Chapter 3. Adding Graded Activities

In this chapter, we will look at how to add assignments and set up how they will be graded, including how to use our custom scales and add outcomes for grading. We will also see how to add additional graded items to the Gradebook.

As with all content within Moodle, we need to select Turn editing on within the course in order to be able to add resources and activities. All graded activities are added through the Add an activity or resource text available within each section of within a Moodle course. This text can be found in the bottom right of each section after editing has been turned on. As outlined in Chapter 1, Introduction to Gradebook, there are a number of items that can be graded and will appear within the Gradebook. Assignments are the most feature-rich of all the graded activities and have many options available in order to customize how assessments can be graded. They can be used to provide assessment information for students, store grades,...

Adding assignments

There are many options within the assignments, and throughout this chapter we will set up a number of different assignments and you'll learn about some of their most useful features and options. Let's have a go at creating a range of assignments that are ready for grading in Chapter 4, Assigning Grades.

Creating an assignment with a scale

The first assignment that we will add will make use of the PMD scale that we created in Chapter 2, Customizing Grades:

1. Click on the Turn editing on button.

2. Click on Add an activity or resource.

3. Click on Assignment and then click on Add.

4. In the Assignment name box, type in the name of the assignment (such as Task 1).

5. In the Description box, provide some assignment details.

6. In the Availability section, we need to disable the date options. We will not make use of these options, but they can be very useful. To disable the options, click on the tick next to the Enable text.

   

   However, details of these options have been provided for future reference.

   • The Allow submissions from section is mostly relevant when the assignment will be submitted electronically, as students won't be able to submit their work until the date and time indicated here.

   • The Due date section can be used to indicate when the assignment needs to be submitted by. If students electronically submit their...

Creating an online assignment with a number grade

The next assignment that we will create will have an online text option that will have a maximum grade of 20. The following steps show you how to create an online assignment with a number grade:

1. Enable editing by clicking on Turn editing on.

2. Click on Add an activity or resource.

3. Click on Assignment and then click on Add.

4. In the Assignment name box, type in the name of the assignment (such as Task 2).

5. In the Description box, provide the assignment details.

6. In the Submission types section, ensure that Online text has a tick next to it. This will enable students to type directly into Moodle. When choosing this option, we can also set a maximum word limit by clicking on the tick box next to the Enable text. After enabling this option, we can add a number to the textbox. For this assignment, enable a word limit of 200 words.

   

7. When using online text submission, we have an additional feedback option within the Feedback types section. Under the Comment inline...

Creating an assignment including outcomes

The next assignment that we will create will add some of the Outcomes created in Chapter 2, Customizing Grades:

1. Enable editing by clicking on Turn editing on.

2. Click on Add an activity or resource.

3. Click on Assignment and then click on Add.

4. In the Assignment name box, type in the name of the assignment (such as Task 3).

5. In the Description box, provide the assignment details.

6. In the Submission types box, ensure that Online text and File submissions are selected. Set Maximum number of uploaded files to 2.

7. In the Submission settings section, ensure that the options for Require students to click submit button and Require that students accept the submission statement are amended to Yes. Change Attempts reopened to Manually.

8. Within the Grades section, navigate to Grade | Type | Point and Maximum points is set to 100.

9. In the Outcomes section, choose the outcomes as Evidence provided and Criteria 1 met.

   

10. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on Save and return...

Alternative grading methods

Within the Grade section, there are three types of grading methods, and so far, we have only used the default Simple direct grading option. However, there are two other types of grading methods: Marking guide and Rubric.

The simple direct grading option enables us to choose the grade options (such as number or a scale), and the teacher adds the grade that is awarded to the student. The alternative grading methods use a very different grading process. The teacher does not select the final overall grade but grades individual criteria instead, and the score for each of these is added together to create the final grade. When creating an assignment that uses Marking guide or Rubric, we need to identify the criteria that will be used to assess the assignment.

The marking guide method

The marking guide's grading method allows us to add criteria and identify a top grade for each piece of criteria. When grading the assignment, the teacher will choose the grade to be awarded...

Adding additional grading directly into the Gradebook

We have looked at how we can add graded activities to a Moodle course so that they can be awarded a mark and used with the Gradebook. This is the main way in which we grade an assessment, as the students need to complete something in order to be graded (such as an assignment, quiz, discussion, or any other Moodle activity). We can also use the assignment tool to provide feedback on a student's assignment even if the students do not submit any work online, such as class presentations or practical work.

However, what if we would like a grade that is not linked to an activity to be added to the Gradebook? Perhaps students receive an additional grade based on their attendance in lessons. You might want the grade to be in the Gradebook for the final course grade but you do not want it to appear as an activity within the Moodle course. This is where a Graded item, added directly into the Moodle Gradebook, can be useful. The following steps...

Summary

In this chapter, we added a range of assignments that made use of number and scale grades as well as added outcomes to an assignment. We also added two assignments using the advanced grading methods that will enable us to grade assignments using specific criteria. Finally, we added a graded item directly into the Gradebook.

In the next chapter, we will look at grading assessments. We will add number and scale grades, add written feedback, grade outcomes, and make use of the marking guides and rubrics we created. We will also review the options within the marking workflow, use the offline grading worksheet, and grade work directly within the Gradebook.