The WebCT Assignment dropbox is an electronic location where students can submit their file for grading in WebCT. Instructors can securely provide feedback on the students work with comments and post an electronic grade for the work. Students can view the electronic feedback and see their grade. WebCT becomes an advanced file repository and the official location student hand-ins. This is often helpful for faculty who may be teaching many classes and trying to manage hundreds of email from students emailing homework, which can be quickly overwhelming. By having students hand-in to WebCT, managing hand-ins can be easier.
WebVista can handle various formats of Assignments. For example ...
Assignments with a point score (e.g. 93/100) and non-score grades, e.g. a pass/not-completed
Assignments where a student submits a file or a URL
Group assignments (where one student can hand-in for a group, etc.)
Progressive assignments (assignments where a student hands in an initial file, which is returned to them or where students hand in a later file)
There are things faculty way want to consider when setting up an Assignment the first time.
Managing settings, due-dates, release criteria
How the assignment process looks from the student view
How to retrieve documents students have submitted
How to grade documents and release grades to students
Formal training
A "practice" experience for students in case using assignments is new
A local knowledge resource in your cluster may be available. Check with your Cluster for details.
It is strongly encouraged that any faculty considering using any WebVista tools (e.g. Gradebook, Assignments, Assessments/quizzes, or Discussion Boards) have their TA's attend formal training with UTTC team.
Carlson LMS Tips:
If instructors use Carlson’s LMS to deliver content into WebVista, consider printing and distributing the Student Handout to assist students with the somewhat different interface when using Carlson’s LMS to deliver content into WebVista.
Do NOT remove the “Syllabus and Content” smartlink for your WebVista section.This smartlink gives students a student-view of your Carlson LMS instructor content.
When logged into Carlson LMS (lms.csom.umn.edu) click thebutton to go to WebVista.
Creating a WebVista Assignment
Go to WebVista. (To get to WebVista from Carlson LMS, click the "Vista Home" button).
Once inside WebVista, find the section link. Click the link.
Once inside the webvista section, be sure to be on the "Build" tab.
Look for Assignments. Click and select "Go To ..."
Click the "Create" button.
Input the settings you want for the assignment (Settings Example).
Select "Save" when finished.
If you like, provide your students with an example of how students typically submit their assignment files to you in WebCT.
BEST PRACTICE:
Create a non-credit practice assignment for students to complete before students will hand-in a “real” Assignment.
STUDENT GROUPS: (Teach Tab, Group Manager)
If you create “groups” to go with an Assignment, it is easy to create associated “discussion boards” for each group by checkmarking the groups and then selecting the activity from the “Create group activity” dropdown menu and clicking the green arrow.Students will only see the discussion boards for their group.
Question?Download the UTTC PDF of the training handout on assignments at
Go to Teach Tab.Click “Tool View” tab.Scroll to Assignments and select the “Dropbox” link.Use the “view by” dropdown to filter the view. Be sure to click the green-arrow after your selection.Click the assignment’s title to go into a student’s submitted attempt and grade the item.
To download all the student submissions for an assignment (e.g. to print them all out), set the edit-paging to the maximum number in the view.Then click the top-most checkbox on the left to select all the submissions.Then, scroll to the bottom and click the “Create Printable View.”Then click the “Save to File.”This creates a bundled zip file with all the student files.
When you are finished grading all the submissions for an assignment, you need to go into the Gradebook, and “release” the assignment grades to the students’ view.To do this, go to the Gradebook, click the “Column Settings” button.Find the “Released to Student” row.Scroll to the right and find the assignment you wish to release the scores for.Toggle the no to “Yes” by clicking the word.
No online screen-recordings or video orientations are currently available from UTTC for the Assignment Dropbox
Formal, In Person Training
UMN UTTC
The UMN UTTC Training Center only has in-person training for the (upcoming) WebCT version 4. However, version 3 and 4 Assignments are fairly similar, so training on version 4 will work for version 3. A short list of the assignment dropbox training concepts are
creating and releasing assignments
reviewing student submissions and entering comments
WebAssign is a new plagiarism prevention tool that instructors can use in WebVista. A special smartlink is applied in the WebCT section. Students hand-in their files to the WebAssign assignment. Instructors may need to spend time learning the WebAssign tool. More information on the WebAssign tool will be forthcoming over the summer.
Turnitin was the previous antiplagiarism tool at UMN.
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