Competencies

After reading this document, you will be able to:

•  Use the Assignments Tool

The Assignments Tool

Figure 1: The Assignments Screen

The Assignments tool allows you to create and distribute course assignments to your students, and to download, evaluate, and assign a grade to their completed work. Depending on how you structure your course, you may want to have Assignments linked on the Homepage, or you may want to group Assignments with quizzes and self tests on an Assessments organizer page.

To issue an assignment to your class, first add the assignment to the course. Next, specify instructions, assign a maximum possible grade, and set assignment availability.

In addition, you can attach assignment-related files such as photographs, spreadsheets, or articles. You can also allow students to submit assignments late by specifying a cut off date. Students can then view the assignment instructions, submit their completed work, and view their grade after you have given it.

Adding, Deleting, and Organizing Assignments

You can use the Assignments tool to add or delete assignments at any time. In addition, you can organize your assignments by rearranging their order.

To add an assignment

1 Navigate to the Assignments screen and select Designer Options. The Assignment screen appears.

2 From the Actions Menu, select Add. The Add Assignment screen appears.

3 Type the title of the new assignment in the Assignment Title text box, and click Add.

4 The Assignment screen appears. The new assignment title displays as a hyperlink.

Important  The assignment must now be made available to students; instructions for doing so can be found in the Establishing Settings section.

To move an assignment up or down in the Assignments list

1 Navigate to the Assignments screen and select Designer Options.

2 Under Assignments, click the option button for the assignment that you want to move.

3 From the Actions Menu under Organize, select the number of places you wish to move the assignment.

4 Click Move item up or Move item down and Go. The Assignments list redisplays, with the assignment moved to its new location.

To delete an assignment

Warning  Deleting an assignment removes the assignment and all related student submissions from your course. However, the assignment grades are retained in Manage Students.

1 Navigate to the Assignments screen and select Designer Options. The Assignment Options screen appears.

2 Under Assignments, click the option button for the assignment that you want to delete.

3 In the Actions Menu, select Delete.

4 Two warning messages appear, one after the other. Click OK to each one.

5 The updated Assignments screen appears, with the assignment deleted.

Establishing Settings

You can use the Assignment Settings screen to provide instructions to your students, along with the due date and maximum grade possible for the assignment.

To specify assignment settings

1 Navigate to the Assignments screen and select Designer Options.

2 Click the name of the assignment for which you wish to specify settings.

3 Click Edit assignment settings from the Action Menu.

4 In the Basic Settings area:

a If you so choose, you can change the assignment title in the designated text box.

b Type instructions for the assignment in the designated text area.

c Enter the maximum grade possible for the assignment in the designated text area.

5 In the Availability area:

a From the Available starting drop-down lists, select the date and time at which you want to make the assignment available. Be sure that the option button next to the lists is selected.

-OR-

Select Immediately to make the assignment available immediately.

b From the Due Date drop-down lists, select the due date and time. Be sure that the option button next to the lists is selected.

-OR-

Select Unlimited to leave an open due date.

c In the Cutoff date area, select Do not allow late submissions.

- OR-

Select Allow late submissions and select Unlimited or specify a specific date by which submissions will not be accepted.

6 In the Notification area:

a Specify whether or not to acknowledge students' submissions via email.

Note The course administrator must enable this function in order for you to utilize it in your course.

b Specify whether or not you want to be notified of student submissions. If you opt for notification, enter a valid email address in the designated text box.

7 In the Results section, specify whether or not to release the score for the assignment once it has been graded. Also choose whether or not you would like their grades from this assignment to be released in the My Grades tool. You can also control the release of this column from the Manage Students page.

8 Click Update to make the changes and save the assignment information. The Assignment Information screen reappears.

Attaching Files to an Assignment

Import allows you to upload and attach assignment-related files such as photographs, a spreadsheet you want students to modify, or articles to which you want students to respond. You must create and upload a file to your My-Files folder before it can be attached to your assignment.

To attach a file to an assignment

1 Navigate to the Assignments screen and select Designer Options.

2 Click the hyperlinked name of the assignment to which you wish to attach a file. The Assignment screen appears.

3 In the Action Menu, click Browse. The WebCT Browser opens.

4 Select the option button next to the desired file.

5 Click Add Selected. The Assignment Information screen appears, with the name of the file in the Filename text box.

6 To attach the file, click Import.

7 The screen refreshes to show the newly imported file. To view the attachment, click on its filename.