Setting up your assignments and Gradebook are some of the most important tasks when using bCourses as a tool in your class. This article for instructors provides a checklist for creating and using graded assignments, and links to specific help articles with step-by-step information that will help you set them up and use them throughout the semester.
Learn about Assignments
First, take a minute to read about Assignments. What is considered an Assignment? What can they be used for? Where they are kept?
See this Canvas Guide for more information: What are Assignments?
The bCourses Assignment Workflow
Once you've learned a little more about what assignments are and how they can be used, this suggested workflow can help you break down the process of setting up assignments in your course (click on the Full Screen option to view larger):
1. Create Assignment Groups
Are your grades weighted? Do you have, for example, a final that is worth more than your homework assignments? If so, you may want to create Assignment Groups to organize them, as well as weight their grades. Review these Canvas Guides:
2. Create individual assignments
Allow students to submit digital files of their work using bCourses. Even if you are having students turn in papers in-class, create an Assignment in bCourses in order to create a column in the Gradebook where you can enter grades. Review these Canvas Guides:
3. Publish assignments
To publish an assignment, click the assignment’s Publish button, or the unpublished icon, see screenshots below. The button will change from gray to green.
OR
4. Weight Assignment Groups
You can weight final grades based on assignment groups. Selecting this option assigns a weight to each assignment group, not the assignments themselves. Within each assignment group, a percentage is calculated by dividing the total points a student has earned by the total points possible for all assignments in that group.
5. Set Preferred Grade Posting Policy for Course or Assignments
By default, assignments have an "automatic" grade posting policy, meaning that grades are released to students as soon as they are entered by the instructor. Setting a Manual Grade Posting Policy will allow you to enter all your grades first, then decide when to release them to students. You can set this status to individual assignments or at the course level, so that all grades are hidden by default and must be posted to be viewed by students.
- How do I use posting policies in a course?
- How do I select a grade posting policy for a course in the Gradebook?
- How do I select a grade posting policy for an assignment in the Gradebook?
6. (Students submit assignments)
7. and 8. Review and Grade
Students have submitted their assignments — where do you go to grade them? If students uploaded their assignments into bCourses, you have a couple of options for reviewing and grading them:
- Review and grade online in bCourses using Speedgrader
- Review and grade offline by downloading all submissions, uploading them back into bCourses for students to view, and using Speedgrader or the Gradebook to provide comments/feedback
If students submitted paper copies in class, go to the Gradebook and enter grades there. See this Canvas Guide: How do I enter and edit grades in the Gradebook?
9. Post Grades (Un-mute)
If you select a Manual Grade Posting Policy, grades remain hidden from student view by default until you post grades for the assignment. At the assignment level, you can also choose if you want to schedule when to release the grades and assignment feedback. You can schedule release grades and comments together or on separate schedules, and set the release date and time.
- How do I post grades for an assignment in the Gradebook?
- How do I hide or post assignment grades in SpeedGrader?
Optional: Export Final Grades to E-Grades
You can export the Gradebook into a format that can be uploaded to the Registrar's E-Grades system. See this bCourses help article for step-by-step instructions on this process: How do I export grades from bCourses to E-Grades in CalCentral?
These steps are the basic workflow for setting up and using Assignments and the Gradebook. Do you have more specific, detailed questions? First, please search the Canvas Instructor Guide, or our bCourses Knowledge Base. If you find that you are not able to find the help article that you need, submit a Help Request form.
For more on Getting Started with bCourses, see these articles:
- Getting Started with bCourses: Site Setup and Management
- Getting Started with bCourses: Communicating
- Getting Started with bCourses: Organizing Your Course Site