ComPAIR

ComPAIR is an open-source assessment and peer review application that asks students to complete an assignment and then compare two of their peers’ answers for deeper learning. When reviewing their peers’ work, students pick the answer they think better meets instructor-set criteria (e.g., “Which is better articulated?”, “Which is more accurate?”) and write feedback to each student.

 

Integrating ComPAIR into Canvas

Integrating ComPAIR into Canvas facilitates the automatic population of students into your ComPAIR course and auto-syncing with Canvas Gradebook. There are two ways in which you can integrate ComPAIR into your Canvas course site. We recommend choosing only one method to minimize multiple entry points.

Adding a course menu link

  1. Access your Canvas course site.
  2. Click Settings on the course menu.
  3. Select the Navigation tab.
  4. Drag the ComPAIR item from the bottom section of the page to the top section.
  5. Click Save.

Click on the link you created to launch ComPAIR and create your course. You will be prompted to create an account if this is your first time using ComPAIR. 

Adding a ComPAIR link to a Canvas module

  1. Access your Canvas course site.
  2. Click Modules on the course menu.
  3. Click the + icon on the top right corner of the module you wish to add the ComPAIR link to.
  4. Select External Tool from the Add drop-down menu.
  5. Scroll all the way down and check the box Load in a new tab.
  6. Click Add Item.

Click on the link you created to launch ComPAIR and then create your course by following the prompts. You will be prompted to create an account if this is your first time using ComPAIR.

NOTE: Students must use the Canvas ComPAIR link in order to have their membership sync automatically with ComPAIR.

Assignment linking and syncing with Canvas Gradebook

ComPAIR assignments can be linked with Canvas Gradebook to enable automatic grade syncing. Students are redirected from Canvas to ComPAIR using individual assignment links, and once they've completed the assignment, their grades are synced and appear as a new column in Canvas Gradebook.

1. Access your ComPAIR course.
2. Click the Edit button for the assignment that needs to be linked to the Canvas Gradebook.

 

 

3. Click the Copy? button to copy the LTI Parameter required to link the assignment to the Canvas Gradebook.

 

 

4. Open your Canvas course site in a separate tab and click on Assignments.
5. Create a new Canvas assignment by clicking on the +Assignment button in the top right corner.
6. Create a Name for your ComPAIR assignment and allocate its point value.
7. Select External Tool for the Submission Type
8. Click Find and select ComPAIR from the list.
9. At the end of the External Tool URL field, type a question mark (?) then paste the value copied from ComPAIR (Step 3). 

  • The External Tool URL will look something like this:
    compair.elearning.ubc.ca/api/lti/auth?assignment=********

10. Check the box Load This Tool In A New Tab and click Select.
11. Click Save and Publish.

Your ComPAIR assignment should now be linked with Canvas Gradebook. Your Canvas assignment page should appear in the Assignments tab; an example of how it should look is below.


 

NOTE: Students must access each ComPAIR assignment exclusively through Canvas in order for grades to sync properly between ComPAIR and Canvas Gradebook.

Using ComPAIR without Canvas

ComPAIR can also be used without Canvas, however you must manually create a course and import users to it. Importing users requires some knowledge of how to download and edit a CSV file of your course's students, and it means you will need to manage the class list manually (e.g., updating ComPAIR when students add or drop the course).

Creating a ComPAIR course

1. Log into the application from compair.elearning.ubc.ca using your CWL.
2. Click + Add course in the top left corner of the page.
3. Fill in the necessary course information and click Save.

Adding users to your ComPAIR course 

1. Access your ComPAIR course and click Manage Users.
2. Click Import Users.
3. Create and upload a CSV file with all the student information as per the requirements stated on the Import Users page.

Learning technology support

If you have any questions or if you would like to report an issue regarding a learning technology, please don’t hesitate to contact us at LT.support@science.ubc.ca. For in-person support, please join our LTRs at one of our drop-in sessions.