Sakai: Using the Assignments Tool
Used in Sakai: Using the Assignments Tool Workshop
Learning Goals
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Create assignments using the Assignments tool

Assign grades on assignments

Give feedback on assignments
Sakai Assignments Tool
What does the Sakai Assignments tool allow you to do?
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List assignments
Collect assignments – text typed in a box and/or attachments
Assign grades to assignments
Give feedback on assignments
A word of advice: Before using the Assignments tool on a high-stakes assignment, give the students
a low-stakes task to submit as an assignment. This gives both you and the students a chance to get
used to the tool.
Complete an Assignment as a Student
In this exercise, you will experience what it is like to complete an assignment as a student.
1.
2.
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4.
5.
Click My Sites (if necessary), then Sakai 10101
Click Assignments
Click ASGT Workshop Sample in the Assignments List
Complete the assignment per instructions
Click Submit when done. You will see the message "You have successfully submitted your work."
Retrieve file to use for Assignment exercise
The steps below are how to download a file from Resources. The file will be used in the assignment you
will create in this workshop.
1. Click Resources within the SAKAI-10101 course
2. Open the ASGT Workshop folder
3. Right-click InstructionsForMultimediaEssay.pdf and choose Save Target As. Note: This choice
will varies from browser to browser (i.e. Save Link As, Download Linked File).
4. Save the file to the Desktop (or to another location).
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Scenario 1: Create and Grade a Non-electronic Assignment
This assignment is a task that students complete in the classroom. They do not submit anything
in Sakai. The instructor wants to be able to enter grades in Assignments or the Gradebook.
Prepare for Scenario 1
In order to have the option of grading an assignment in the Gradebook, you must create a
grade item before you create the assignment. For this scenario, you will also upload a
document with instructions for the assignment.
1. Enter your course
2. Make sure the Assignments, Gradebook and Resources tools are available. If necessary,
go to Site Editor > Edit Tools to include them.
3. Upload the InstructionsForMultimediaEssay.pdf file to the Resources tool
4. Click Gradebook
5. Choose File > New Item
o Name: Multimedia Essay
o Points: 50
o If your gradebook has categories, choose one
o Click Add/Close
6. Click the checkbox to the left of Multimedia Essay. The column appears on the right in
the spreadsheet pane.
Create the assignment
1. Click Assignments
2. Click Add
3. Enter these settings
 Title: Multimedia Essay
 Open date: a week ago
 Due date: tomorrow
 Accept Until: a week from now
 Student Submissions: Non-electronic
 Grade Scale: Points
o Points: 50
 Assignment Instructions: See the attachment
 Grading: Associate with existing Gradebook entry
o Select Multimedia Essay
 Attachments:
o Click Add Attachments
o Under Select a resource, find InstructionsForMultimediaEssay.pdf and click
Attach a copy (right side of the file name)
o Click Continue
7. Click Post. The assignment will display in the Assignment List
8. Preview this assignment as a student (select View Site As > Student), and then click Exit
Student View
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Enter grades in the Gradebook and in the Assignments tool
The students have completed the assignment and you are ready to enter grades in the
Gradebook tool. One student submits late and you enter his grade in Assignments.
1. Click Gradebook
2. On the right side, under Multimedia Essay, enter the following grades:
Bohr: 49, Parks: 47, Winfrey: 43
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Click Assignments
Under Multimedia Essay on the Assignment List, click Grade
Under Phelps, Michael, click Grade
Enter 32 for the grade
Click Save and Release to Student
Note: every time you save grades in Assignments you will receive a warning about regrading and using multiple windows for grading.
8. Click Return to List
9. Note that Michael's grade has changed.
10. Click Gradebook and verify the change.
Scenario 2: Create and Grade an Assignment Submitted in Sakai
In this case, students submit their work in Assignments and the instructor chooses not to have
the option to enter grades in the Gradebook.
Create the Assignment
1. Click Assignments
Note: If the list of assignments is not displayed, click Assignment List
2. Click Add
3. Enter these settings:
o Title: Cool Image
o Open date: a week ago
o Due date: tomorrow
o Accept Until: a week from now
o Student Submissions: Inline and Attachments
o Grade Scale: Points
 Points: 20
o Assignment Instructions:
Attach an image that illustrates a concept we have covered in class.
In the text box, explain why you chose the image and how it
connects
o Grading: Add Assignment to Gradebook
 If you have categories, choose one (otherwise it will be "unassigned")
4. Click Post
5. Preview this assignment as a student, and then Exit Student View
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Enter a Grade in the Assignments tool
One student submits his work early and the instructor enters his grade in Assignments.
1. Click Assignments
2. Under Cool Image on the Assignment List, click Grade
3. Under Phelps, Michael, click Grade
Note: If the student submits an attachment, the link to the attachment would display in this screen.
4. Enter 13 for the grade
5. Enter a comment in the Instructor Summary Comments text box for Michael
6. Click Save and Release to Student
7. Ignore the Re-grading warning and click Return to List
8. Note that Michael's grade has changed.
9. Click Gradebook to verify the grade.
10. Click the checkbox to the left of Cool Image
11. Try to change the grade in the Gradebook. When Add Assignment to Gradebook is
chosen, you cannot change the grade in the gradebook.
Grade multiple assignments at once
The class has a large number of students and the instructor decides it is easier to grade most of
them offline. The instructor downloads all of the students' work, enters grades in a
spreadsheet, and then uploads the grades to the Assignments tool.
Step 1: Download the assignment
1. Click Assignments, if necessary
2. From the assignment list, click Grade
3. Click Download All
4. Check the following:
a. Student submission text
b. Student submission attachment(s)
c. Grade File
For reference: If you wanted to provide written feedback, you would also check
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Feedback comments
Feedback Attachment(s)
Note: Assignment feedback is only visible in the Assignments tool, not in the
Gradebook.
5. Click Download. A file named bulk_download.zip is saved to your computer.
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6. Unzip the bulk_download.zip file
See the appendix for instructions on unzipping. Windows users, make sure you
have unzipped the file and are not simply viewing its contents.
7. A folder with the title of the assignment displays. Double-click the folder to open. Leave
the items in this folder where they are!
Assignment Upload/Download Options
Option
File/Folder name
What it does or how it's used
Student submission
text
Name(UserID)_submissionText.html What student types into the “Assignment
text” box
Student submission
attachment(s)
(folder)
Documents that a student attaches to an
assignment submission
Grade file
grades.csv (top level only)
Where an instructor enters all of the
students' grades for the assignment
Feedback text
(we suggest you
not use this option)
feedbackText.html
Inline comments the instructor makes
inside the student’s “Assignment
Submission” box when grading
Feedback comments
comments.txt
Appears under “Instructor Summary
Comments“
Feedback
Attachment(s)
(folder)
Where instructors put documents to send
back to a student, such as a copy of their
submission with annotations
timestamp.txt
Tells when the assignment was submitted
– we suggest you leave it alone.
Step 2: Grade the assignment
At this point you would normally open each student's folder, see what had been submitted,
and decide on a grade. For the workshop, we will just enter grades in the spreadsheet.
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Open the grades.csv file
Enter the remaining grades on the spreadsheet: Bohr: 20, Parks: 19, Winfrey: 17
Save and then close the grades.csv file
Click Don’t Save when Excel prompts you to save again.
For reference: If providing written feedback to a student, you can either
a.
b.
c.
Sakai: Using the Assignments Tool
Edit the comments.txt file in an individual student's folder
Make a copy of the file the student submitted, put the copy in the Feedback
Attachments folder, and then mark up the copy (e.g., using Word "review"
features)
Create an original document with comments and save it in the Feedback
Attachments folder
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Step 3: Upload grades (and other feedback)
Once grades are entered into the grades.csv file and necessary feedback is provided:
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Zip the entire assignment folder back together (See the appendix for instructions on how to zip a folder)
From the assignment list, click Grade
Click Upload All
For this exercise, select only Grade File
Note: To upload written feedback, you would check one or more additional elements.
5. Select new zip file and click Upload. You will see a list of students with grades.
6. Verify that the grades you see are correct, and then click Release Grades
7. Click Gradebook and verify that the grades appear there as well.
Demo: Batch Grading with Comments
The workshop instructor will demonstrate batch grading of an assignment, using your
submissions to ASGT Workshop Sample in SAKAI 10101.
For instructions after the workshop,
see http://oithelp.nd.edu/course-management/sakai/grading-in-sakai/
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Appendix
MS Word 2010 Track Changes Quick Reference Guide https://oit.nd.edu/assets/56425/
Downloading and Unzipping a Zip File in Windows 7
Material you download from a browser window automatically goes to your default download
folder. What you see in the download folder depends on your browser.
Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome:
1. Save the .zip file to your default download folder
2. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to your default download
3. Right-click on the .zip file and choose Extract All…
Zipping a Folder in Windows 7
1. In Windows Explorer, right-click on the folder and choose Send To
2. Choose "Compress [folder name]"
Download and Unzip a Zip File on a Mac
Material you download from a browser window automatically goes to your default download
folder. What you see in the download folder depends on your browser.
Safari:
1. Open your default download folder
2. The material has been automatically unzipped. You will not see a .zip file.
Firefox or Chrome:
1. Open your default download folder
2. Double-click the zip file
3. After a few seconds, you will see the unzipped folder
Zipping a Folder on a Mac
1. In the Finder, control-click the folder
2. Choose "Compress [folder name]"
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Using the Sakai Drop Box tool
This tool creates a separate folder for each student. Only the student and the instructor can
access material stored in the folder. Otherwise, the tool is very similar to the Sakai
Resources tool. Use it for homework, labs, projects, journals, essay drafts, and so on.
What can a student do?
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Upload files – text, images, sound, video, etc.
Create and edit content – text, HTML, web links
Create folders and subfolders to organize material
Delete, edit, move, and reorder items
Upload or download multiple items using the WebDAV protocol
What can instructors do?
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See all of their students’ drop boxes and view any work in a drop box.
Add items to a drop box – such as feedback in the form of a Word document.
View a group's drop boxes or see which ones have recent changes.
Use an item's time stamp to know when it was last modified.
You can't change permissions for the tool as a whole or for individual items.
It’s not possible to allow students to add items but not delete or edit them.
Drop Box tool versus the Assignments tool
There are several differences. Choose the tool that meets your needs and preferences:
Drop Box
Assignments
Many instances
No
Yes
Connects to Gradebook
No
Yes
Control open/close date
Yes
No
Easy to browse files
Yes
No
Easy to download all material
Yes
No
Easy to download one task
No
Yes
Disambiguation – "dropbox" at Notre Dame
1. Courseware dropbox – ND's home-grown course file storage space automatically
generates folders where students can add files but not change or delete them.
2. Dropbox.com – a web-based storage service where users drop files into desktop folders
and sync up to the cloud. ND has officially adopted its competitor, Box.
3. The Sakai Drop Box tool
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Notes