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Assignment: An Introductory Tutorial

Creating an assignment activity in Moodle

Purpose

This article explains how to add an Assignment activity to your Moodle course, provides a brief overview of some assignment settings, shows how to view the course as a student, and explains how to grade submissions.

To learn more about the assignment settings, see the article: Basic Moodle Assignment Settings

Procedures

How to Add an Assignment in Moodle

Enable Edit Mode

  1. Navigate to your Moodle course.

  2. Locate the Edit mode toggle in the upper-right corner of the course page.

  3. Turn Edit mode on.

Screenshot of the Edit mode toggle in the upper-right corner of the course.

Add an Assignment Activity

  1. Navigate to the section where you want to place the assignment.

  2. Click on the plus sign in the location of the new activity to open a dropdown menu

  3. Select Activity or resource.

    Screenshot of the add item (+) menu on a course homepage. located between each activity. Activity or resource is highlighted.

  4. From the Activity Chooser, select Assignment.

Screenshot of the activity chooser with Assignment highlighted.

Configure Assignment Settings

You will now be taken to the Assignment settings page.

Expand All Settings

If you want to display all available assignment settings:

  1. Click the Expand all button in the upper-right corner of the settings page.

Screenshot of Assignment settings page with Expand All button highlighted in the upper right corner.

Assignment Name

In the Assignment name field, enter a clear and concise title for the assignment.

Description and Activity Instructions

Use the Description field to provide assignment instructions and important details for students.

The formatting toolbar allows you to customize the appearance of your instructions.

Note: Assignment instructions entered in the Description field are visible to students when they click on the activity. Using the Description field to insert instructions is generally recommended to reduce confusion when a student clicks on an assignment.

Display description on course page checkbox: If checked, anything typed in the description box will appear directly under the assignment on the course homepage.

Activity instructions: Anything entered here will appear only after the student clicks Add submission. You can use this section to repeat information from the description field or add other information, such as a rubric.

Additional Files

If you need to provide students with templates, instructions, or reference materials:

  1. Upload files in the Additional files section.

At this point, you can save your assignment, and the rest of the settings will remain as their default. However, it is recommended to, at the very least, review the following settings and adjust them to your preferences.

Availability

In the Availability section, you can configure assignment dates such as:

  • Allow submissions from

  • Due date

  • Cut-off date

  • Remind me to grade by

Note: Moodle uses a 24-hour clock when setting times.

Submission Types

Choose how students will submit their work.

Available options include:

  • Online text submissions

  • File uploads

  • Both online text and file uploads

You can also configure:

  • Number of allowed uploaded files

  • Maximum submission size

  • Accepted file types

Note: Leaving the accepted file types field blank allows all file types.

Grade Settings

In the Grade section:

  1. Select the grading method.

  2. Enter the total points for the assignment.

Optional grading methods include:

  • Simple direct grading

  • Grading guide

  • Rubric

Save the Assignment

After configuring the assignment settings:

  1. Click Save and return to course.

View the Assignment in Your Course

  1. Return to the course homepage.

  2. Turn Edit mode off.

You should now see the newly created assignment in your course.

Screenshot of assignment icon and title of assignment on the course homepage

View the Course as a Student

To preview the assignment from a student’s perspective:

  1. Click your profile initials or profile image in the upper-right corner.

  2. Select Switch role to.

  3. Choose the Student role.

Profile menu open with Switch role to... highlighted.

Click on the assignment you wish to view as a student.

When finished, switch back to your instructor role to regain editing access.

Profile menu with Return to my normal role highlighted

Grade Assignment Submissions

  1. Click the assignment activity in your course.

    You will see the grading summary page displayed

    Assignment screen with grading summary, including Number of participants, Draft submissions, Submitted assignments, and Assignments requiring grading

  2. Select the submissions tab at the top to see student submissions.

    1. Alternatively, you can click on Grade to jump directly to the grading screen.

    2. Submission statuses may include:

      1. Submitted

      2. Draft

      3. Requires grading

      4. Overdue

  3. Select the Grade button at the top to Grade all students, or select the three vertical dots in the grade column next to an individual student.

    Screenshot of submissions screen with arrows pointing the grade button in the top right corner or the grade option in the grade column for an individual student.

  4. Review the submitted work.

  5. Enter a grade.

  6. Add feedback comments or upload feedback files if desired.

    Screenshot of grading screen.

  7. When finished grading:

    1. Decide whether to notify the student that you graded or updated their grade. If not, ensure that "Notify student" is unchecked.

    2. Select Save changes to remain on the current submission.

    3. Select Save and show next to continue grading the next student.

Contact Moodle Support if you have any questions (520) 417-4039

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