[LON-CAPA-users] Returning Work to students

[Raeburn, Stuart]

I have created an enhancement request (see bugs.loncapa.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6930 ) with a proposed implementation that is consistent with the "dot integer dot" versioning scheme currently used in LON-CAPA's portfolio space, but will at the same time preserve the file extension used by the instructor for the "commented" file he/she uploaded, if different from the extension used for the file originally submitted for an  assignment by the student.

Stuart Raeburn
LON-CAPA Academic Consortium
________________________________________
From: Raeburn, Stuart <raeburn at msu.edu>
Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2020 8:15 PM
To: Discussion list for LON-CAPA users
Subject: Re: [LON-CAPA-users] Returning Work to students

A correction ...

The example message displayed to the instructor (which I included in my previous post), should have read:

... which in your case could be something like:

instructor_comments.pdf will be the uploaded filename /uploaded/ohiou/astudent/portfolio/turned_in/Physics_2020/Exam3/question10/forcediagram.jpg

Stuart Raeburn
LON-CAPA Academic Consortium
________________________________________
From: Raeburn, Stuart <raeburn at msu.edu>
Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2020 7:55 PM
To: Discussion list for LON-CAPA users
Subject: Re: [LON-CAPA-users] Returning Work to students

Mark,

>
> I just ran into something unexpected, and I’m reaching out to see if anyone has a workaround.
>

Your workaround:
"We are now telling students to right-click, "Save Link As” and change the file type to .pdf" ...
sounds like a reasonable solution.

A sub-optimal alternate solution would be for the instructor to take a screenshot of the PDF file, and save as a jpg file, before uploading that as the returned "commented" file, in the case where the extension used by the student was .jpg.

When the "Save & Next" button is pushed to complete the upload of the "commented" file, LON-CAPA displays this message:
<filename of returned file> will be the uploaded filename <path to file>/<original filename>

which in your case could be something like:

instructor_comments.pdf will be the uploaded filename /uploaded/ohiou/astudent/portfolio/turned_in/Physics_2020/Exam3/question10/forcediagram.pdf

LON-CAPA differentiates between the original file, the "graded" file, i.e., the submitted file present at the time of grading, and any returned file(s) by inserting: dot integer dot between the filename of the file submitted by the student and the extension used by the student for the file.  This functionality was implemented in July 2006, and first included in LON-CAPA 2.2.

If a student uploaded a file named: report.jpg
then on the filesystem in the student's portfolio space you would find:

report.jpg    (original)
report.1.jpg ("graded")
report.2.jpg ("returned")
report.3.jpg (a second file returned for the same assignment to the same student).

This type of versioning is not only present on the filesystem, but is also tracked in the file_permissions.db file which determines who may see a file in a student''s portfolio space.

A file named report.pdf would be considered a different file, and graded (and returned versions of that file would be: report.1.pdf, report.2.pdf, report.3.pdf etc.)

LON-CAPA does not currently peek at the contents of a "commented file" to determine if the contents of the "commented" file indicate a mime type consistent with the file extension used for the original file.

LON-CAPA also ignores the filename chosen by the instructor for the "commented" file and simply names the file according to the versioning scheme described above.

When a student displays his/her portfolio space, he/she will see the original file listed, and if it has been submitted for an assignment, an arrow icon that can be toggled to open or close a listing that includes links to the versioned files (i.e., "graded", returned etc.).  The pattern -- name, version, extension -- is used to identify which files should be grouped together when displaying a portfolio directory listing.  LON-CAPA relies on the only difference between the original file and related files being: dot integer dot (i.e., it does not support using a different extension for the original file and the commented file).

As noted in a recent post to the admin list:
mail.lon-capa.org/pipermail/lon-capa-admin/2020-April/003413.html
a student can delete the original file (after it has been graded) to reduce portfolio usage.  The "versioned" files (i.e., graded, and commented) do not contribute to the calculation of portfolio disk usage.

Stuart Raeburn
LON-CAPA Academic Consortium
________________________________________
From: LON-CAPA-users <lon-capa-users-bounces at mail.lon-capa.org> on behalf of Lucas, Mark <lucasm at ohio.edu>
Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2020 4:17 PM
To: lon-capa-users at mail.lon-capa.org
Subject: [LON-CAPA-users] Returning Work to students

Hi,

I just ran into something unexpected, and I’m reaching out to see if anyone has a workaround.

We had students upload a picture of their work for some of the recent online exams.

In the grading area there is an option to return a commented version of the file to the student:
("Return commented version of samplework.jpg to student:”)

My colleagues took what in this case was primarily jpegs, pulled them into pdfs, commented
them and then uploaded.

When uploading the file keeps the same name (and file extension) as the originally submitted
document. One can, in retrospect, see how it is inferred in the language “Return commented
version of…”), but it caught us off guard.

We are now telling students to right-click, "Save Link As” and change the file type to .pdf.

Are we missing something? Is there a way to cleanly keep the filetype on the upload?

Thanks,
Mark

--
Mark Lucas                                                              email: lucasm at ohio.edu
252D Clippinger Lab                                             phone: (740)597-2984
Department of Physics and Astronomy                     fax: (740)593-0433
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701

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