Gradescope: Scanning student papers and uploading scans to Gradescope

Issue/Question

• What's the best way to scan student papers on the OSU Ricoh copiers?
• How do I scan student exams after cutting off the staples?

Environment

• Oregon State University
  • OSU Ricoh Copier/Scanner
  • Gradescope
  • Canvas
    • Instructor

Resolution/Answer

If you want to use Gradescope to score hand-written exams or quizzes, you'll first need to scan the papers and save them to a secure location. Following the steps below will help to ensure: 1) exam papers are not lost, and 2) the papers are read-able in Gradescope.

Step 1: Prepare the student exam papers for scanning

1. Carefully cut off the staples using scissors or a paper cutter, making sure to keep all pages in order.
2. Stack the papers in batches (up to about 100 pages each) to be scanned together.

Step 2: Set up the Ricoh scanner

1. From the Ricoh home screen, choose the Scanner (Classic).
2. Select Scan Settings and choose "B&W Text/Photo"
3. Increase Auto Density setting to maximum darkness.
4. Change the Original Orientation to Upside Down.
5. Select 2-Sided Original, if appropriate.
6. Enter your email address (or select it from a programmed list).

Step 3: Scan the student exam papers

1. Put one "batch" of papers in the top feeder of the copier.  Make sure to orient the papers so that the text is upside down and the front page is on top of the stack (NOTE: doing this will avoid feeding the cut-off corner of the paper, which can cause a jam).
2. Keep track of each stack, in case the scanner does not scan properly (for instance, separate each stack of scanned exams by a colored piece of paper).
3. If your exam has multiple versions, scan these separately.

Step 4: Save the scans to a secure location

1. Locate each scanned batch of exams in your email and download the PDFs to a secure location, such as https://box.oregonstate.edu/.
2. We recommend re-naming each file (such as INSTRUCTOR LAST NAME.last name of the student whose paper appears first in the batch).  This will help you more easily find a batch of physical exam papers if needed.

You are now ready to upload exam scans to Gradescope and associate them with students: https://www.gradescope.com/get_started#manage-scans-and-submissions.

Still have questions?

If you questions about this topic or related topics, please use one of the following methods to contact the Classroom Response team at Oregon State:

• Sign in and add a comment/question to this article using the tools below the article
• Send an email to canvas@oregonstate.edu