Introduction to Assignments in GradeCraft

How should I setup my assignments in my gameful course?

There are many ways to configure assignments in GradeCraft.  The best practice is to think about what your learning objectives are for the class and how to implement choice and student autonomy.  You can even start out small - give students an option to resubmit assignments until they reach a certain grade threshold or give students a choice to complete 5 out of 10 possible topic quizzes.  

As the instructor, think about your time as well - you could give students an unlimited amount of time to complete assignments, but if you have a large class, you may want to find ways to chunk up submissions so grading does not become overwhelming.

We recommend taking some time prior to setting up your class in GradeCraft to think about your assignment structure.  If you haven't mapped out your plan for assignments in your course yet, it might be helpful to review some planning documents for developing a gameful course.  It will probably save you some time!

How are assignments structured in GradeCraft?

In GradeCraft, there are assignment types and assignments.  Assignment types are a way of grouping assessments.  It makes it easier for you and your students to organize assignments in the class.  For example, if you want to keep track of student attendance, you could create an assignment type for “Attendance” and then create an assignment for each class time.  

Assignment types also give you the flexibility to specify parameters for a subset of assignments.  For example, if you have 8 journal homework, but students only need to complete 6 of the homework, you can put in parameters to specify a cap on the total score a student can receive in that assignment category. There is a lot of flexibility!

In contrast, an assignment would be something that a student would potentially submit something to, or a place where a student would receive a grade or feedback.  In GradeCraft, assignments are always nested in assignment types.  

If you're ready to get started, next we can look at how to set up assignment types and assignments.