Assign a Worksheet: Word First, or a PDF They Can Mark Up

Every student is on a school-managed Windows laptop with Word. Pick the format, set up the assignment, paste the student steps. About 5 minutes.

Why this page exists: teachers keep getting blank worksheets turned in. It is almost always one of two things: the student wrote on a PDF in Edge and never saved, or uploaded a second, untouched copy. A Word file or a Canvas annotation assignment removes both.

01 Which one?

START HERE

Word file

You want

Students to type answers.

They get

AutoSave and one file. No converting.

Your setup

Attach a .docx. File Uploads, allow docx and pdf.

Share with students

Student steps: Word · handout

How →

Canvas annotation

You want

Students to mark up the page itself: highlight, label, type in blanks.

They get

Everything inside Canvas. It saves as they work. Nothing to download or lose.

Your setup

Student Annotation, then upload the PDF.

Share with students

Student steps: in Canvas · handout

How →

PDF in OneNote

You want

Handwriting, math, diagrams or Chinese characters.

They get

A pen, autosave, and the layout kept exactly.

Your setup

File Uploads, allow pdf. Send the OneNote handout.

Share with students

Student page: OneNote · handout · Mandarin

How →

PDF in Edge

You want

A two-minute fill-in, with no Canvas setup.

They get

Type and draw on the PDF. Edge does not autosave.

Your setup

File Uploads, allow pdf. Remind them: Ctrl + S.

Share with students

Student steps: Edge · handout

How →

Not sure? Typing → Word. Marking up the page → Canvas annotation. Writing by hand → OneNote. Edge is the fallback, not the plan.

02 Word first: turn your PDF into a Word file

1

In Word, File › Open, and pick your PDF. Click OK when Word says it will convert it.

2

Check the layout. Fix anything that moved.

A typed handout or a quiz usually converts cleanly. A scan, a photo or a page full of boxes and diagrams won't. Use Canvas annotation or OneNote for those.

3

File › Save As, and choose Word Document (*.docx).

4

Attach the .docx to the assignment, and set it up to collect it.

See 03.

03 Set up a File Upload assignment (Word, OneNote, Edge)

1

Submission Type: Online, then tick File Uploads.

2

Tick Restrict Upload File Types and type: docx, pdf

Word users turn in the .docx. OneNote and Edge users turn in a PDF. Allowing both saves Word users a conversion step.

3

Allowed Attempts: Limited, 2 (or Unlimited).

A second attempt lets a student who uploaded a blank copy fix it without emailing you.

04 Canvas annotation: the worksheet never leaves Canvas

1

Submission Type: Online, then tick Student Annotation.

2

Choose the PDF: Upload File, or pick it from Course files.

Canvas copies it for each student.

3

Save. Students open the assignment and write right on it.

They get Pin, Highlight, Freetext, Strikeout, Free Draw and Area. Canvas saves as they go. They click Submit Assignment when done, and you grade it in SpeedGrader.

Two things to know. Annotation does not work on group assignments. Free Draw with a mouse is rough for real handwriting or math; for those, use OneNote. Canvas also suggests ticking a second submission type (like File Uploads) as a backup for students who can't annotate.

05 Paste the student steps into your instructions

Students can't open this course, so put the steps where they are: the assignment instructions. Attach the matching handout too, or link the student steps on each card in 01. Teams Jason to copy a student page into your course.

Paste into your instructions · Word

Open the Word file. Right away, click File › Save As and save it to your OneDrive class folder with the assignment's name. Check that AutoSave says On. Type your answers, then upload that .docx here.

Paste into your instructions · Canvas annotation

Click Start Assignment and write right on the worksheet: Freetext to type, Free Draw to draw, Highlight to mark. Canvas saves as you go. Click Submit Assignment when you're done.

Paste into your instructions · OneNote

Save the PDF to your OneDrive class folder. In OneNote: Insert › File Printout, write on it, set View › Paper Size › Tabloid, then File › Export › Page › PDF. Upload that PDF here. Steps with pictures are in the attached OneNote guide.

Paste into your instructions · Edge

Save the PDF to your OneDrive class folder first (Ctrl + Shift + S). Fill it in with Add text or Draw. Press Ctrl + S every few minutes: Edge does not save for you. Close it and reopen it to check your work is there, then upload it here.

After they submit: students should click their file under the submission and make sure their work shows. It catches a blank upload before you do.

06 The student side, ready to hand out

Student page: Working on a PDF: Edge, Word or OneNote (a picture for every click)
Handout to attach (PDF): Working on a PDF: student guide
Handout to attach (PDF): OneNote worksheets: student guide
Student page: How to Turn In a OneNote Worksheet · Mandarin: How to Turn In a Chinese Worksheet in OneNote
For you: Writing on a PDF in OneNote: graded in SpeedGrader
Want a student page in your course? Teams Jason and he'll copy it in, unpublished, for you to publish.

Not sure it should be an assignment? Assignment, Discussion or Quiz? Pick the Canvas tool that fits →

LAST CHECKED Oct. 20, 2026 · Canvas assignment settings checked in a sandbox course · Student Annotation tools and autosave from Canvas documentation