyGrader comes in! TimelyGrader is an AI-assisted grading platform that simplifies the process from the start while ensuring that instructors are looped in every step of the way. We’re focused on workflow efficiency without introducing more steps to instructors, which is why we’ve partnered with Canvas LMS. When integrated with Canvas, TimelyGrader offers a frictionless experience that accelerates feedback loops and enhances student learning, all while reducing the workload for instructors. Let’s take a look at how: 

Canvas Integration: Seamless and Frictionless!

TimelyGrader integrates with Canvas via API and is designed to work within instructors’ existing workflows without adding any extra steps. With our integration, instructors can: 

• Log in with single sign-on: Access TimelyGrader directly from Canvas with no extra credentials required
• Instantly import assignments: TimelyGrader pulls assignment details such as descriptions and rubrics directly from Canvas, ensuring AI-assisted grading and feedback remain contextually accurate. No manual copying required!
• Student submission sync: Sync student submissions from Canvas to TimelyGrader for process so students use Canvas as usual
• Pull and push rubrics: Whether instructors create rubrics on Canvas or TimelyGrader, they stay in sync, ensuring consistency in assessment criteria without the need to update both
• Easy grade passback: Once grading has been confirmed by instructors, grades and feedback can be pushed back to Canvas, eliminating manual any copying and pasting

How does TimelyGrader Create a Win-Win?

We know traditional grading isn’t ideal for both instructors and students. “I teach for free but I get paid to grade” is a sentiment that many instructors have. For students, they rarely get feedback quick enough to incorporate into their future work, increasing anxiety and unease. TimelyGrader solves both pains by adding AI-assisted grading and feedback tools that smoothly integrate into the Canvas experience, bringing:

• AI-Assisted Grading: TimelyGrader uses the assignment description and rubric that instructors import from Canvas to suggest grades based on the assignment context, complete with a rationale for each suggestion. This helps instructors make well-informed final grading decisions in a fraction of the time. 
  
• Faster, Better Feedback for Students: On top of grading suggestions, TimelyGrader enables instructors to provide multiple rounds of personalized feedback earlier in the process so students can actually incorporate them before the next assignment is due. For even faster feedback, students simply launch TimelyGrader directly from Canvas, upload their drafts, and receive instant feedback based on the criteria set by their instructor. Instructors can review and adjust this feedback as necessary afterwards. 
• AI-Generated Rubrics & Fine Tuning: Creating rubrics optimized for AI grading can be time-consuming, and many instructors are unsure how to structure them for effective use with AI. TimelyGrader simplifies this process by generating AI-optimized rubrics directly from assignment descriptions imported from Canvas that can also be further fine-tuned. These rubrics can then be synced back to Canvas, ensuring consistency across both platforms.
   
  
  By leveraging the full integration of Canvas and TimelyGrader, instructors can streamline their grading workflows, save valuable time, and provide students with more opportunities to improve their work so they are more confident in their ability to complete the course. 

Looking Ahead: What’s Next for Our Integration 

As our partnership continues to evolve, we’re focused on providing even more features that reduce instructors’ workloads and improve student learning. Some exciting features in the works include: 

Administrator View

With Administrator View, admins at the account and sub-account levels will have a central dashboard providing insights into grading trends, AI accuracy, instructor workload, and more. Access control mirrors Canvas’ structure, meaning administrators automatically retain their existing permissions to manage who can use TimelyGrader within their institution.

Discussion Board Grading and Feedback

Grading and providing feedback on discussion board responses can become overwhelming, especially as conversations expand with multiple rounds of comments. Tracking each student’s contributions and offering thoughtful feedback at scale can be very time-consuming. Soon, instructors will be able to pull discussion responses from Canvas and use TimelyGrader to efficiently assess participation and provide meaningful feedback, helping to keep discussions engaging regardless of class size.

Join Us to Learn More

Curious to learn more about how Canvas LMS + TimelyGrader can streamline your grading workflow? Join us for a webinar! 

Date: May 13, 2025

Time: 9am MT, 8am PT

Register now to secure your spot!