submit zipped file for assignment

Question

Hello there,

Is it possible for a student to submit a zipped file for an assignment?  Will the submission type 'file uploads' accommodate this?  Will the file be able to go through Turnitin?  Would the lecturer have to download and unzip the file to grade?  Presumably this couldn't be annotated in SpeedGrader.

Thanks ever so much, Kerrie.

michael5 · Accepted Answer

You can select which file types and/or limitations you want to set. Open the assignment and set the Submission Type to Online. Your students can now hand in whatever file type they want. If you want to get more specific (because you only accept certain types of zipped files) you can hit Restrict Upload File Types and then type zip - now the students are required to hand in a .zip file.

You might want to add some more file types though as not everyone is using the Windows standard. I would add: zip, zipx, rar and 7z

A lecturer would absolutely have to download and unzip the file, there's no way around this and it won't work with SpeedGrader. But, there's nothing stopping your students from handing in several files so if that's what you want. You may want to restrict the file types, but just inform your students of what you expect them to hand in. Basically, several files for one assignment works with SpeedGrader but not if they are zipped.

Chris · Accepted Answer

Hi @330467,

In addition to the great comments by @michael5, I wanted to add that a zip file would not be processed by Turnitin either.  I think zip files are a great option for students submitting coding-type projects where specific file naming and folder structures may be required to get something to work on the instructor end, but probably not the best idea if the submission is a collection of documents/spreadsheets/powerpoints or similar (which would be better to do as multiple uploads on the student end).

Hope this helps!

-Chris