Canvas LMS

Overview

This node interacts with the Canvas LMS API to retrieve multiple submissions for a specific assignment within a course. It is designed to fetch all submissions related to an assignment, which can be useful for educators or administrators who want to review student work in bulk.

Common scenarios include:

• Downloading all student submissions for grading or record-keeping.
• Integrating submission data into other systems for analytics or reporting.
• Automating workflows that require batch processing of assignment submissions.

For example, an instructor could use this node to get all submissions for "Assignment 1" in "Course 101" and then trigger further actions such as sending feedback emails or updating gradebooks.

Properties

These properties are required inputs to specify which course and assignment's submissions should be retrieved.

Output

The node outputs a JSON object containing a data field, which is an array of submission objects returned by the Canvas LMS API. Each item in the array represents a single submission with detailed information such as submission status, user details, grades, comments, and timestamps.

Example output structure (simplified):

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": 12345,
      "user_id": 67890,
      "submission_type": "online_text_entry",
      "body": "Student's submission content",
      "grade": "95",
      "submitted_at": "2023-01-01T12:00:00Z",
      ...
    },
    ...
  ]
}

No binary data output is produced by this operation.

Dependencies

• Requires an API key credential for authenticating with the Canvas LMS API.
• The node must be configured with valid Canvas LMS API credentials including the base URL and access token.
• Network connectivity to the Canvas LMS instance is necessary.

Troubleshooting

• Common issues:

  • Invalid or expired API token: The node will fail to authenticate; ensure the API key is valid and has sufficient permissions.
  • Incorrect Course ID or Assignment ID: The API may return errors or empty results if IDs do not exist or are mistyped.
  • Rate limiting by Canvas API: If many requests are made rapidly, the API might throttle requests causing failures.

• Error messages:

  • "Error in "submission" operation "getAll": ..." indicates a failure during the retrieval process, often due to network issues, invalid parameters, or authentication problems.
  • "Failed to poll Canvas API" may appear if the node is used in polling mode and cannot reach the API endpoint.

• Resolutions:

  • Verify and update API credentials.
  • Double-check input IDs for correctness.
  • Implement retry logic or increase polling intervals to avoid rate limits.

Links and References

• Canvas LMS API Documentation - Submissions
• Canvas LMS Developer Key Setup