Assignments allow you to collect work from students, review it, grade it, and provide feedback. The work students submit is only visible to you and not to other students. Assignments are a useful tool you can use in creative ways to collect more authentic responses from students than is possible with a quiz.
Additionally, if you currently have your own worksheets you use in your classroom, then you can repurpose them in an online learning environment. Consider using either Google Drive Assignments or Annotations Assignment for any worksheets you created.
Keep in mind that purchasing a worksheet from a vendor does not mean you can use the content in an eAcademy course. Remember to only use copyrighted worksheets if you have written permission from the author or organization. It's best if you use your own materials.
REQUIRED: eAcademy teachers must provide students with at least seven (7) days to complete a graded assignment.
Since eAcademy operates online and asynchronously, students are permitted to work on weekends and during the week to ensure they have an adequate amount of time to get the work completed. This is especially important for students with IEPs or 504 plans.
Please note that if you have an assignment that requires more effort, you are permitted to provide students with more than seven (7) days.
Assignment Format Options
Standard Assignment: With a standard assignment, students can insert text, audio, video, photos, or document links directly into a text box for submission. Additionally, students can upload one or more files they previously created or edited (e.g., text files, PDF files, images).
NOTE: The standard assignment format is applied if you do not select Google Drive Assignments or Annotations Assignment.
Google Drive Assignments: With a Google Drive assignment, you can assign Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings from directly within Schoology. When students access the file in the assignment, Schoology automatically makes a copy for each student. Students can work on the assignment and submit it, and you can provide feedback and grade the assignment, all without leaving Schoology.
Click here to review the resource: Creating a Google Drive Assignment in Schoology.
Annotations Assignment: With an annotations assignment, you can upload multiple types of documents into Schoology and then have students annotate them in a variety of ways. Students can do all their annotations inside of Schoology. Examples of file formats you can use include DOC, DOCX, JPEG, JPG, PDF, PNG, PPT, PPTX, RTF, TXT, XLS, XLXS, and XML. The preferred file format is PDF.
Click here to review the resource: Creating an Annotations assignment in Schoology.
Steps to creating an Assignment in Schoology
Navigate to your Schoology course and click the chevron to the left of one of your main folders to expand the folder.
ALTERNATIVE: To add the assignment to your course landing page, select Add Assignments from the Add Materials drop-down menu at the top of the page. The assignment will appear at the bottom of your course. After you edit all the settings, you can move the assignment into a folder, if desired.
Hover your mouse pointer directly below the location where you want to add the assignment until you see a green dashed line.
Left-click your mouse and then click Add Assignment.
Name: Enter the assignment name, which will be displayed inside your folder. Provide a unique and meaningful name for every assignment in your course. This makes it easy for you and your students to locate the assignment in the gradebook. For example, add the week or topic number to the beginning of the assignment name.
Additionally, at the end of the name, it’s very helpful to add the approximate amount of time it will take students to complete the assignment along with the number of points that can be earned.
Description: In the assignment description, provide clear and concise instructions on how to complete the assignment. Including an audio or video recording is recommended for your assignments to create a teacher presence and to enhance assignment instructions.
REQUIRED: Per eAcademy course requirements, include in the description the approximate amount of time it will take students to complete the assignment. Also include the number of points that can be earned.
Use the rich text editor tools to apply formatting to the font; change the indent or alignment of selected text; insert a link, image, or table; spellcheck the description; apply paragraph headers; and switch between Visual and HTML.
Format Options: Select Google Drive Assignments, Annotations Assignment, or if no selection is made, the standard assignment format is applied.
Remember, a Google Drive Assignment allows you to create an assignment for your students and attach a Google Doc, Google Slides, or Google Sheet to the assignment.
NOTE: Be aware that not every student has a Google account. Make sure to provide an alternative option for students to complete the assignment.
Click here to review the resource: Creating a Google Drive Assignment in Schoology.
Remember, an Annotations Assignment allows you to create an assignment that allows students to directly annotate on a file you share. Accepted file types include Microsoft files, HTML, JPEG, JPG, PDF, PNG, RTF, TXT, and XML. Students do not need to download the file and do not need an external editing tool to complete the assignment.
NOTE: Be aware that not every student has a Microsoft account. For best results, select a universal file format like a PDF file.
Click here to review the resource: Creating an Annotations Assignment in Schoology.
REQUIRED - Due date and Time: All graded eAcademy assignments must have a Due date and time. To provide students with plenty of time to submit the assignment, set the time to 11:59 PM. This is a soft End Date and students can submit the assignment after this date unless you use the Lock feature (see Lock information at the bottom of this article).
pts: Enter the number of points the assignment is worth.
Category: From the Category drop-down menu, select Assignments.
Period: From the Period drop-down menu, select the grading period that aligns with the Due date. DO NOT select Set as midterm/final. This may negatively impact student grades.
Factor: Leave the Factor setting at the default value.
[NEW] Collected Type: Checking the box will disable the ability to add a traditional score to the assignment in the gradebook. This is an Exception code that allows you to forgo traditional grading on a material. You can keep track of student work on assignments without impacting grading calculations as appropriate (e.g., Field Trip Forms). Enabling this setting will create a new column in the gradebook.
Scale/Rubric: Leave the Scale/Rubric setting at the default value.
Click Create.
Options (default) at the bottom of the Create Assignment window:
If desired, you can change the Options at the bottom of the Create Assignment window.
Individually Assign: Use this setting to only display the assignment to one or more members of the course or a grading group.
Lock: This setting prevents students from making submissions.
By default, this feature is disabled. Click the Lock icon to get started. From the drop-down menu, select either Lock on… or Lock now. If you select Lock on…, enter the date and time you wish to lock the assignment.
Submissions Enabled: You can opt to disable submissions if the assignment does not require something in return from the student - for example, reading homework.
Published to students: Use this setting to display or hide the assignment from the student view. The assignment is published by default and immediately available to students.
Grade Statistics: When enabled, this setting displays the statistics for the assignment to the students, which is located in an icon above the assignment submissions.
Comments: This setting is enabled by default and allows students to comment on the assignment. Use care with this setting because students may think the Comment box is used for assignment submissions. You may want to disable this setting.
[NEW] Count in Grade: This setting is enabled by default.
If disabled, this setting allows you to exclude a material’s scores from the grade calculations. This allows you, students, and parents to know immediately if a material is used in grading.
An example might be a pre-test you don’t want to count in grade calculations. The assignment grade will appear in purple italics in the gradebook and will not impact a student’s overall grade.
Copy to Courses: This setting allows you to copy the assignment with the current settings and options to another course.