DC Connect Support

UNIT TOPIC: ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTIFICATIONS Introduction The Announcements tool enables you to communicate course updates, changes, and new information to your students quickly and effectively. The Notifications settings are used to control how you receive notifications about activity in your courses when not logged in to DC Connect. Content This document covers the following topics: • Announcements o How to Access the Announcements Widget o How to Activate the Announcements Tool o Creating an Announcement o Editing an Announcement o Reordering Announcements o Dismissing an Announcement o Restoring a Dismissed Announcement o Deleting an Announcement • Notifications o Accessing the Notifications Tool o Setting your Email Contact Method o Setting up a Mobile Contact Method o Subscribing to a Summary of Activity o Subscribing to Instant Notifications o Excluding Courses from Notifications o Restoring Excluded Course Notifications Announcements How to Access the Announcements Widget There are two Announcement Widgets within DC Connect. The first Announcements Widget is located on the My Home page. This Announcements Widget will display information that is posted by the institution. NOTE: You will be able to view the announcements posted here, but not add any at this level. The second Announcements Widget is located on each Course Home page. This widget will display the announcements posted by the professor of that course section. How to Activate the Announcements Tool To activate the Announcements tool, click on the Announcements title of the widget… …or select the Go to Announcements Tool option from the action menu. Creating an Announcement You can create an announcement by clicking the New Announcement button in the Announcements tool… …or selecting the New Announcement option from the action menu of the Announcements Widget. Enter the announcement headline in the Headline text input field. Enter the announcement content in the Content text input field of the HTML editor. Students are more likely to read an announcement if it starts with their name. Type {firstname} as the message salutation to personalize the announcement (students will see their own name at the beginning of the message). The curly brackets are important so be careful to include them. NOTE: Further explanation of the HTML Editor can be found in the HTML Editor handout available on the C.A.F.E. website. Announcements are published immediately unless you specify an alternate start date. Announcements can be pre-set to release in the future by clicking in the Start Date field and choosing the appropriate day and time. Remove announcements on a specific date by selecting the check box Remove announcement based on end date. Professors and administrators can still see the announcement after its end date, but it will not appear in the Announcements widget. You can include files, audio, and video recordings as attachments to your announcement. To add an attachment, click Add a File in the Attachments section. To record audio or video, click the Record Audio or Record Video button. If prompted, click Allow in the Adobe Flash Player Settings window to enable your recording hardware. Follow the on screen prompts to record your audio/video message. Click the Add button to affix the attachment. Release conditions are used to control the release of an announcement based on the student’s interaction with other course tools. For example, the student’s access to an announcement could be dependent upon them accessing a particular course topic, or the completion of a quiz, etc. For further explanation of release conditions, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Click Publish to release the announcement to users, or Save as Draft to continue editing (students cannot see draft announcements). Editing an Announcement You can edit a particular announcement by activating the Announcements tool and clicking on the title of the announcement…. …or, in the Announcements Widget, by selecting the Edit option of the announcement action menu. Be sure to click the Update button when you are finished editing your announcement. Reordering Announcements You can reorder your announcements by selecting the Reorder option from the More Actions pull-down menu of the Announcements tool… …or by selecting the Reorder Announcements option from the action menu of the Announcements Widget. Use the pull-down menus in the Sort Order column to sort the items in the desired order. Click Save to complete the process. Dismissing an Announcement In the Announcements widget click the Dismiss icon for the announcements you want to hide. Restoring a Dismissed Announcement To restore a dismissed announcement, activate the Announcements tool and select the Restore option from the action menu of the announcement you wish to restore. NOTE: Dismissing an announcement is different from deleting one; students will still see announcements that you have dismissed. To universally remove an item from the Announcements Widget, see Deleting an Announcement below. Deleting an Announcement To delete an announcement, activate the Announcements tool, select the announcement you wish to delete… …and click the Delete icon. Notifications The Notifications tool enables you to: • Receive instant notifications about course events, such as assignment submissions, discussion posts, and announcements. • Subscribe to a summary of activity for each course and receive a daily email about recent announcements and information updates. • Receive a daily summary about quizzes, discussion messages, and assignment submissions. • Change the email and SMS notifications options for your courses. • Exclude and restore notifications from selected courses. Accessing the Notifications Tool To access the Notifications tool, select the Notifications option from the Announcements widget action menu… …or from the pull-down menu next to your user name in the minibar. Setting your Email Contact Method Although it is possible to Change your email settings, doing so is strongly discouraged. All communication concerning college business should occur within official Durham College email systems. Setting up a Mobile Contact Method On the Notifications page, click the Register your mobile link. In the Register Your Mobile form, select your Country,… …select your Mobile Carrier,… …and enter your Mobile Number. Click Save. If all these fields aren’t visible, click and drag the window corner to enlarge it. After you receive a registration confirmation code on your mobile device, enter it in the Confirmation Code field and click Confirm. Subscribing to a Summary of Activity Select from the How often? pull-down menu the frequency you want to receive a summary of activity. A new input field will appear. Select from the At what time? drop-down list when you want to receive your daily digest. Click Save (at the bottom of the Notifications page). Subscribing to Instant Notifications Select the Email and/or SMS checkboxes for each course tool you would like to receive notifications from. NOTE: You can only receive SMS notifications if you’ve registered your mobile phone. Click Save (at the bottom of the Notifications page). Excluding Courses from Notifications On the Notifications page, click the Manage my course exclusions link. Click the Exclude All Courses button to stop all course notification… …or the Exclude icon beside each course you want to exclude. Click Close. Restoring Excluded Course Notifications On the Notifications page, click the Manage my course exclusions link. Click Restore excluded courses to restore all excluded courses, or click the Include icon beside each course you want to receive notifications from. Click Close.

UNIT TOPIC: Assigning an INC Grade via DC Connect Introduction This purpose of this document is to outline the steps for assigning a final grade of INC (incomplete) via DC Connect during the final grade submission process. NOTE: Please review the ACAD-112.1 Academic Grading procedure document, section 3.4, before proceeding. The document can be downloaded from https://durhamcollege.ca/wp-content/uploads/academic-grading-procedure.pdf See the Final Grades Submission document, located on the CAFE website, for a comprehensive description of the final grades submission process. https://durhamcollege.ca/cafe/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/11/DC-Connect-Final-Grades-Submission.pdf Steps On the Enter Grades page of the Grades tool, click on the More Actions pull down menu and select the Export to Banner option. Next, select Final from the Export Grades As pull-down menu. You will be taken to a summary output page where you can preview what grades will be exported to Banner, whether or not the grade has been released to students, and the status of the export. For the appropriate student, click the pencil icon in Override Grade column. Next, enter “INC” (all caps) in the text field. Then, click the Apply button. The mark of “INC” will now be sent (along with the other grades) to Banner when the Export All Grades button is clicked.

UNIT TOPIC: Assignments Introduction Use the Assignments tool to track and evaluate all assignments in the DC Connect. From assignments that require a file or text submission to assignments that are performed outside of the Learning Environment, track everything in one place. Assignments can be associated with grades and rubrics. You can restrict access to assignments by date and time, group membership, and special access permissions. Content This document covers the following topics:

• How to Access the Assignments Tool
• Managing your Assignments
  • Creating an Assignment
  • Setting the Availability Dates for an Assignment
  • Setting Release Conditions for an Assignment
  • Adding Special Access Permissions
  • OriginalityCheck®: Enabling Turnitin.com
  • Re-Enabling Turnitin.com for Assignments Copied from Previous Semesters
  • Editing an Assignment
  • Reordering the Assignments
  • Deleting an Assignment
  • Restoring a Deleted Assignment
• Managing Assignment Submissions
  • Viewing Submitted Assignments (File and Text Submissions)
  • Grading and Leaving Feedback
  • Bulk Downloading Submitted Assignment Files
  • Bulk Uploading of Annotated Submission Files to Assignments
  • How to Access the Assignments Tool

Select the Assignments item from the available navigation options of the Navbar. If you have difficulty finding the item, click on the Course Admin link and then the Assignments link found in the Course Administration options. Managing your Assignments Creating an Assignment Click on the New Assignment button in the Assignments tool to create a New Assignment. Enter a Name. Add any instructions about submitting the assignment in the Instructions text box. Further explanation of the HTML Editor shown above can be found in the HTML Editor handout available on the CAFE website. Click on Add Attachment, Record Audio, or Record Video to provide additional instruction files, graphic organizers, or extra information that you want to make available to users. NOTE: The audio and video recording features use an Internet plugin that is not considered AODA compliant. Some of your students may not be able to view your feedback if these features are used. If students are to complete work individually, select the Individual assignment option. If students are submitting work as part of a group, select the Group assignment option and the appropriate Group Category from the pull-down menu. Any group member can submit and view files in their group Assignments. NOTE: The Group assignment option will not be available unless you have created groups using the Groups tool. Further explanation of the Groups tool can be found in the Groups handout available on the CAFE website. Click on the Submission type pull-down menu to identify the nature of the assignment. Four submission types are available to professors when creating assignments to allow evaluation of many different tasks. File submission: students upload and submit a file to the assignment. Text submission: students post text, image, or a link to their work in a text box within the assignment. On paper submission: students submit a physical copy of their assignment directly to their professor. No file upload is required to complete the assignment. Observed in person: allows professors to observe students as they perform tasks, such as inclass presentations, and evaluate them using Assignments. No file upload is required to complete the assignment. When the File submission option is selected, professors will see options for managing the submitted files. Use the Files Allowed Per Submission Folder… …and Submissions options to set how submitted documents will be managed. You will see the same Submissions options if you use the Text submission Submission type. On paper submissions and Observed in person assignments include alternative completion options as no submissions are made by students in DC Connect. Click on the Marked as completed pull-down menu to select the desired option. These submission types can be marked as completed Manually by learners, Automatically on evaluation, or Automatically on due date. Although it is not necessary, you may assign an Assignment to a Category. Click the New Category link to create a new category. These Categories are for organizational purposes and have no other affect. Input what the Assignment will be scored out of. It is recommended that the and any associated grade item use the same Maximum Points score. Associate the folder with a Grade Item if you want the assignment to be tied to an item in your grades. Click the New Grade Item link to create a new grade item for the assignment. Click the Add Rubric button to associate the assignment with a rubric you have created using the Rubrics tool of DC Connect. Click the Create Rubric in New Window link to create a new rubric for this assignment. Further explanation of the Rubrics tool can be found in the Rubrics handout available on the CAFE website. Click one of the Save buttons to complete the process of creating the Assignment Submission Folder. Setting the Availability Dates for an Assignment To control when students can submit files to a submission folder, you must set Start, Due, and End dates. These settings can be found on the Restrictions tab of an Assignment. It is possible to hide the folder until you wish to display it for students. Set the Has Due Date if you want to communicate to students when the assignment is due. Set the Has Start Date option if you do not want users to access the assignment before a specific date. Set the Has End Date option to close the assignment on a specific date, preventing students from accessing the folder. Click one of the save options when your availability dates are set. NOTE: Setting either the Has Due Date or Has End Date option automatically displays that date information in the Calendar tool. Setting Release Conditions for an Assignment Release conditions allow you to associate an Assignment with other items in the learning environment. For example, you can require that users meet some criteria, such as acessing a set of lecture notes in the Content tool, before they can submit a file to the Assignments. You can set Release Conditions on the Restrictions tab of an Assignment. Under the Release Conditions title, click either Attach Existing or Create and Attach. After setting the desired criteria for the release conditions, choose whether access to the assignment is dependent on meeting all or any of your release conditions. Be sure to click one of the save options when your release conditions are set. For further explanation of Release Conditions, please contact CAFE staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Adding Special Access Permissions Special access permissions allow you to set different availability dates and times for specific students. For example, you could extend the deadline for students who have a legitimate excuse for missing the deadline. You can set Special Access permissions on the Restrictions tab of an Assignment. Select either Allow users with special access to submit outside the normal availability dates for this folder or Allow only users with special access to see this folder. Click the Add Users to Special Access button. Set the appropriate Due, Start, or End Date for the special access users. Use the Search For field to locate the user(s) you want to give special access to. Select the boxes beside the appropriate students’ names in the grid. Click the Save button. Then click one of the save options to affix the special access permissions to the assignment. NOTE: Once you have added special access permissions for users, and they are listed in the Special Access section, you can edit or delete users’ special access by clicking the pencil (Edit) or X (Remove) icons beside their names. OriginalityCheck®: Enabling Turnitin.com Turnitin.com allows faculty to compare electronically submitted student work with a database of previously submitted student papers, millions of pages from journals, books and newspapers, and billions of pages from the Internet. Turnitin.com is currently the most used plagiarism detection software for higher education and allows faculty an additional tool to ensure academic integrity. To enable Turnitin, access the Turnitin® tab when creating or editing an Assignment. Next, click the Enable GradeMark for this folder option. You will now be able to click the Enable Originality Check® for this folder option. NOTE: It is recommended good practice to allow students to see the reports Turnitin.com generates. Click the Allow learners to see Turnitin® similarity scores in their submission folder Display option to do so. Select the Automatic originality checking on all submissions button to have all assignment submissions checked. Click the Save and Close button. NOTE: Enabling Turnitin constrains the size and types of files that can be submitted to the assignment. Please review the following Turnitin.com help page for details: https://help.turnitin.com/feedback-studio/d2l/student/submitting-a-paper/file-types-and-size.htm For further explanation of Turnitin.com or its use, please contact CAFE staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Re-Enabling Turnitin.com for Assignments Copied from Previous Semesters If you have copied assignments from a previous semester that used the Turnitin.com integration, you will see a prompt at the top of the Assignments page. Click the Re-Enable button to enable in the new course shell. A confirmation window will appear, click the Yes button. The Start, Due, and End dates for your assignments will be incorrect after copying the content and assignments from a previous semester’s course. This date information is used by Turnitin.com and must be updated. Use the checkboxes to select the assignments that need to be updated. Then, click the Bulk Edit link. Change the Start, Due, and End dates to the appropriate date for the current semester. Ensure these dates are correct (as they are sent to Turnitin.com as the Start and End dates) then click the Save button. Lastly, refresh the Assignments page (this might take one or two refreshes) to confirm the Turnitin icon appears beside the appropriate assignments. Editing an Assignment On the Assignments page, click the action menu of the assignment you want to edit and select the Edit Assignment option. Update the Properties and Restrictions tabs as desired. Click Save. Reordering the Assignments On the Assignment Submission Folders page, click the More Actions pull-down menu and select the Reorder option. Select the new position for a folder or category using the Sort Order pull-down menu beside its name. The positions of other folders or categories adjust accordingly. Click Save. Deleting an Assignment On the Assignments page, click the action menu of the assignment you want to delete and select the Delete Assignment option. Restoring a Deleted Assignment NOTE: This process is not 100% reliable. It is best to be cautious before deleting an assignment. There is no guarantee that this process, or CAFE staff, can restore a deleted assignment. It is possible to restore or “undelete” an assignment that has been deleted. This is particularly helpful if you have accidentally deleted one that contains file submissions. On the Assignments page, click on the More Actions pulldown menu and select the Event Log option. From the list of items displayed, click the Restore button of the deleted assignment. Return to the Assignments page to confirm that the assignment is once again available. Managing Assignment Submissions Viewing Assignment Submissions (File and Text Submissions) To view submitted assignments, access the Assignments tool and click directly on the name of the assignment you want to view submissions for. Select the Users tab or Submissions tab to view and search submissions by user or submission. Searching by User enables you to search by first name, last name, submissions, and feedback. Searching by Submission enables you to search by file name, score, submission date, read status, and flag status. Enter search criteria in the Search For field to narrow the list of submissions. Grading and Leaving Feedback on Submitted Assignments To grade and leave feedback for a student or group, open the appropriate assignment and click the Evaluate link in the appropriate row. The Evaluate Submission page will open. The page is divided into two main sections. The left side of the screen is the Submissions Panel The right side of the screen is the Evaluation Panel. If you have set the Assignment type to File submission, you can click on the file name to preview the submitted file. OR Download submissions to work with offline. NOTE: The following file formats are compatible with document viewer: • Web (HTM, HTML, MHT, MHTML) • Text (RTF, PPT, PPS, PDF, DOC, DOCX, PPTX, XML, XLS, TXT, WPD) • Image (JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIF, TIFF) • Media (SWF, MPG, MPEG, RM, MP3, MP4, M4V, M4A, AVI, WAV, RAM, ASF, MOV, RA) If you have set the Assignment type to Text submission, the submitted text will display in the Submissions Panel. From the Evaluation Panel you can mark and provide comments on folder submissions. NOTE: You may also email, view profile, and view the progress of a student being evaluated using the icons under the student’s name. Be sure to scroll when your cursor is over the evaluation panel to see all available options. If you assigned a grade item to the assignment, enter the achieved mark in the Score field. Provide comments and suggestions in the Feedback field. You can Add a File or Record Audio or Video as feedback. Feedback given as an annotated file also appears in your list of added files. Click the Publish button if you want the student/group being evaluated to instantly receive their grade and feedback. Click the Save Draft button if you want the evaluation and feedback to be withheld and published at a later date. If you have used the Save Draft option when grading student submissions, you must publish the feedback and grades for them to be viewable by students. To publish student feedback and grades, open the appropriate submission folder and click the Users tab. Then click the checkboxes of the students you wish to receive the feedback. To select the whole class, click the topmost checkbox. Click the Publish Feedback link. NOTE: Make sure the per page option is set appropriately so all your students are selected when doing a bulk publish. The feedback and grades will now be released to your students. NOTE: You may Email selected students using the Email icon at the top of the student list. Further explanation of the Email tool can be found in the Email handout available on the CAFE website. Bulk Downloading Submitted Assignment Files You can bulk download the files submitted to an Assignment Submission Folder from either the Users tab, or the Files tab. On the Users tab, use the checkboxes to select the users or groups you want to download assignments for… …or on the Submissions tab, select the files you want to download. Click the Download link at the top of the list,,, … and then the name of the .ZIP file that is created. If prompted, use your browser’s save dialog to Save the file to the appropriate location. Extract/decompress the files. If you are unfamiliar with .ZIP files, the following links may be of help: https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/14200/windows-compress-uncompress-zip-files https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/mchlp2528/mac Next, open the student files in their default application(s), and edit or comment as appropriate. Be sure to save the changes to the file(s). NOTE: If you intend to bulk upload the annotated files back to the assignment as feedback, it is important that you DO NOT change the file names from what they are when you extract/decompress them. Bulk Uploading of Annotated Submission Files to Assignment Submission Folders After you have added your comments and/or edited the student submissions, select the files and compress them as a .ZIP file. See the links above for how to compress the files. Once your .ZIP file is ready, return to the appropriate Assignments folder and click the Add Feedback Files button. In the pop-up window, click Upload. Next, navigate to and select the .ZIP file on your computer. Click Add to complete the attachment. DC Connect will begin to process the file, decompressing it and associating the individual annotated files with the appropriate students. A small confirmation dialog box will appear in the bottom right corner indicating how many files were successfully uploaded. You will then be returned to the Assignments folder. Student submissions will now appear with the Draft Saved link instead of Evaluate. Click on the Draft Saved link of an individual student to access the student submission evaluation screen. Scroll down to the bottom of the evaluation panel to see the appropriate feedback file has been associated with the student.

Awards Video Playlist Topics: Create a Badge Create a Certificate Add a Release Condition to an Award Manually Issue an Award Revoke an Award

UNIT TOPIC: CLASSLIST Introduction The Classlist tool in DC Connect can be used to see a list of students enrolled in your course. Using the Classlist tool you can send an email message to an individual or a group, monitor when students have logged into your course, and review a student’s progress. Content This document covers the following topics:

• Accessing the Classlist Tool
• Viewing Student Information
• Emailing Students from the Classlist Tool
• Printing a Class List
  • Creating a List of All Students
  • Creating a List of Specific Students
  • The Quick and Easy Classlist

Accessing the Classlist Tool Select the Classlist item from the available navigation options of the Navbar. If you have difficulty finding the item, click on the Course Admin link and then the Classlist link found in the Course Administration options. Viewing Student Information Some student information is available right on the Classlist page. This includes: Students’ DC Connect profile pictures Indication that a student is currently logged in to DC Connect The last time each student accessed your course Students’ names Students’ Banner IDs 100345678 100398765 This list of students can be reordered on any of the above columns (except Image) by clicking on the respective column heading. If you want to be able to see all of the students at once, you can adjust the per page box, found at the bottom of the class list table, to 200. NOTE: The student view of the Classlist tool is quite a bit different. Students will not be able to view each other’s Banner IDs or access times. Additional information may be accessed using the pull-down Actions menu beside each student’s name. View progress takes you to page titled Progress Summary, used to show each student’s progress; this is a complex feature with a great amount of depth to it. If you would like to learn more, please contact CAFE staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. View group enrollments for allows you to see all of the groups that a specific student is enrolled in. View blog allows you to see a student’s blog, if the student has used this feature. Emailing Students from the Classlist Tool The Classlist tool provides quick and functional ways to contact your students. When viewing the list, you can click on a student’s name and this will open a window to write an email to that individual student. To write an email to a group of students, you can check the box to the left of their names and click the Email icon to email all of the checked students. To write an email to your entire class, click the Email Classlist button at the top of the Classlist page. Scroll to the bottom of the Email Classlist page and click the Send Email button. NOTE: When composing email to multiple students (or the entire class) the student email addresses are automatically input into the BCC: field. Further explanation of the Email tool can be found in the Email Tool handout available on the CAFE website. Printing a Class List There are a few ways to print a neat class list using the Classlist tool in DC Connect. This may be useful for taking attendance in class, among other possibilities. Creating a List of All Students Near the top of the Classlist screen, you will see a link labeled Print. Click the Print button at the bottom of the subsequent page to open a new browser window with your list for printing. Creating a List of Specific Students There is also a link labeled Print at the top of the list of students. This can be used to print a list with specific students on it. To do this, you can check the boxes to the left of their names, and then click the Print link immediately above the list. To check all of the students on this list, you can click on the checkbox in the top left or bottom left corner next to the Email icon. When the Print link is clicked, it will open a new window with your list for printing. Once the new window has opened with your list ready to be printed, you can just click the blue Print button and this will attempt to print the list. NOTE: The class list that is printed using this tool will have students’ Banner IDs and their last DC Connect access time on it. This may be unsuitable for sharing with students. The Quick and Easy Classlist Despite the built-in print options within the Classlist tool, the most efficient means of extracting a class list from your course is via the Grades tool. Click on the Grades tool of the navbar, then the Enter Grades option. On the Enter Grade page, click the Download Spreadsheet button. Select the Org Defined ID Key Field,… …unselect all the Grade Values,… …and select the Last Name and First Name User Details. Unselect all the Grade Items and then click either the Download as CSV or Download as Excel buttons.

UNIT TOPIC: CONTENT Introduction The Content tool is used to create and organize course content. Using the Content tool you can upload the course outline, create and edit the modules and topics that make up the course curriculum, change the way DC Connect displays your course’s content, and link course topics to existing discussions, assignment submission folders, and quizzes. Content This document covers the following topics: • How to Access Content • Course Overview • Managing Content o Introduction o Copying Existing Content into A New Course o Creating Course Modules o Creating Course Topics o Adding Existing Activities o Who can see it? Published versus Draft o Modifying Course Content o When is content available to students? Dates and Restrictions o Moving Modules and Topics o Deleting Modules and Topics o Copying Content From an Existing Topic o Using Existing Document Templates   How to Access Content Click the Content option in the navigation bar of the course home page. All content management can be done using the Content tool. Your students will see the published content the way it is arranged on this page. The Content tool of a new (empty) course will look like this: NOTE: The Settings link provides some options to customize how content is displayed.   Overview The Overview, within the Content tool, is the preferred location to post the course outline. If your browser supports the drag and drop feature, you can simply drag the file from your desktop to the target area indicated by the dashed box. If you prefer to attach files by selecting them from the folders and files on your computer, select the Add an attachment option from the pull down menu next to the Overview heading. In the pop-up window, click Upload… …and navigate to the file on your computer you wish to upload. Click Add to complete the attachment. If you wish to provide a description of the course, click on the Add a welcome message, overview, or description… text and input the appropriate information in the textbox that appears. Click the Update button to save and display the new information. NOTE: If no content is input to the Overview, students will not see this section of the Content tool. Managing Content Introduction The Content of a DC Connect course is organized using Modules and Topics. Modules are used to organize course content (topics) in a meaningfully way, either chronologically (e.g. Week 1, Week 2, etc.) or by subject matter (e.g. Unit 1 – The Cardiovascular System). Topics are the course files (created with the HTML Editor, or documents uploaded to the course from your computer) and activities created using other DC Connect tools such as assignment submission folders, quizzes, or discussion. NOTE: A topic cannot be created without first creating a module. Copying Existing Content into A New Course You may have previously taught a section of your course and want to copy over that content to your new section. The Import Course button can be used to copy existing course materials from any of your other DC Connect courses.   Further explanation of this process can be found in the Copy Components handout available on the C.A.F.E. website. NOTE: Course components that are copied may need to be modified, including their dates and restrictions, to ensure the information they contain/present is current. Creating Course Modules To create a module, simply click in the Add a module… text input box at the bottom of the Table of Contents list, type the name of the module you want to add, and then press enter. The Add a module… text input box is also available at the bottom of the content area when the Table of Contents is selected from the content navigation. The new module will automatically be added as the bottom-most item of the Table of Contents. Creating Course Topics To create a topic, click the New button within the appropriate module.   From the pull-down menu, you have many options to choose from. Select the Upload Files option to insert a file from your computer (e.g. Word document, PowerPoint presentation, PDF document, etc.) as a topic in your module. In the pop-up window, click Upload… …and navigate to the file on your computer you wish to upload. Click Add to complete the attachment. Select the Video or Audio option to add Video or Audio content to your module. Copy and paste the URL or Embed Code from the source web page (e.g. YouTube, Ted.com, etc.)… …and click the Save button. NOTE: Although it is possible to Upload raw video files instead of using existing online video services, we do not recommend doing so. If you create you own videos, we recommend uploading them to YouTube (or Vimeo) and then adding them to your course using the method described above. Select the Create a File option if you want to type in your content, or copy and paste content from another source. You must enter a title for your topic in the Enter a Title input field. The HTML editor provides tools to enrich your content. You can format your content to look a certain way, insert images, insert HTML links, and embed video (such as YouTube). NOTE: Further explanation of the HTML Editor can be found in the HTML Editor handout available on the C.A.F.E. website.   To create a clean consistent visual experience, you can also use the pre-made content templates by clicking the Select a Document Template menu. Click Publish to make the content available to students immediately, or Save as Draft if you want to edit the content further and/or make it visible to students at a later date. To edit the content of your document at a later date, view the topic and select the Edit option from the pull-down menu next to the title. The HTML editor will open, allowing you to make the necessary changes. Remember to click Update to complete the edit process. Select the Create a Link option if you want the new topic to act as a link to, or display, an external webpage. Enter the title for your link topic in the Title input field. Enter the appropriate URL. Click the Open as External Resource checkbox for the link to open in a new browser window (outside of DC Connect). Click Create to add the link as a topic in your module. Select the Add from Manage Files option to insert an existing course file (Word document, PowerPoint presentation, PDF document) as a topic in your module. If necessary, Navigate to the appropriate subfolder of your Course Offering Files. Click the checkbox next to the file you wish to add as a topic in your module. Click Add to complete the process. Your file will now appear as a topic within the module. Select the New Checklist option to activate the Checklist tool and create a new checklist. For further explanation of the Checklist tool, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Select the New Discussion option to activate the Discussions tool and create a new forum and/or topic. Further explanation of this process can be found in the Discussions handout available on the C.A.F.E. website. Select the New Assignment option to activate the Assignments tool and create a new assignment dropbox. Further explanation of this process can be found in the Assignments handout available on the C.A.F.E. website.   Select the New Quiz option to activate the Quizzes tool and create a new quiz. Further explanation of this process can be found in the Quizzes handout available on the C.A.F.E. website. Select the New Survey option to activate the Surveys tool and create a new survey. For further explanation of the Surveys tool, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Adding Existing Activities If you have already created activities for your students using the Quiz tool, Discussion tool, etc., use the Add Activities button. From the pull-down menu, you have many options to choose from.   Select the Assignments option to insert an existing assignment submission folder as a topic in your module. Further explanation of the Assignments tool can be found in the Assignments handout available on the C.A.F.E. website. Select the Chat option to insert an existing chat session as a topic in your module. For further explanation of the Chat tool, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Select the Checklist option to insert an existing checklist as a topic in your module. For further explanation of the Checklist tool, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Select the Discussions option to insert an existing discussion as a topic in your module. Further explanation of the Discussion tool can be found in the Discussions handout available on the C.A.F.E. website. Select the ePortfolio Item option to insert an existing Artifact from your ePortfolio as a topic in your module. For further explanation of ePortfolio Item, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. NOTE: Use of this topic type is not recommended. Select the External Learning Tools option to insert an existing external learning tool reference as a topic in your module. For further explanation of External Learning Tools, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Select the Form Templates option to insert an existing Form as a topic in your module. For further explanation of Forms, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. NOTE: Use of this topic type is not recommended. Select the Google Drive option to insert an existing file stored on your Google Drive as a topic in your module. For further explanation of Google Drive, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Select the OneDrive option to insert an existing file stored on your OneDrive as a topic in your module. For further explanation of OneDrive, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Select the Quizzes option to insert an existing quiz as a topic in your module. Further explanation of the Quizzes tool can be found in the Quizzes video playlist available on the C.A.F.E. website. Select the Self Assessments option to insert an existing self-assessment as a topic in your module. For further explanation of the Self Assessments tool, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building. Select the Surveys option to insert an existing survey as a topic in your module. For further explanation of the Survey tool, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Willey building.   Who can see it? Published versus Draft Modules and topics can be set to Published or Draft. When Published, content is visible to students. When Draft, content is hidden from students. To change the state of a Module, select the module from the table of contents. In the content area, on the right side of the page, you will see the module’s current state. NOTE: The default state of new modules and topics is Published. Select the action menu next to the current state and select the desired state. To change the state of a Topic, select the Edit Properties In-place option from the action menu of the topic you would like to show/hide. The option to change the current state will now be available. Select the action menu next to the current state and select the desired state. To reveal and edit the properties of the topics in your course more quickly, click the Bulk Edit button of either a specific Module or the Table of Contents. Modifying Course Content To edit the name of a module you have created, select the module from the table of contents and then click on the name to activate an editable text box. To add or edit a description of your module, simply click on the Add a description… text or the descriptive text you would like to edit. The HTML editor will open. Add or edit your text. Then click Update to complete the process. To change the title of a Topic reveal the properties using the Edit Properties In-place option of the topic or the Bulk Edit option mentioned previously. Click on the title to activate an editable text box and type in your changes. Descriptions of each topic can also be added or modified by clicking on the Add a description… text or the descriptive text you would like to edit.   When is content available to students? Dates and Restrictions Clicking the Add dates and restrictions… text, within the properties of a Module or Topic, reveals additional ways to control student access to content: Start Date, Due Date, and End Date and Release Conditions. Adding a Start Date sets when that content becomes available for students to access. Adding an End Date sets when the content is no longer available for students to access. Adding a Due Date will indicate when the activity is to be completed by. Setting a Start Date, Due Date, or End Date will automatically create an event in the course Calendar. Settings dates for Modules and Topics is good practice as it helps guide the students through content in the intended order and facilitates students’ time management. NOTE: Setting dates has no affect on what course content is visible to students, only what can be accessed. Release conditions are used to control the release of the Module/Topic based on the student’s interaction with other course tools. For example, the student’s access to a topic could be dependent upon viewing a previous topic, or the completion of a quiz, etc.   Moving Modules and Topics The simplest and easiest way to move Modules and Topics is to drag and drop them in the desired location. Next to module and topic titles you will see “grab handles”. Placing your mouse over the “grab handle” will cause the cursor to change to a four-points arrow. You can now click and drag the content item to the desired location. When moving a module in the table of contents, or a topic within a module, the destination will be indicated by a dark blue bar. Release the mouse button and the module or topic will be moved to the desired location.   When moving a module into another as a sub-module, or a topic from one module to another, the destination module will highlight pale blue. You may need to reorder the items within the destination module once the content is successfully moved. Deleting Modules and Topics To delete a module from your course, select the module from the table of contents and then the Delete Module option from the module action menu.   To delete a topic from your course, select the Delete Topic option from the action menu of the topic you wish to delete. Copying Content From an Existing Topic If a course has a similar topic at the beginning of every module, perhaps one that describes the reading references for the module, the content could be copied to the start of every module and edited, instead of recreating the content in every module. To create a new topic that copies the content of an existing topic, begin by selecting the New button from within the appropriate module. Click Create a File from the pull-down options. Enter a title for the new document and then click the Select a Document Template button. Next, select the Browse for a Template option. Navigate your course files, select the appropriate file… …and click the Add button. The content will automatically file the text box. Edit the copied content and click Publish when finished.   Using Existing Document Templates To create visual appeal and consistency across your content pages, document templates are available for you to use that set the look and feel of your content. Begin by selecting the New button from within the appropriate module. Click Create a File from the pull-down options. Enter a title for the new document and then click the Select a Document Template button. Next, select the template option that best suits the content you are creating. Placeholder content will automatically file the text box. Edit the content and click Publish when finished.

Quiz Video Playlist Topics:

• • Create a New Quiz with New Questions
  • Create a New Quiz with Imported Questions
  • Create a New Quiz using the Quiz Builder
  • Populate a Quiz with Questions from Question Library
  • Create a Quiz with a Randomized Set of Questions
  • Create Bonus Quiz Questions
  • Grant Special Access to Users for a Quiz
  • Associate a Quiz with a Grade Item
  • Shuffle Questions
  • Customize Question Delivery using Quiz Builder
  • Attach a Release Condition to a Quiz
  • Create a Quiz Report
  • Edit a Question During its Availability
  • Reset Quiz Attempts for Learners
  • Preview a Quiz as a Learner
  • Manually Grade a Quiz
  • Transfer Quiz Grades to Your Grade Book
  • Customize Submission Views
  • Restore a Quiz Attempt
  • Competency and Quizzes - Associate Competencies with Quiz Questions

Benefits of Question Library Overview of Question Types Create a New Question Create a New Section Create an arithmetic question Create a Question Using a Regular Expression Create Complex Fill in the Blanks Questions Create a Multi-Select Question Create a Matching Question Create Significant Figures Questions Import Questions into Question Library Add an Answer Key Import/Export/Copy Components - Add Questions from Other Courses

Unit Topic: Custom Widgets Introduction A “Widget” is a container that holds and displays information on the Course Home page of a DC Connect course. Examples include the Announcements, Updates, and Student Help Videos widgets. Custom widgets can be added to a Course Home page as a way of adding visual appeal such as a banner image. They can also be used to communicate important information to your students. Examples of informative widgets include: a “To Do” reminder list, professor contact information, or even interactive elements such as a Twitter feed. Content This document covers the following topics: • Steps to Using a Custom Widget o Creating the Widget o Adding the Widget to a Course Home Page o Setting the Active Course Home Page Steps to Using a Custom Widget Adding a widget to a DC Connect course is done in 3 steps: creating the widget, adding the widget to a course home page, and setting the active course home page. Step 1: Creating the Widget In your course, click the Course Admin option of the navigation…. …and then click the Widgets link. Click on the Create Widget button. Give the new widget a Name – this will also be the text that appears at the top of the widget, unless you choose to hide that text entirely. Click on the Content tab. This is where you enter your widget’s content. Information If you are creating a widget to display text information, such as your contact information and office hours, simply type that information into the Contents HTML editor. Remember that there are formatting tools available to you in the HTML editor to format your text (e.g. bold titles). It might look like this: It is possible for your widget to import content from a separate web services (e.g. Twitter, Padlet). To do so you need what is called the “embed code” for the desired content. These come from the web service you want to use. You will often have to dig a little to find the embed code. Look for a Share link or icon, which might look something like this… or this: The service should provide you with guidance at this point for copying the code. However, please don’t hesitate to contact CAFE staff if you have difficulty. Return to DC Connect and edit your Custom Widget to enter embed code into the appropriate widget Content. Click on the Insert Stuff icon. Scroll down the option displayed to find and click the Enter Embed Code option Paste the embed code in the subsequent window. Click the Next button to continue. Then click the Insert button. NOTE: The embedded code may not appear to work properly as soon as it is pasted in; you may have to preview the widget to see if it is working as desired. Look and Feel On the Content tab when editing your widget, you can click on the Customize Widget Style button to tweak the way the widget looks. You can choose to display, or not display, the widget title. The container style property groups the widget title and content when the title is displayed. You can prevent your viewers from minimizing the widget, thus ensuring your information is always visible. If you choose to display a title, you can use the widget name by default, or input a custom title. Click the Save button if you are satisfied with your Widget Settings. You can use the Preview Widget button… …to see the results of your customization. Click Save and Close when you are satisfied with the widget. Step 2: Adding the Widget to a Course Home Page The Course Home page in DC Connect is the “front page” of a course. Each new course uses the Course Home – Default Layout page. Although you cannot edit this default page, you can make a copy of it and then edit that copy, making whatever additions and updates you see fit. To begin, click the Course Admin option of the navigation…. …and then click the Homepages link. Click the action menu of the Course Home – Default Layout homepage and select the Copy option. You will now see a copy of the homepage, with the text being blue instead of black. To edit the copy, click directly on the title. Give your new Homepage an appropriate Name… …and Description. Now scroll down the page to the Layout section. NOTE: If you are adding a narrow information widget, you can leave the Layout settings as the default. Skip these next steps and proceed to the Widgets section. If your intent is to add a banner image widget, click the Change Layout button… …and select the Large Left Panel option. Be sure to click the Update button. Now scroll down the page to the Widgets section. Click the Add Widgets button in the desired section of the Homepage. In the pop-up window, click the Custom Widget option to find your widget more quickly. Select the appropriate widget from the list of options… …and click the Add button. Your custom widget will appear at the bottom of the section you added it to. Click and drag the widgets to order them to your liking. Click the Save and Close button when you are satisfied with the arrangement of your custom homepage. Step 3: Setting the Active Course Home page Although you have created both a custom widget and a custom homepage that incorporates it, this will not be visible on the Course Home page automatically. You must indicate which homepage is active as the Course Home. If you are not already on the Homepages screen, go to Course Admin and then Homepages. In the dropdown menu labelled Active Homepage, select the custom homepage you made during step 2. Then click Apply. Click on the Course Home option in your course navigation to see your custom homepage and widgets. As always, if you have any difficulty with these steps please don’t hesitate to contact CAFE staff. We are happy to assist you.

UNIT TOPIC: DISCUSSIONS Introduction The Discussions tool allows you to create a collaboration area where students can post, read, and reply to messages on different topics, share thoughts about course materials, ask questions, share files, or work with peers on assignments and homework. Content This document covers the following topics: • How to Access the Discussions Tool • Creating Discussion Forums and Topics • Managing Discussion Forums and Topics o Editing a Forum or Topic o Reordering Forums and Topics o Deleting Forums and Topics • Discussions as Assessment Items o Configuring a Topic for Assessment o Assessing Users o Releasing a Topic Score to Grades o Quick & Easy: Assessing Discussions in Grades • Discussion Settings • Linking Discussions to Content   How to Access the Discussions Tool Select the Discussions item from the available navigation options of the Navbar. If you have difficulty finding the item, click on the Course Admin link and then the Discussions link found in the Course Administration options. Creating Discussion Forums and Topics Forums are used to organize your discussion topics into categories. Before you can create a discussion topic, you must create at least one forum. Topics are where discussions actually take place, where users post and read messages. Your course can include as many topics as you like, as long as each topic belongs to a forum. To create a new discussion forum, click the New button on the Discussions List page and select the New Forum option.   Enter a Title for the forum. If you want to automatically create a topic, select the Create a new topic in this forum with the same title check box. If you want to create a description enter it in the Description field. If you would like to provide your students with the option of posting anonymously in the forum, select the Allow anonymous posts checkbox. This setting will apply to all topics within the forum. Anonymous posts display with the author "Anonymous" in the thread. NOTE: A post is only anonymous among students. Instructors can always determine the author of a post. If you would like to review a post submission for approval before students’ posts are available to the class, select the A moderator must approve individual posts before they display in the forum checkbox. Again, this setting will apply to all topics within the forum.   To promote original work from students, you may wish to prevent students from reading each other’s work before posting their own response to the prompt. You can do so by selecting the Users must start a thread before they can read or reply to other threads checkbox. If you would like the forum description to appear above the description of each topic, select the Display forum description in topics checkbox. NOTE: Regarding the Users must start a thread before they can read or reply to other threads setting, this is not a foolproof method of ensuring original work. It is possible for a student to publish an empty post, review their peer’s work, and then edit their empty post to add content. Although this is a known issue, it is currently not possible to turn of the edit feature for students at the course, forum, or topic level. If you want to limit the visibility of the forum you can set the Visibility options under the Availability property. It is recommended that forums and topics with student work always remain visible. If you want to control when students can post on the forum you can set the Locking Options.   Click Save and Close or Save to save the forum. Alternatively, click Save and Add Topic to save the forum and create a new topic within it. NOTE: You must create a topic within the newly created forum for students to contribute to the discussion. Students cannot create their own forums or topics; they can only participate in ones created by the instructor. You are now ready to create a topic. If you clicked the Save and Add Topic button when creating a new forum, you will automatically be taken to the properties page of a new topic. If you clicked Save and Close, click the New button and then select the New Topic option from the pull-down menu options. NOTE: At the top of the Properties tab of a new topic, you have the option of changing which forum the topic will be located in or creating a new forum.   Enter a Title for the new topic. Enter a description of the topic in the Description field. This is commonly the details and instructions for what the student’s thread should contain (a.k.a. the prompt). If you would like to provide your students with the option of posting anonymously in the topic, select the Allow anonymous posts checkbox. Anonymous posts display with the author "Anonymous" in the thread. NOTE: A post is only anonymous among students. Instructors can always determine the author of a post. If you would like to review post submissions for approval before students’ posts are available to the class, select the A moderator must approve individual posts before they display in the topic checkbox. To promote original work from students, you may wish to prevent students from reading each other’s work before posting their own response to the prompt. You can do so by selecting the Users must start a thread before they can read or reply to other threads checkbox. NOTE: Regarding the Users must start a thread before they can read or reply to other threads setting, this is not a foolproof method of ensuring original work. It is possible for a student to publish an empty post, review their peer’s work, and then edit their empty post to add content. Although this is a known issue, it is currently not possible to turn of the edit feature for students at the course, forum, or topic level.   If you want to limit the visibility of the topic you can set the Visibility options under the Availability property. It is recommended that forums and topics with student work always remain visible. If you want to control when students can post in the topic you can set the Locking Options. Click Save and Close or Save to save the topic. Alternatively, click Save and New to save the topic and create a new one within the forum.   Managing Discussion Forums and Topics Editing a Forum or Topic From the Discussions List, select the Edit Forum or Edit Topic from the respective forum or topic pull-down menu. Select the tab containing the information you want to edit and make the appropriate changes. Be sure to click one of the Save button options to complete the process. Reordering Forums and Topics From the Discussions List, select the More Actions pull-down menu and then the Reorder option.   From the drop-down list in the Sort Order column, select the position in the list where you want each forum or topic to appear. Forums are ordered relative to each other; topics are ordered within each forum. If the topics in a forum are not visible, click the small triangle to the left of the forum title, or click Expand All link at the top of the list. Click the Save button to complete the process. Delete Discussion Forums or Topics From the Discussions List, select the Delete option from the pull-down menu forum or topic you wish to delete. Click the Yes button in the pop-up window to complete the process. Discussions as Assessment Items You can evaluate users' individual messages and have DC Connect automatically calculate a topic score for each user, or you can assign a topic score directly to each user. If you choose to assess individual messages, you can specify how you want the system to calculate each user’s overall topic score. From the Discussions List, select the Edit option from the pull-down menu forum or topic you wish to assess. Click the Assessment tab. If you want the score to be linked to a grade item, select the appropriate item from the Grade Item drop-down list. Specify the number you want to Score Out Of. This is the scale, ranging from zero to the number you enter that users are evaluated on. E.g., if you enter 15, you will assess users on a scale from zero to fifteen. NOTE: If you have associated your topic with a grade item, we recommend that the Score Out Of for the topic match the Maximum Points for the grade item.   A published rubric can be selected for the purpose of assessing student work. The rubric, visible to students as they draft their discussion posts, will provide expectations of content and quality of work. If you want to assess individual messages (rather than assigning an overall topic score directly for each user)… Select the Allow assessment of individual posts check box. Select the Calculation method you want to use to determine users’ overall topic scores based on message scores. By default, "unassessed" messages are ignored when calculating the topic score. However, if you want the calculation to treat "unassessed" messages as if those messages had received a score of zero, select "Include unassessed messages in the calculated score as zero". Click Save and Close. Assessing Users Select the Assess Topic option from the pull-down menu of the topic you wish to assess. This option is available from both the Discussion List page and from within the topic itself.   You will be taken to the Assess Topic page. Click the Assessments tab, and the Topic Score option from the pull-down menu. Next, click on the name of the student you want to assess. A pop-up window will appear displaying grading and feedback options as well as – at the bottom of the window – the student’s posts. If you are evaluating the topic without a rubric, click and enter the score for your student in the Topic Score field.   If you have associated a Rubric with the topic that is being assessed, it will be visible at the top of the pop-up window. Simply click on the appropriate level to score the student work. You can provide feedback for your student in the General Feedback field. Be sure to check the Publish score on save option so the grade and feedback are made available to the student immediately upon saving the assessment. Click the Save and Close button to complete the process. Releasing a Topic Score to Grades It may be that you want to assess student work, but not publish the marks as you go. To release scores for all users once you are finished assessing all student work, click the Publish All Scores to Grades button on the Assess Topic page. Quick & Easy: Assessing Discussions in Grades After a topic has been set to be assessed and associated with a grade item, it is possible to access and mark student work directly in the Grades. A significant advantage to this method is that students who have not contributed to the discussion are easily identified. Go to the Grades tool in your course, click the action menu of the appropriate grade item, and select the Enter Grades option. Students who have not completed the assigned discussion are easily identified as there is no icon in the Submission column of the table. Students who have completed the assigned work will have a discussion icon in the Submission column of the table. Clicking directly on the icon will open a popup window in which you can assess the student work.  Discussion Settings To access the discussion settings, click the Settings link at the right of the Discussions page (or the top of the message list within a topic). Personal Settings control the way you view messages inside a topic. These settings apply to all course offerings wherever you access discussions, but do not affect other users. • Always show the Discussions List pane - Selecting this option will pin the Discussions List pane in the View Topic and View Thread pages. • Display deleted messages - Selecting this option displays deleted posts when browsing topics. • Grid View - Selecting this option will display the discussion posts in the traditional Grid View, with post subjects displaying in a grid. • Reading View - Selecting this option will display the discussion posts in Reading View, where the entire text of a post displays for all posts. • Include original post in reply - Selecting this option includes the original post by default when composing a reply. • When creating a new thread, subscribe to the thread by default – Selecting this option will automatically subscribe you to each discussion thread you create. Org Unit Settings apply to all users and all forums and topics in your course. • Default Rating Scheme – This sets the rating scheme that will be automatically used for each new topic. This setting automatically applies to imported course components. Grid View Settings control the way forums, topics, and threads display in Grid View. • Topic Descriptions display in the Message List - Selecting this option will display Topic Descriptions in the Grid View for all users. Clearing this option can save space for users at lower resolutions in the Grid View. The Topic Description still displays on the Forums & Topics List. • Threaded - Messages are grouped together with their replies, allowing you to follow the thread of a conversation. • Unthreaded - Messages can be sorted by author, date, subject, message ID, or average rating. • Show the preview pane - Selecting this option displays the lower Preview pane in the Grid View. If this option is not selected, clicking on a post in the Grid View will open the post in a pop-up window. • Show the search bar - Selecting this option displays the Search fields in the Grid View. • Post ID - Selecting this option displays the Post ID for posts in the Grid View. • Org Defined ID - Selecting this option displays the Org Defined ID for the post author in the Grid View.   • Character Limits - The number of characters of the Subject to display for each post when browsing topics. Must be an integer between 1 and 150. Linking Discussions to Content To support student success, it is good practice to add any course activity (discussion, quizzes, assignment submission folders, etc.) to your Table of Contents. After creating your discussion forum and topics in the Discussions tool, click on the Content tool to show the Table of Contents. Next, click on the appropriate module to place the discussion in. If no modules currently exist, you will need to create one before continuing. From the Add Existing Activities pull-down menu, select the Discussions option   Click on the desired forum from the available options. Next, click the discussion topic you would like to insert into your content as an activity. The discussion will automatically appear as an item within the module content.

Email Introduction The Email tool in DC Connect is used to communicate with your students, either individually or in bulk. NOTE: The Email tool is configured to be send-only email, which means that you are able to send messages, but all further email correspondence will take place in Outlook (for faculty) and DC Mail (for students). Content This document covers the following topics: • Accessing the Email Tool o Accessing the Email Tool from the Minibar o Accessing the Email Tool from Within a Course o Accessing the Email Tool from Links and Icons • Adjusting Email Settings • Emailing Students o Using the Address Book o Composing a Message o Sending a Class Wide Email • Viewing Your Sent Mail   Accessing the Email Tool The Email tool may be accessed by several different methods, and your experience may be slightly different depending on how you access the Email tool. Accessing the Email Tool from the Minibar From the Minibar, you can click on the Messages icon near the top-right corner of the screen… … followed by the Go to Email link. Accessing the Email Tool from Within a Course The Email tool can be accessed from within a course by selecting the Classroom option on the Navbar, then clicking Email. This is the recommended way to access the Email tool, as the Address Book will automatically filter the list of students to match the students in your class. Accessing the Email Tool from Links and Icons The Email Tool can also be activated by clicking on links or icons within several other DC Connect tools. Selecting students from your class list and clicking the Email link.   Clicking on a student’s name in the class list or folder submissions of the Assignments tool. Clicking on the envelope icon in the Evaluate Submission view of an Assignment Submission Folder. Adjusting Email Settings You can adjust some settings related to DC Connect settings by clicking on Settings in the DC Connect Email tool. This option appears at the top-right of the screen. It is not necessary to view or adjust any of these settings, although some instructors may want to access Settings to create an Email Signature. The settings you can adjust are as follows: • Save a copy of each outgoing message to the Sent Mail folder - It is strongly recommended that you keep this box checked. • Send a copy of each outgoing message to [your.name]@dcfaculty.mycampus.ca - This will route a copy of all of your messages to your Outlook account, which may be useful. • Email Signature - This will allow you to set up an automatic signature for all of your DC Connect email. Note that this will be the same amongst all of your courses, and there is no option to set up more than one signature. • Show external email addresses in the Address Book - This box must remain checked to allow you to properly email students. If you make any changes to your settings, make sure you click the Save button at the bottom of this page.   Emailing Students Using the Address Book After accessing the Email tool, you will immediately be on the Compose New Message screen. As with any email, you must choose whom to send it to. You can manually enter email addresses on the To:, Cc:, or Bcc: lines, but it is best to use the Address Book. Click on the Address Book button to access this. If you accessed the Email tool from within a course, the Filter By: box will automatically be filled in with the name of your course. If not, then it most likely says “System Contacts”. The System Contacts filter includes everyone who uses DC Connect – it’s strongly recommended that you change the Filter By: box to match the course you are sending an email about. You may also want to adjust the per page box to 200, to ensure that you can select all of your students when you are choosing the recipients for your message.   To add to the list of recipients, you may check the box in the top left above the list of contacts to select all of them. You can also select individuals by checking the boxes next to their names. ]Once you have selected the users who you would like to send the message to, click the To, Cc or Bcc links to transfer their names to the desired recipients field. NOTE: If you skip this step, your message will not have any recipients! Click the Add Recipients button to return to the Compose New Message screen. Composing a Message It is recommended that you fill out the Subject: box with a description of the message. If you expect students to contact you via email, keep in mind that all emails will be routed to your Outlook. It is a good idea to ask students to include specific information in their Subject lines, like perhaps the CRN of the course they have with you. This will allow you to identify the students who contact you. Below, you can write your message in the HTML editor. In addition to the basic text writing and formatting options, the HTML editor allows you to format your message to look a certain way, insert images, insert links, and embed video (such as YouTube). NOTE: Further explanation of the HTML Editor can be found in the HTML Editor handout available on the C.A.F.E. website. If you would like to attach a file, click Upload and navigate to the file on your computer you wish to upload. Multiple files can be added to an email using this step. Finally, click the Send button at the top of the page to send this message.   Sending A Class Wide Email The simplest way to email your entire class is to use the Classlist. Select the Classlist option from the available course navigation. To write an email to your entire class, click the Email Classlist button at the top of the Classlist page. Scroll to the bottom of the Email Classlist page and click the Send Email button. NOTE: When composing email to multiple students (or the entire class) the student email addresses are automatically input into the BCC: field.   Viewing Your Sent Mail A Sent Mail folder is available in the DC Connect Email tool, which can be used to verify whether something has been sent or not, and to make it easier to re-send something if needed. At the top of the Compose New Message screen, there is a Sent Mail button. Clicking this will allow you to view your sent messages. From the Sent Mail screen, you can click on the Compose button to return to the Compose New Message screen. You can also review your list of sent messages, and view specific messages by clicking on the Subject for that message.

UNIT TOPIC: Final Adjusted Grade Use Introduction The Final Adjusted Grade item can be used to override the Final Calculated Grade item in a DC Connect gradebook. The numerical data must be tabulated and input manually. NOTE: Use of the Final Adjusted Grade is strongly discouraged. If there is a need to modify a student’s final grade (e.g. reweighting a missed assessment to final assessment item) C.A.F.E. has a process available to do so. Some courses have multiple instructors, each responsible for a subset of the class roster. In these instances, use of the Final Adjusted Grade may be recommended to facilitate grading. Please see the Grading DC Connect Courses with Multiple Instructors document found on the C.A.F.E. website for further support if needed. If in doubt, contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Wiley building to assist you with using the Final Adjusted Grade item. Content This document covers the following topics: • Changing the Grades Settings • Using the Final Adjusted Grade   Changing the Grade Settings NOTE: When there is a need to use the Final Adjusted Grade, it is used for all students enrolled in the course. The first step in implementing the Final Adjusted Grade item is updating the Grades settings. Navigate to the Grades tool and click on the Settings link. Click on the Calculations Options tab. Under the Final Grade Released title, select the Adjusted Final Grade property. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save. Using the Final Adjusted Grade To input marks for the Final Adjusted Grade, click on the Grades of your course and navigate to the Enter Grades page. Scroll to the far right of the table, click the action menu for the Final Adjusted Grade, and select the Grade All option. You will be taken to the Final Grades page. In the table displayed, input the appropriate grade for each of your students. The left-side input box is for the students’ achievement. The right-side input box is for the maximum possible grade. After you have input the grades for your students, be sure to click the Save and Close button. Please refer to the Final Grades Submission document found on the C.A.F.E. website for instructions on exporting this grade to Banner.

UNIT TOPIC: Final Grades Submission Introduction Final grades are to be exported to Banner from the DC Connect Grades tool. This document details the process of ensuring your Grade settings are correct and ensuring the appropriate Grade Item is ready for export. NOTE: Do not follow these steps if you are attempting to submit or change marks after the grade submission deadline. To submit final marks after the deadline faculty must complete a Marks Change Form for each student and submit it to their school office. The Marks Change Form can be found here: https://ice.durhamcollege.ca/Forms/Mark-change.pdf Content This document covers the following topics: • Review Grade Data • Grade Settings o Confirming the Grade Scheme o Confirming the Grade Item to Be Sent to Banner o Confirming the Org Unit Display Options • Submitting Grades to Banner o Exporting Final Grades • MyCampus Export Confirmation o Final Grades Review   Review Grade Data Prior to grade submission, it is best practice review your grade data and ensure all marks are present and have been input accurately. For example, you may have students that have stopped coming to class (or have never come to class) but are still present on your class list at semester’s end. It is important that zeroes be input for all incomplete assignments, even for these “missing” students. Also, if you are using the Quiz tool to collect assessment data, it is important to manually input zeroes for quizzes that were not attempted. The easiest way to review this information is to access the Grades tool in your course and then visit the Enter Grades page. Be sure to Switch to Standard View if you are not already on that view, this will make it easier to identify gaps in your grade data. Click the Switch to Standard View button on the right side of the page to do so. In this view, look for cells that have a “-“ (dash) as a placeholder instead of a numerical value. This indicates that the assessment is NOT used in the calculation of the final grade, possibly inflating that calculation. Input zeroes where appropriate.   Grade Settings Confirming the Grade Scheme The default grade scheme for a new DC Connect course is Percentage – DC Standard. However, if you have copied your gradebook from a previous semester, this setting might have changed. To confirm the proper grade scheme for a successful grade export, navigate to the Schemes page of the Grades tool. If there is a checkmark in the Default Scheme column and the Percentage – DC Standard row, your grade scheme setting is correct. If not, set the Percentage – DC Standard scheme by clicking on the checkmark in the Set As Default and Percentage – DC Standard row. A pop-up window will appear asking you to confirm your selection. Click Yes. NOTE: It is rare that one of the other grade schemes is required for your course. However, for Pass/Fail courses another scheme is required. Please contact CAFÉ staff in SW101 of the Gordon Wiley building to assist you with selecting the appropriate gradebook settings.   Confirming the Grade Item to Be Sent to Banner Before you export your final grades to Banner, you must confirm that the correct item (Final Calculated Grade or Final Adjusted Grade) is selected for export. Navigate to the Grades tool and click on the Settings link. Click on the Calculations Options tab. Under the Final Grade Released title, select the appropriate final grade calculation you wish to export to Banner. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save. NOTE: Use of the Adjusted Final Grade option is not recommended. There are rare occasions where use of the Adjusted Final Grade option is required however. Courses with multiple instructors, for example. Please contact CAFÉ staff in SW101 of the Gordon Wiley building to assist you with selecting the appropriate gradebook settings.   Confirming the Org Unit Display Options To avoid a possible export error, it is good practice to confirm the Org Unit Display Options. Navigate to the Grades tool and click on the Settings link. Click on the Org Unit Display Options tab. The Grade scheme symbol option under the Student View Display Options title must be checked. Otherwise an error will occur when attempting to export your grades. It is possible that an override setting of the Final Calculated Grade my cause the same export error. Return to the course Grades and click directly on the Final Calculated Grade item to edit/view its properties. Scroll down to the Display Options and click the Show Display Options if they are not visible.   Disable any Overrides that may have been set. You will know the Override is disabled when the property in unchecked.   Submitting Grades to Banner Exporting Final Grades On the Enter Grades page of the Grades tool, click on the More Actions pull down menu and select the Export to Banner option. Next, select Final from the Export Grades As pull-down menu. You will be taken to a summary output page where you can preview what grades will be exported to Banner, whether or not the grade has been released to students, and the status of the export. Once you have confirmed all the grades are correct and have a Ready to Send status, click on the Export all Grades button.   A progress page will appear, showing you the status of your export. Once the export is complete, a report will indicate any problems that occurred (e.g. Banner has rejected the grade). NOTE: There will always be one error generated by the Demo !Student. This is expected. Additional errors may be generated when a student has withdrawn from the course, or no grade data has been input for a student. Click the Continue button to view the results of your export. You will be returned to the Export Grades to Banner page. Confirm that all your students have the Accepted by Banner message in the Status column. Your marks have been successfully exported to Banner.   NOTE: Do not alter grades in DC Connect after the grade submission deadline. Be careful not to click the Export All Grades button again. This will lead to confusing errors. However, it will not corrupt the grades you’ve already sent. If your grade export is unsuccessful, please review this document and confirm your settings prior to clicking the Export to Banner and Export All Grades buttons. If errors persist, please contact C.A.F.E. staff in SW101 of the Gordon Wiley building.   MyCampus Export Confirmation Final Grades Review You can confirm the final grades were successfully exported to Banner by visiting the Final Grades Review page in MyCampus. Login to MyCampus and click the Self Service Options icon located at the top of the page. Next, click the Faculty option… …and then click the Durham College Faculty link. From the next menu, click the Final Grades Review link. Select the appropriate term from the pull-down menu... …and click the Submit button.   Select the appropriate CRN from the pull-down menu... …and click the Submit button. The final grades exported from DC Connect will appear alongside your class list for you to review. NOTE: If the grades listed are not what you exported from DC Connect, please contact C.A.F.E. staff for support diagnosing the problem.

THE GRADES TOOL Introduction Students use the Grades tool to check their marks on assignments, quizzes, and tests. They can see their individual marks and feedback, and may see class averages if they are made available. They can also view their final grade and the grade formula used to evaluate them if these have been made visible. Professors can set up grade books that reflect their approach to evaluation. They can control the grading formula used to calculate grades; what projects, assignments, tests, etc. are graded; how grade items are associated with other tools; and when grades are released to learners and what information they see. Content This document covers the following topics: • How To Access Grades • The Manage Grades View o Create New Grade Items o Grade Item Properties o Grade Item Restrictions o Edit A Grade Item o Reorder Grade Items • The Enter Grades View o How To Enter Grades o Reviewing An Individual Student’s Grades • A Note Regarding the Final Adjusted Grade   How to Access Grades Click the Grades option in the navigation bar of your course. The Default Grades Area will open. If the course is brand new, this will be the Setup Wizard. To change the Default Grades Area, click the Settings link. Then click on the Personal Display Options tab. Scroll down the page and then select the desired area from the pull down menu under the Start Page title. Be sure to click the Save button to affix your changes. Manage Grades is used to add and organize grade items. Enter Grades is used to view and enter students’ marks into the grade area. Although this document does not cover the Settings, Schemes and the Setup Wizard, they perform the following functions: • Settings provides grade display options and grade calculation options • Schemes is used to create and edit grade schemes. In most cases, it is not necessary to change the default scheme (Percentage – DC Standard) • Setup Wizard presents six pages where the grades settings can be adjusted in response to your input. The Manage Grades View Durham College course outlines, in the Evaluation Criteria section, typically describe a weighted system. NOTE: If your course is a Pass/Fail course, please contact C.A.F.E. staff for assistance with setting up your gradebook. For the purposes of this document, a weighted system will be depicted in the DC Connect grading environment. If the grades list is not displayed, click Manage Grades. When Manage Grades is selected, the grade list appears: By default, the grade list is created with the two grade items: Final Calculated Grade, and Final Adjusted Grade. NOTE: If a grading scheme does not add to 100%, a warning is displayed above the grade item list. Create New Grade Items Course grading information similar to the following is needed to setup a complete grade book: Grade Item Marked Out Of Weight (must add to 100%) Assignment 1 20 10% Assignment 2 25 10% Assignment 3 30 10% Assignment 4 30 10% Mid-Term Test 40 20% Final Term Test 50 20% Project 40 20% To create a new grade item click the New button. A pull-down menu will appear giving you the option of creating a new Item or a new Category. NOTE: A Category can be used to group related grade items, providing additional grading flexibility like dropping the highest/lowest grades. Select Item from the pull-down menu. From the options that appear, click the type of grade item you would like to create (usually Numeric).   Grade Item Properties On the Properties tab… Enter a Name for the grade item (required). You will want to enter a Short Name so that your gradebook does not display absurdly wide when in spreadsheet view. We recommend leaving the Description field blank. Assignment descriptions should be posted in the course Content. Enter the Maximum Points for the grade item (required). This is what the item is/will be marked out of. If you don’t know yet, don’t worry. This can be edited later when you have this information. Enter the Weight for the grade item (required). This will come directly from the Evaluation Criteria section of your course outline. Select the Can Exceed option if you need the ability to input a mark greater than the Maximum Points. For example, the assessment item has a “bonus question”. Select Bonus if this grade item is a bonus item for the course.   In most cases, it is inadvisable to change the Grade Scheme. Click the Add Rubric button to associate a Rubric you have created in DC Connect with your Grade Item. Click the Show Display Options link to show more options. You can show students both the class average… …and grade distribution for the grade item to your students. Although it is possible to do so,… we strongly discourage you from overriding the display options …for the Student View or Managing View. Doing so may create errors during the grade submission process.   Grade Item Restrictions On the Restrictions tab… …enter the grade item Visibility settings. We recommend that you leave all grade items visible at all times. Click Show Release Conditions… …and Create and Attach any grade release conditions. Click one of the Save options to save the grade item.   Edit a Grade Item To edit all aspects of a grade item, including restrictions, click the name of the grade item in the Grade Item list of the Manage Grades page. This opens the grade item for editing where changes can be made to the item’s properties and restrictions. Click the Save and Close button to save your changes and return to the Grade Item list. Grade Items can also be edited by selecting them in the grades list… …and clicking Bulk Edit at the top of the Grade Item list. NOTE: This will allow editing of the grade items’ properties only. Reorder Grade Items To reorder grade items in the grade list, click the More Actions button… …and select the Reorder option. In the Sort Order column, use the select boxes to change the order of the grade items.   Click the Save button to return to the grades list and view the changes.   The Enter Grades View Click Enter Grades to display the user list and grade items. ¬ Above the user list, there are options to Import marks (requires a .csv file)… …and Download Spreadsheet (to an Excel or .csv file) if desired. Click on More Actions… …and select the Manage Columns option to select which grade items to display. The Search for: option can be used to find an individual student. The Switch to Spread View button displays the user list with individual cells for entering grades (like a spreadsheet).   If you have created student groups using the Groups tool, the View By: option can filter the user list by group. This View By: group feature can make marking group projects that don’t use the Assignments much more efficient. Below the search field is the list of students in the class. Click a checkbox and then the Email icon to email selected student(s). Click this flag icon to identify student(s) you are concerned about. Click this chart icon to view student progress. Click on a student’s name to enter marks for the student. NOTE: Further explanation of the Email tool can be found in the Email handout available on the C.A.F.E. website.   The action menu beside each item in your grade book can be used to… Display the Properties of the Grade Item Edit the properties of Grade Item Grade All students on this Grade Item View the Grade Item Statistics How to Enter Grades You can input marks for a Grade Item from either the Enter Grades or Manage Grades sections of the Grades tool. In the Enter Grades section, select the Grade All option from the action menu of the Grade Item. Or… In the Manage Grades section, select the Enter Grades option from the action menu of the Grade Item. Both methods will take you to the input page for that Grade Item.   Enter the students’ marks in the Grade column. NOTE: A grade can be displayed in three ways: mark as entered, its weight towards the course overall, and as a whole number describing the percentage (Scheme) achieved. When assigning marks within a Grade Item, click Show details and overall feedback for the option to leave feedback/comments regarding this Grade Item that all students will receive.   When inputting marks within a Grade Item, you may also… Click on the flag icon to flag students Click on the Email icon to email selected students Click on the Feedback icon to leave individual student feedback Clear grades from selected students by clicking the Clear icon Click on the Event Log icon to view a record of events associated with this grade item Remember to click the Save button when your input is complete. Reviewing an Individual Student’s Grades Student marks can be reviewed from the Enter Grades view. To review an individual student’s marks, click the student’s name in the user list. The details of the student’s grades are displayed. You can… Click the flag icon to flag the student. Click the chart icon to view student progress. Use the action menu next to the students name to Preview the Grades view of the student, to view the grading Event Log, or Email the student. Click the Show Comments option to enter comments for the student regarding their final grade. Click the Release Final Calculated Grade checkbox to make the final grade visible to this student (or leave it unchecked so the final grade is hidden) Review individual marks. ¬ Review the student’s Final Adjusted Grade. Select which items are included in the calculation of a Final Adjusted Grade.   A Note Regarding the Final Adjusted Grade The Final Adjusted Grade is to be used in very few and unique cases. DO NOT arbitrarily change a student’s grade from what is calculated by the Final Calculated Grade. If you need to transfer the weight of a missed assessment to another grade item because your course outline describes this flexibility, please contact C.A.F.E. staff for assistance with the approved process.

Grading DC Connect Courses with Multiple Instructors Introduction The purpose of this document is to outline the recommended process for setting up and administering the grading process of courses where multiple professors are responsible for grading a subset of students from the class roster. This process minimizes the potential risk of incorrect marks being submitted to Banner. Content This document covers the following topics: • Course Setup o Groups o Grades • Grading and Submission o Grading o Submission @ Midterm o Submission @ End of Semester (Final)   Course Setup To set up a course where multiple professors are responsible for a subset of the Classlist, there are several steps that must be followed to minimize the risk of students receiving the incorrect grade at midterm and end of semester. Groups One of the first things that should be done is to create a new group category in the course, where the names of the professors are used for the individual groups. Begin by accessing the Groups tool… …and clicking the New Category button. Input the name of the course as the Category Name. Skip the Description.   Set the Enrollment Type to # of Groups - Manual Enrollment Set the Number of Groups to be the number of professors who are responsible for submitting grades. Skip the Grade Prefix option. Do not create any additional workspaces. Click the Save button. The groups are created, but must now be named appropriately. Click on each Group and… …change the Group Name to be one of the professors responsible for student grading. Be sure to click the Save button after each Group Name update. Next, you will want to enroll the students into the appropriate groups. On the Manage Groups page, click the action menu for the Group Category that was just created and select the Enrol Users option. Change the Display option… …so that only one group is shown at a time.   Use the checkboxes in the table at the bottom of the page to indicate which students belong to the group. Click on the Save button and change the Display option to the next professor in the list. Cycle through each group until the entire Classlist is sorted into the appropriate groups. Grades The next step in setting up the course is properly setting the Grade Settings. Access the course and click on Grades… …and then the Manage Grades option. Click on the Settings link on the right side of the page. Next, click on the Calculation Options tab.   Set the Final Grade Released property to Adjusted Final Grade. Also, ensure the Grade Calculations property is set to Drop ungraded items. If the course is Pass/Fail, please contact and collaborate with C.A.F.E. staff to ensure the gradebook functions in alignment with the criteria described in the course outline.   Grading and Submission The following steps should be followed when professors grade their students, and when grades are submitted at midterm and end of semester. Grading When it is time to assess student achievement, the following steps should be followed so that the appropriate professor grades the appropriate students. Click the Grades navigation option. Click action menu of item you want to mark… …and select the Enter Grades option. Change the View By: field at the top of the page to the Groups option… …and click the Apply button. Change the Groups: field to the appropriate professor’s name… …and click the Apply button again. In the table displayed, grade the students and provide appropriate feedback. Click the Save and Close button. Submission @ Midterm Follow these steps to submit midterm grades. Access the course and click on Grades… …and then the Manage Grades option (if not already there). Click the action menu of the Final Calculated Grade item. Select the Enter Grades option. Change the View By: field at the top of the page to the Groups option… …and click the Apply button. Change the Groups: field to the appropriate professor’s name… …and click the Apply button again. Grades are to be manually input into the Final Adjusted Grade column.   For courses with a numeric grade: For each of the students, take the number in the Scheme column of the Final Calculated Grade… …and type it into the left-side box of the Final Adjusted Grade column. Type “100” in the right-side box of the Final Adjusted Grade column. Once all the students are graded, click the Save and Close button. For courses with a P/F grade: For students who are passing, input a “1” in both the left and right boxes in the Final Adjusted Grade column. For student who are failing, input a “0” in the left left-side box and a “1” in the right-side box of the Final Adjusted Grade column. Once all the students are graded, click the Save and Close button.   Click the Grades navigation option… ..and then on Enter Grades. Click the Export to Banner button. Click the pull-down menu and choose the Midterm option. Click the Export All Grades button. When the progress bar has turned green, single-click the Continue button. Use any of the top navigation to leave the Export page. Submission @ End of Semester (Final) Repeat the steps as described in the Submission @ Midterm section with the following exception: Click the pull-down menu and choose the Final option.

Unit Topic: Grading Non-Gradable Sections Introduction Manually Managed Courses A manually managed course may be used to mimic the cross listing of several sections of a single course. Grading can be done in the manually managed section, but cannot be exported to Banner directly at the end of the semester. Grade data must be passed back to the original (gradable) CRNs for the export to Banner process to be successful. Lab CRNS Many courses with large enrollment subdivide into several CRNs, each with a portion of the overall enrollment. The large enrollment is commonly the lecture portion of the course, and the smaller enrollments are commonly the lab or practical portion of the course. The lab CRNs are not gradable, grade information will not successfully export to Banner from them. Therefore, grade information input into them must be passed to the lecture section so that the overall grade exports successfully from the lecture section. Content This document covers the following topics: • Setup o Manually Managed Courses o Lab CRNS • Ongoing • End of Semester o Manually Managed Courses o Lab CRNS Setup Please see the DC Connect: Grades PDF located on the CAFE website for instructions on creating grade items. Manually Managed Courses Build all grade items in one of the gradable sections of your course. We will call this section the “source”. Once all the grade items are complete, follow these steps to copy the grade items and settings to the other sections of your course, and to the Manually Managed section: 1. Go to a new section of your course in DC Connect. 2. Click the Course Admin option of the course Navbar. 3. Click the Import/Export/Copy Components link. 4. Click the Search for offering button. 5. Search for the “source” CRN, select its radio button, and click the Add Selected button. 6. Click the Select Components button. 7. Select both the Grades and Grade Settings checkboxes (leaving the default Copy all items radio button on)… … then click the Continue button. 8. Click the Finish button. 9. Wait for the copy process to complete and click the Grades option of the course Navbar to confirm the grades copied over successfully. 10. Repeat the above steps for each section of your course, including the Manually Managed section. Lab CRNS Build all grade items in the gradable (lecture) section of the course. The instructor responsible for the lecture content usually does this. Once all the grade items are complete, export the grade structure following these steps: 1. Click the Course Admin option of the course Navbar. 2. Click the Import/Export/Copy Components link. 3. Select the Export Components option… …but deselect the Include course files in the export package before clicking the Start button. 4. Select the Grades checkbox (leaving the default Export all items radio button on)… … then click the Continue button. 5. Click the Continue button on the confirmation page (be sure the Include course files in the export package checkbox is unselected). 6. Click the Finish button. 7. Click on the Click here to download the export Zip package link to download the .zip file. The file can now be distributed, via email or USB drive, to the instructors responsible for the lab (non-gradable) sections. They must now import the .ZIP file into their sections of the course. To do so they will follow these steps: 1. Click the Course Admin option of the course Navbar. 2. Click the Import/Export/Copy Components link. 3. Select the Import Components option… …and click the Start button. 4. Click the Upload button and find the .zip file provided by the lecture instructor. 5. Once the file upload is complete, click the Import All Components button. 6. Upon successful import, click the View Content button… …and then the Grades link in the Navbar to confirm that the grade items are there. Ongoing Grade data will be input in non-gradable section(s) throughout the semester. End of Semester Manually Managed Courses At the end of the semester the grade information recorded in the Manually Managed section of your course must be moved to the gradable CRNs so they may be exported to Banner. Starting in your Manually Managed section, follow these steps: 1. Click the Grades option of the course Navbar. 2. Click the Enter Grades link. 3. Click the Download Spreadsheet button. 4. Select the Org defined ID radio button,… …the Points grade checkbox… (NOTE: leave all other options unchecked.) …and all Grade Item checkboxes. 5. Click the Download as CSV button. 6. Once the progress has completed, click the Download button save the .csv file to your computer. You can now import this data into your gradable CRNs. Access one of your sections and follow these steps: 7. Click the Grades option of the course Navbar. 8. Click the Enter Grades link. 9. Click the Import button. 10. Click the Browse… button and navigate to the .csv file you exported in step 6 above. 11. Click the Continue button. 12. Ignore the Unrecognized user error (if present). 13. Click the Continue button. 14. A preview of the data is shown, click the Import button. The data is now imported into your gradable section. Note that you will have to repeat steps 7 through 14 for each of your original (gradable) sections. Lab CRNS At the end of the semester the grade information recorded in the lab sections of the course must be moved to the lecture (gradable) CRN so they may be exported to Banner. Each lab instructor must follow these steps and provide the resulting .CSV to the lecture instructor: 1. Click the Grades option of the course Navbar. 2. Click the Enter Grades link. 3. Click the Download Spreadsheet button. 4. Select the Org defined ID radio button,… …the Points grade checkbox… (NOTE: leave all other options unchecked.) …and all Grade Item checkboxes. 5. Click the Download as CSV button. 6. Once the progress has completed, click the Download button save the .csv file to your computer. The lecture instructor can now follow these steps to import each .csv file into the lecture (gradable) section of the course: 1. Click the Grades option of the course Navbar. 2. Click the Enter Grades link. 3. Click the Import button. 4. Click the Browse… button and navigate to the .csv file you exported in step 6 above. 5. Click the Continue button. 6. Ignore the Unrecognized user error (if present). 7. Click the Continue button. 8. A preview of the data is shown, click the Import button. The data is now imported into the gradable section. Note that you will have to repeat steps 7 through 14 for each lab section .csv file provided by the lab instructors.

UNIT TOPIC: GROUPS Introduction The Groups tool is used to organize students within your DC Connect course. Each group can have its own discussion topics and assignment submission folders. Students can belong to any number of groups in the same course and members of groups can be graded as a team or individually. Content This document covers the following topics: • Accessing Groups • Creating a Group Category • Adding or Editing Groups in an Existing Category • Enrolling and Unenrolling Students in/from Groups • Deleting Groups and Categories • What Students See in the Groups Tool (when they can self-enroll)   Accessing Groups Select the Groups item from the available navigation options of the Navbar. If you have difficulty finding the item, click on the Course Admin link and then the Groups link found in the Course Administration options. Creating a Group Category NOTE: In most cases it is better to set up groups after the majority of students are enrolled in your course. This gives you a better idea of how many students you are organizing and how many groups you need. Setting up groups after enrollment can also ensure better distribution of students between groups. Categories are used to organize and manage related groups. To create a new group category, click the New Category button. Type in an appropriate name for the category (e.g. the name of the project/assignment) in the Category Name field. Enter a description of the category in the Description field. Select an Enrolment Type from the pull-down menu. # of Groups – Manual Enrolment: A specified number of groups are created, which you can add any number of students to through the Enrol Users page. Use this enrollment type when you know how many groups you want to create, and which students will be in each group.   Groups of # - Auto Enrolment: The minimum number of groups needed to place students in groups of a specified maximum size are created. More groups are created when they are needed to accommodate new students. Use this enrollment type when you know the maximum number of students you want in each group. Be sure to select the Auto-Enrol New Users property so that new students, who enroll in the course after groups are set up, become members of a group. They will be automatically added to the group with the fewest students. # of Groups - Auto Enrolment: A specified number of groups are created. Use this enrollment type when you know how many groups you want to create, but want the system to place students in groups for you. As with Groups of # - Auto Enrolment, be sure to select the Auto-Enrol New Users property so that new students, who enroll in the course after groups are set up, become members of a group. They will be automatically added to the group with the fewest students.   Groups of # - Self Enrolment: The minimum number of groups needed to accommodate students in groups of a specified maximum size are created automatically. Use this enrollment type when you know how many students you want in each group, but you want to allow students to choose their own groups. Students join the group they want to enroll in from the Groups page after clicking the View Available Groups button. You may wish to set a date by which students are required to self-select their groups. You can also set the groups to automatically enroll outstanding students after this date. NOTE: If students are not already enrolled in your course, then only one group is initially created. You can use the Manage Groups page to add additional groups. See the Adding or Editing Groups in an Existing Category section of this handout for how to do so. You might want to add additional groups even if students are already enrolled to ensure all students have options when forming groups.   # of Groups – Self Enrolment: A specified number of groups are created. Use this enrollment type when you want to make a specific number of groups available for students to join. NOTE: When enrolment type is used it is possible for all students to join a single group. To prevent this, it is best to use the Groups of # - Self Enrolment type instead and add additional groups as required. # of Groups of # – Self Enrollment (Do Not Use): DO NOT USE THIS ENROLMENT TYPE (please). Doing so will create errors at midterm and final grade submission.   After you have selected the appropriate Enrolment Type and set the desired properties, it is possible to create workspaces for your students that are automatically group restricted. That is to say that only members of each group can see the contributions of their fellow group members. Select Set up discussion areas if you want to associate discussion areas with the groups in the category. Select Set up lockers if you want to associate locker areas with the groups in the category. NOTE: The Locker is not a very efficient file storage tool and we encourage professors to use other options for sharing files among group members. Select Set up assignments if you want to associate assignment submission folders with the groups in the category. Click the Save button to complete the process of creating groups. If you select Set up discussion areas, you will need to select or create a new forum in which the group discussion topics will be created.   After clicking the Save button, you will be automatically taken to a Create Restricted Topics page. On this page you can select how you will view the group discussion topics. NOTE: Students will only see their own group topic regardless of the setting you select. Input an appropriate title… …and provide the prompt for your students to follow. Click the Create and Next button to continue… …or the Add Another button to create additional group restricted topics. If you select the Set up assignments option, you are automatically taken to a Create Assignments page. Creating a folder from this page creates a group restricted assignment submission folder. See the Assignments document, located on the CAFE website, for a comprehensive description of the assignment submission folder creation process.   Adding or Editing Groups in an Existing Category You may find that you need to subsequently add a group to an existing category. Navigate to the Manage Groups page and select the appropriate group category from the View Categories pull-down menu. Next, select the Add Group option from the pull-down menu next to the category name. Update the Group Name if you want it to be different from the one provided.   Scroll down to see additional properties. You can change the Group Code if desired. You can also provide a Description of the group. Click the Save button to complete the addition of your new group. You can edit the properties of existing groups by clicking directly on them in the Manage Groups list.   Enrolling and Unenrolling Students in/from Groups From the Manage Groups page, choose the appropriate group category from the View Categories pull-down menu. Next, select the Enrol Users option from the group category pull-down menu. Select whether you want to Display All Groups or a specific group. Enter information in the Search For: field to search for a specific student. On the Enrol Users page a table displays your class list and the available groups. Select the appropriate checkbox to enroll a student in a group. Uncheck the appropriate checkbox to unenroll a student from a group. NOTE: When a student is removed from a group, their activity remains in the system (e.g. discussion threads, and submissions to assignment folders). Click Save when you are finished.   Deleting Groups and Categories From the Manage Groups page, choose the appropriate group category from the View Categories pull-down menu. Select the check box at the top of the list to select all groups and categories… Or Select the check box beside the category or group you want to delete… Then click the click the Delete link/icon.   What Students See in the Groups Tool (when they can self-enroll) Students access the Groups tool by selecting the Groups option in the Classroom pull-down menu. On the Groups page students will see which groups they currently belong to. They can also click the View Available Groups button to see what options they have for group self-enrollment.   On the subsequent page, students can... Click on the number link in the Members column to view the Member List for a group. Click on the Join Group link to self-enroll in a group. NOTE: Once a student is enrolled in a group, they no longer see the list of available options. This view will return if you manually unenroll the student from the group they joined.

How to Backup and Restore a Course in DC Connect Introduction For archival purposes, it is possible to download a backup of your course structure and content to be stored on your personal computer, outside of DC Connect. If desired, this backup can be restored into a new course shell, or a sandbox, in DC Connect at a future time. NOTE: This is not the recommended method for moving a course structure and content from semester to semester. The Copy Components process should be used for that purpose. Content This document covers the following topics: • Create a backup of your course in DC Connect • Restore a backup of your course in DC Connect Create a backup of your course in DC Connect To create a backup of your course, log in to DC Connect and access the course you wish to backup. Click on the Course Admin navigation link. Click on the Import/Export/Copy Components link. Select the Export Components option. Be sure to leave the Include course files in the export package checked. Click the Start button. Select the Select All Components option. All the items should now appear as checked. Be sure to leave the Export all items option selected for each component. Click the Continue button. A confirmation page will be displayed. Click the Continue button once more. The export process will now begin and an export summary will appear once the process has finished. Click the Finish button. On the subsequent Export Summary page, click the Click here to download the export Zip package link. A .zip file will download to your computer. It is important that you do not decompress/unzip this file. Click the Done button. You will be returned to the Import/Export/Copy Components page. Your course backup is complete. NOTE: This process does not export any student work or marks, only the structure of the course, and any associated supporting files (Word documents, PDF files, etc.). Restore a backup of your course in DC Connect To restore a backup of your course, log in to DC Connect and access the course you wish to populate. Click on the Course Admin navigation link. Click on the Import/Export/Copy Components link. Select the Import Components option… …and click the Start button. A popup window will appear. Click the Upload button. Navigate to the location on your computer where you have stored the .zip file you downloaded as a course backup. Select it and click the Choose button. A progress bar will appear. Once it is complete, click the Import All Components button. Another progress bar will show you the status of the Import. When complete, click the View Content button. Your course has been restored. NOTE: Release Conditions and Intelligent Agents are not part of the export/import package. Release conditions that existed on content or activities in the original course will need to be recreated. Any desired Intelligent Agents will need to be recreated or copied from another course. It is strongly recommended that all announcements, content, files, and activities be reviewed to ensure any date information is appropriately updated. It is also recommended that the most current, approved course outline be consulted to ensure your Grades align with the current version of the course.

How to the Show/Hide the Final Calculated Grade to Students Introduction The visibility of the Final Calculated Grade is controlled by the Release property of the Grades settings. The default setting is that it is visible. However, it is worthwhile to review the state of your Final Calculated Grade to confirm it is either visible, or not, as required. Content This document covers the following topics: • Setting the Visibility of the Final Calculated Grade   Setting the Visibility of the Final Calculated Grade To change the visible state (released/visible or unreleased/hidden) of the Final Calculated Grade, login to DC Connect, select the appropriate course and click on the Grades link. Navigate to the Manage Grades list and select the Enter Grades option from the Final Calculated Grade item action menu. OR Navigate to the Enter Grades table and select the Grade All option from the Final Calculated Grade item action menu. If there are checkmarks in the checkboxes of the Release Final Calculated Grade column, students can see their Final Calculated Grade. If there are not, and you would like the grade to be visible, click on the on the action menu next to Final Grades at the top of the page and select the Release All option. Click the Save and Close button to affix your update. To hide the Final Calculated Grades from your students, select them from the list using the checkboxes and click the Release/Unrelease link. The checkboxes in the Release column should update accordingly.

UNIT TOPIC: HTML Editor Introduction Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is a coding language for creating web pages. The design view of the HTML Editor allows professors to quickly create and format content without needing any prior knowledge of HTML. The HTML Editor is used when inputting information for display in a DC Connect course. It can be found in almost every tool. It provides the course professor a wide range of options for formatting and displaying text, images, audio, video, and links to additional content. Content This document covers the following topics: • About the HTML Editor • Using the HTML Editor o Inserting Images o Inserting “Stuff” o Inserting Quicklinks   About the HTML Editor You can enter your content and use the available controls to apply formatting to your text, insert images and tables, and create links. Insert options Paragraph styling options Text formatting options Table formatting options Undo option Editing options Equation editor Click the HTML Source Editor icon to display the source editor view. This view displays the code that structures and formats your content. Use this view if you have experience with HTML and prefer to author your content in HTML or want to apply styles from a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS). If you have HTML-based content from another application, you can also copy and paste that code into the source editor view. Use the Preview option to display a preview of your HTML content in a new window. This allows you to preview content and ensure that it displays as expected prior to saving any changes.   Using the HTML Editor Inserting Images To add an image to the content you are creating, begin by placing your cursor where you want the image to appear. Next, click on the Insert an Image icon. Click on the My Computer option. Click the Upload button. Navigate to the folder on your computer where the image is stored and select the file. You can click the Choose Destination button to manage the file structure of your course files, but this is not necessary. Next, click the Add button.   You will be prompted to provide alternative text for accessibility. Enter this descriptive text in the Alternative Text: field, or click the This image is decorative checkbox. Click the OK button. Your image will now appear. Inserting “Stuff” The Insert Stuff icon is used to add various content to your file. NOTE: Many of the options available in this list are obsolete, or the options are better performed by other means. The Video Note, Video Note Search, and Enter Embed Code options are the only recommended options in this list. Enter Embed Code An embed code is a small amount of HTML code that takes content from another web-based source (e.g. YouTube, Twitter, Padlet, etc.) and displays it within your content. You will need to copy the embed code from its source before adding it to your content. Typically, the code can be found by clicking on a “Share” link or button on the webpage where it was found. Below is an example of the embed code of a YouTube video. To insert an embed code into your content, begin by clicking the Insert Stuff icon and select the Enter Embed Code option. A pop-up window will appear. Paste the embed code you have copied into the Embed Code field. Click the Next button to continue. Your embedded content should now be displayed as a preview in the window. Click the Insert button to complete the process. NOTE: Due to ongoing security updates to Internet browsers, over which we have no control, there is no guarantee that your embedded content will display for students as intended.   Inserting Quicklinks Quicklinks bridge your students to other online content within, or external to, your course. To insert a Quicklink, set your cursor in the desired location and click the Insert Quicklink icon. A pop-up window will appear. The list of options available allows you to link directly to accompanying content and activities within your course. You are also able to link directly to content you have shared from your Google Drive or OneDrive Click on the Url option to link to online content that exist outside of DC Connect.   After selecting the desired Course Materials option, it is good practice to click the pencil icon to review additional options… …and to select the New Window Target option if available. This is especially true when adding links to content that resides outside of DC Connect.

UNIT TOPIC: IMPORT / EXPORT / COPY COMPONENTS Introduction There is a tool in DC Connect that allows you to copy quizzes, content, grade items, discussion forums, assignment submission folders and nearly every other type of component from another course offering. This can save you from having to recreate or re-upload course resources from scratch each semester and may have other benefits as well. Content This document covers the following topics: • Things to Note Prior to Copying Course Components o Requirements to Copy Course Components o Overwriting Course Files o User Data o Linked Components • How to Access the Copy Course Components Tool(s) • Copying Course Components o Copy All Components o Select Components • Exporting Course Components • Importing Course Components Things to Note Prior to Copying Course Components Requirements to Copy Course Components The process for copying components starts in the course you want to copy components into, not the course you want to copy components from. To be able to Copy Course Components from one course offering to another, you must be an Instructor in both courses. If you want to get access to another instructor’s course resources, the best option is to have them Export Course Components. They can send you the .zip file with those course resources, and you can Import Course Components to make use of these resources in your own course. Overwriting Course Files In general, a course file (PPT file, Word document, etc.) is overwritten when the file being copied has the same name as an existing file. No other components are overwritten (e.g. Grade items, Assignment Submission Folders, etc.); they will instead be duplicated. NOTE: Copying or importing course components other than course files more than once (without careful thought) is likely to result in a very messy course with many duplicated items. User Data User data is never copied when using the Copy Course Components tool. Also, there is no way to automatically transfer student grades, quiz results, assignment submissions, or any other data that exists for each student. Linked Components Components that are linked or associated must all be copied at the same time in order to function properly in the destination course offering. Examples of these include: • Release Conditions • Grade item associations with assignment submission folders, quizzes, discussions or rubrics • Associations between rubrics and assignment submission folders, quizzes or discussions Content items may also display incorrectly if any Course Files that they depend on are not copied. How to Access the Copy Course Components Tool(s) The Import/Export/Copy Components process can be accessed by visiting the course Content, or by visiting the Course Admin page. After clicking the Content navigation option… …click directly on the Table of Contents item at the left of the page. Next, click the Import Course pull-down menu and select the Copy Existing Course option. Alternatively, click the Course Admin navigation option…. …and then the Import/Export/Copy Components link. Copying Course Components From the Import/Export/Copy Components screen, make sure Copy Components from another Org Unit is selected, … …as well as Include protected resources. Where it says Course to Copy, click the button that says Search for offering. A new window will pop-up. In the Select Course Offering window, you must perform a search of your courses to identify the source. Input the year or semester code from which you want to copy and hit the enter key (or click the magnifying glass) Your courses will appear in a table below the search field. Click the radio button on the lefthand side next to the course you want to copy components from. Then click the Add Selected button. NOTE: Please be careful with these next steps. At the bottom of the Import/Export/Copy Components page, click either Copy All Components… or Select Components. Copy All Components If you Copy All Components, this will copy everything from the source course to the destination course. If you do this more than once, it will certainly result in duplication and possibly other complications. Using Copy All Components does not require any further steps. After clicking this button, the copy process begins without further confirmation. Select Components If you Select Components, it will allow you to choose specific items from the source. After clicking Select Components, you will be on a new screen titled Copy Course Components. Select the components you want to copy using the check box next to each component. To copy only certain items from a component, choose Select individual items to copy. This allows you to select individual modules and topics, quizzes, discussion forums, assignment submission folders, etc. Click Continue at the bottom of the screen when you are finished selecting components. If you chose Select individual items to copy for any component in the previous step, other pages will appear where you can choose which specific items you want to copy. Select the individual items and subitems you want to copy and click Continue at the bottom. To view sub-items, click the “+” icon next to an item or click Expand All at the top of the list. Repeat this step for any other components for which you chose Select individual items to copy. Next, the Confirm Components to Copy page appears. This page is simply a confirmation which lists all of the items to be copied. You can change the items selected within a component by clicking Modify. This takes you to the Select Items page for that component. It is also possible to update the date information on your copied materials as part of the copy process. Click the Offset all dates of copied components checkbox and set the amount of days to offset. Click Finish to begin copying. The Copy Summary page is displayed, showing the copy progress. When a component has been successfully copied, a green check mark appears beside it. If any component fails to copy properly, a warning symbol will appear beside it. NOTE: Course components that are copied will likely need to be modified, including their dates and restrictions, to ensure the information they contain/present is current. Exporting Course Components From the Import/Export/Copy Components screen, select the Export Components option, as well as Include course files in the export package. Next, click Start. On the Select Course Material screen, you will see a list of all available components. Select the components you want to export using the check box next to each component. To copy only certain items from a component, choose Select individual items to export. This allows you to select individual modules and topics, quizzes, discussion forums, assignment submission folders, etc. When you are finished selecting components, click Continue at the bottom of the screen. If you chose Select individual items to export for any component in the previous step, other pages will appear where you can choose which specific items you want to export. Select the individual items and subitems you want to copy and click Continue. To view sub-items, click the “+” icon next to an item or click Expand All at the top of the list. Repeat this step for any other components for which you chose Select individual items to export. Next, the Confirm Components to Export page appears. This page lists all of the items to be exported. You can change the items selected within a component by clicking Modify. This takes you to the Select Items page for that component. Ensure you have checked the box to Include course files in the export package. Click Continue to begin exporting. The Export Summary page is displayed, showing the export progress. Click Finish. Click on the link titled Click here to download the export Zip package. This will allow you to download the Exported Components and save them to your computer. This can now be archived or transferred to another person. Importing Course Components NOTE: Using this method to import course components will read only .zip files that are exported from DC Connect (or are prepared specifically for import into the LMS). It cannot be used to upload other types of files, such as documents, to your course. To learn about adding individual files from your computer into to your course, see the Content handout available on the CAFE website. From the Import/Export/Copy Components screen, select Import Components… …and click the Start button. In the Import Course Package popup window, click the Upload button and select the .zip file (from your computer) you would like to import into your course. Once the .zip file has finished loading, click the Import All Components button to import the course package as a whole. Alternatively, you can click the Advanced Options… button to customize what is imported. After doing so you will be taken to a Reading Your Course Package page. Click the Continue button once the file has been read. On the subsequent Customize Your Course Package page, Select the components you want to copy using the check box next to each component. To copy only certain items from the imported file, choose Select individual items to import. This allows you to select individual content items, quizzes, assignment submission folders, etc. There are additional Advanced Options to organize where the imported files will be stored in the Manage Files area of your course,… …what to do with existing files,… …and offsetting date information attached to imported components. When you are finished selecting components, click the Continue button. If you chose Select individual items to import for any component, other pages will appear where you can choose which specific items you want to copy. Select the individual items and subitems you want to copy. To view sub-items, click the + icon next to an item or click Expand All at the top of the list. When you are finished selecting items to import, if necessary, click Continue. Repeat this process for any other components for which you chose Select individual items to import. Next, the Confirm Import Selections page appears. This page lists all of the items to be imported as well as presenting the Advanced Options (described above) once again. You can change the items selected within a component by clicking Modify. This takes you to the Select Items page for that component. Click the Continue button to begin importing. The Importing Course Material popup is displayed, showing the import progress. Click the View Content button to complete this process and begin reviewing the imported materials. NOTE: Course components that are imported will likely need to be modified, including their dates and restrictions, to ensure the information they contain/present is current.

Unit Topic: Instructor Student View Introduction The Instructor Student View enables you to impersonate a generic, course specific student account, allowing you to see and interact with your course materials and activities as your students can. This user account replaces the !Student, Demo, formerly used to approximate the student perspective. NOTES: This account type is not available in all DC Connect courses. It is available in CRNs and Manually Managed courses starting from the Fall 2018 semester, and in newly created Sandbox courses. When impersonating the Instructor Student View account, do not update the default Profile, Notifications, or Account Settings. It is recommended that professors do not post discussion threads or discussion replies while impersonating the Instructor Student View account. These posts will be confusing to actual students. If you impersonate the Instructor Student View to review and test assessments that are associated with Grade Items, marks may be automatically passed to the Grades for that user. When displaying class averages to students, ensure that there are no marks assigned to the Instructor Student View user as this may misrepresent the class average. As the Instructor Student View is not associated with a valid email address, Intelligent Agents will not successfully execute for this student account. Content This document covers the following topics: • Accessing the Instructor Student View • Enabling the Instructor Student View Impersonation • Ending the Instructor Student View Impersonation Accessing the Instructor Student View Access the Classlist tool from the available course navigation options. Click on the All tab. Scroll down the page until you see the Classlist displayed. The account you are looking for will look something like this: Instructor Student View, (course offering code). Enabling the Instructor Student View Impersonation Click on the action menu for the Instructor Student View user … …and select the Impersonate option. Click the Yes button. You can now review your course content and activities from the student perspective. Ending the Instructor Student View Impersonation Click on the Account Information in the minibar. Then click on the small x to the right of the Impersonating: account information.

Unit Topic: Intelligent Agents Introduction The Intelligent Agents tool is a powerful and efficient means of communicating with students that will increase student engagement, deepen your impact as a professor, while also reducing your workload. An Intelligent Agent is a process the runs in your DC Connect course that identifies students who have met particular criteria and subsequently sends those students pre-scripted emails to their DC Mail accounts. The criteria, message, timing, and frequency of communication is set by you, the professor. In simpler terms, you are telling DC Connect to automatically email students when they have, or have not done something in DC Connect. Content This document covers the following topics: • How to Access the Intelligent Agents Tool • Creating & Managing your Intelligent Agents o Creating an Intelligent Agent o Setting the Agent Criteria o Setting the Agent Action o Running Your Intelligent Agent o Enabling or Disabling an Intelligent Agent o Deleting an Intelligent Agent • Intelligent Agents Settings o Setting a Custom From: Name and Reply-To: Email Address How to Access the Intelligent Agents Tool To access the Intelligent Agents tool, click on the Course Admin link in your course navigation… … and then the Intelligent Agents link. Creating & Managing Your Intelligent Agents Creating an Intelligent Agent Click on the New button of the Agent List page to begin creating a new Intelligent Agent. Enter a Name for the agent. It is a good idea to use a name that includes the activity it is monitoring (e.g. “Assignment 1 – Reminder) Having a brief description of the purpose of the agent can be very helpful when managing your agents across semesters. Click the Agent is enabled Status box so that your agent is available to run. Setting the Agent Criteria The agent Criteria is the user activity that is being monitored and triggers the agent to send its messaging. Begin by selecting who you want to receive emails from the agent. Role in Classlist You can select All users visible in the Classlist (recommended). Or Users with specific roles: Login Activity If you wish the agent to take action based on how often students log into DC Connect, click the Take action when the following login criteria are satisfied: checkbox under the Login Activity title. Then click the desired User has not / has logged in… radio button and set the number of days that must pass before the agent acts. NOTE: This agent criteria monitors student logins to DC Connect, system wide. It is not course specific. We DO NOT recommend using this criteria for your agent. Course Activity If you wish the agent to take action based on how often students access your course, click the Take action when the following course activity criteria are satisfied: checkbox under the Course Activity title. Then click the desired User has not / has accessed course … radio button and set the number of days that must pass before the agent acts. GOOD PRACTICE: It is critically important for students enrolled in hybrid and online courses to engage with their courses on a frequent basis. If you are teaching a hybrid or online course, it is strongly recommended that you create an agent that monitors your students’ course activity and prompts them when they do not access your course with the desired frequency. Input the number “7” to prompt students who are “asbsent” for more than a week. Release Conditions Release conditions are conditional requirements that restrict access or visibility to specific content, resources or areas within DC Connect. Students must satisfy the conditions before the restrictions are removed. Stated more simply, students can't see or interact with the course content or activity unless they have done (or not done) what the condition describes. When you use Release Conditions as the Criteria for an Intelligent Agent, the action or inaction described by the condition controls whether or not students receive the agent email. There are many, many options for what can be used as a condition. A comprehensive description of each Condition Type and their subsequent Condition Details is beyond the scope of this document. However, some excellent examples, especially for an Intelligent Agent, are: has/has not submitted to an assignment submission folder, has/has not viewed content topics, has/has not completed a checklist, has/has not achieved a certain grade on an assessment. Click the Create and Attach button to begin. Click the Condition Type pulldown menu and select the interaction you wish to monitor. In the subsequent Condition Details pulldown menu (it will appear, I promise), select the action or inaction that triggers the agent to execute. Click the Create button to affix the Release Condition as the Criteria for your agent. Setting the Agent action The agent Actions determine the frequency of the agent’s action and whether or not an email is sent. Repetition The Repetition setting determines how many emails an agent might send to users who satisfy its criteria. When you select this setting, all users that satisfy the agent's criteria receive only one email no matter how many times the agent is evaluated. When you select this setting, the agent sends an email to all users that satisfy its criteria every time the agent is evaluated. Send an Email NOTE: Although it is possible to use the Intelligent Agent tool to quickly identify students who meet a particular Criterion, we strongly recommend using the tool for communication. Click the Send an email when the criteria are satisfied checkbox. You will need to use a special code (called a replace string) in the To: field so that each student who satisfies the agent’s criteria receive an individual email. Type {InitiatingUser}, including the brackets, into the To: field. Enter an appropriate Subject:. “Assignment 1 – Reminder”, for example. Enter the content of your email in the Message: field. Here is an opportunity to personalize your communication. We recommend using the {InitiatingUserFirstName} replace string. Each student receiving the email from the agent will see their own first name as the salutation of the message. Running Your Intelligent Agent There are two ways to run your agent, using a schedule to predetermine when your agent will run and with what frequency, and manually. If you would like to set your agent to run automatically at a future point in time, click on the Use Schedule checkbox. Next, click on the Update Schedule button. In the window that pops up, set the periodicity, … …repetition, … …start date, … …and end date of the agent schedule. Click the Update button to affix your agent schedule. After setting your schedule, be sure to click the Save or Save and Close button to preserve all your agent parameters. If you prefer to run your agent manually, you can do so from the Agent List page. Click the action menu of the appropriate agent and select the Run Now option. Enabling or Disabling an Intelligent Agent On the Agent List page, click the appropriate checkbox to select the Agent… … then click the Enable or Disable link at the top of the list. NOTE: Agents copied forward from one semester to the next will automatically disable. It is recommended practice to review the content and schedule of each copied agent before enabling it. Deleting an Intelligent Agent On the Agent List page, click the appropriate checkbox to select the Agent… … then click the Delete link at the top of the list. Intelligent Agents Settings Setting a Custom From: Name and Reply-To: Email Address By default, the name from and reply-to address of emails sent by Intelligent Agents is noreply@dcconnect.mycampus.ca. However, you may wish to facilitate communication with your students by providing a functional address that they can use to correspond with you. On the Agent List page, click the Settings link. Click the Set custom values for this course radio button. Type in your name. NOTE: Do not use your @durhamcollege.ca email address in the Reply-To field. The reply from your student will be blocked without any notification to you. Be sure to use this format: first.last@dcfaculty.mycampus.ca Click the Save button to affix your Intelligent Agents Settings.

UNIT TOPIC: Midterm Grades Submission Introduction Durham College requires that faculty submit Midterm grades to help students to be more clearly aware of their progress. Midterm grades are to be submitted through DC Connect. Content This document covers the following topics: • Review Grade Data • Prior to Submitting Midterm Grades o What is submitted o Confirming the Grade Scheme o Confirming the Grade Item to Be Sent to Banner o Confirming the Org Unit Display Options • Submitting Grades to Banner o Exporting Midterm Grades • MyCampus Export Confirmation o Midterm Grades Review   Review Grade Data Prior to grade submission, it is best practice review your grade data and ensure all marks are present and have been input accurately. For example, you may have students that have stopped coming to class (or have never come to class) but are still present on your class list. It is important that zeroes be input for all incomplete assignments, even for these “missing” students. Also, if you are using the Quiz tool to collect assessment data, it is important to manually input zeroes for quizzes that were not attempted. The easiest way to review this information is to access the Grades tool in your course and then visit the Enter Grades page. Be sure to Switch to Standard View if you are not already on that view, this will make it easier to identify gaps in your grade data. Click the Switch to Standard View button to do so. In this view, look for cells that have a “-“ (dash) as a placeholder instead of a numerical value. This indicates that the assessment is NOT used in the calculation of the Final Calculated Grade, possibly inflating that calculation. Input zeroes where appropriate.   Prior to Submitting Midterm Grades What Is Submitted In a DC Connect course with default settings, following the steps below will export the column titled Calculated Final Grade to the Midterm Grades field in Banner. There are two known situations where incorrect grades may be submitted. 1. Treating Ungraded Items As 0 If you have chosen to Treat ungraded items as 0 in your Grades Settings, the Final Calculated Grade will be a very low number at Midterm. Typically, your entire class will be failing because this setting will include all ungraded assessments as a grade of zero. You will need to change your Grade Calculations setting from Treat ungraded items as 0 to Drop ungraded items (the default). Further explanation of the Grades tool can be found in the Grades handout available on the DC Connect page under the Learning Technology menu of the CAFE website. 2. Grades That Don’t Contribute to the Midterm Grade All grades entered to date will count toward Midterm grades. If you have any grades entered for students that you do not want to count toward the students’ Midterm grades, such as self-paced quizzes due after Midterm, another method will need to be used to calculate your students’ Midterm grades. For help with this, please contact CAFE staff in SW101 of the Gordon Wiley building. NOTE: Do not use the Adjusted Final Grade column for adjustments at midterm. Confirming the Grade Scheme The default grade scheme for a new DC Connect course is Percentage – DC Standard. However, if you have copied your gradebook from a previous semester, this setting might have changed. To confirm the proper grade scheme for a successful grade export, navigate to the Schemes page of the Grades tool.   If there is a checkmark in the Default Scheme column and the Percentage – DC Standard row, your grade scheme setting is correct. If not, set the Percentage – DC Standard scheme by clicking on the checkmark in the Set As Default and Percentage – DC Standard row. A pop-up window will appear asking you to confirm your selection. Click Yes. NOTE: It is rare that one of the other grade schemes is required for your course. However, for Pass/Fail courses another scheme is required. Please contact CAFE staff in SW101 of the Gordon Wiley building to assist you with selecting the appropriate gradebook settings.   Confirming the Grade Item to Be Sent to Banner Before you export your midterm grades to Banner, you must confirm that the correct item (Final Calculated Grade) is selected for export. Navigate to the Grades tool and click on the Settings link. Click on the Calculations Options tab. Under the Final Grade Released title, select the Calculated Final Grade option (if it is not already). Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save. NOTE: Use of the Adjusted Final Grade option is not recommended. There are rare occasions where use of the Adjusted Final Grade option is required however. Courses with multiple instructors, for example. Please contact CAFE staff in SW101 of the Gordon Wiley building to assist you with selecting the appropriate gradebook settings.   Confirming the Org Unit Display Options To avoid a possible export error, it is good practice to confirm the Org Unit Display Options. Navigate to the Grades tool and click on the Settings link. Click on the Org Unit Display Options tab. The Grade scheme symbol option under the Student View Display Options title must be checked. Otherwise an error will occur when attempting to export your grades. It is possible that an override setting of the Final Calculated Grade my cause the same export error. Return to the course Grades and click directly on the Final Calculated Grade item to edit/view its properties. Scroll down to the Display Options and click the Show Display Options if they are not visible.   Disable any Overrides that may have been set. You will know the Override is disabled when the property in unchecked.   Submitting Grades to Banner Exporting Midterm Grades On the Enter Grades page of the Grades tool, click on the More Actions pull down menu and select the Export to Banner option. Next, select Midterm from the Export Grades As pull-down menu. You will be taken to a summary output page where you can preview what grades will be exported to Banner, whether or not the grade has been released to students, and the status of the export. Once you have confirmed all the grades are correct and have a Ready to Send status, click on the Export all Grades button.   A progress page will appear, showing you the status of your export. Once the export is complete, a report will indicate any problems that occurred (e.g. Banner has rejected the grade). NOTE: There will always be one error generated by the Demo !Student. This is expected. Additional errors may be generated when a student has withdrawn from the course, or no grade data has been input for a student. Click the Continue button to view the results of your export. You will be returned to the Export Grades to Banner page. Confirm that all your students have the Accepted by Banner message in the Status column. Your marks have been successfully exported to Banner.   NOTE: Be careful not to click the Export All Grades button again. This will lead to confusing errors. However, it will not corrupt the grades you’ve already sent. If your grade export is unsuccessful, please review this document and confirm your settings prior to clicking the Export to Banner and Export All Grades buttons. If errors persist, please contact CAFE staff in SW101 of the Gordon Wiley building. MyCampus Export Confirmation Midterm Grades Review You can confirm the midterm grades were successfully exported to Banner by visiting the Midterm Grades Review page in MyCampus. Login to MyCampus and click the Self Service Options icon located at the top of the page. Next, click the Faculty option… …and then click the Durham College Faculty link. From the next menu, click the Midterm Grades Review link. Select the appropriate term from the pull-down menu... …and click the Submit button. Select the appropriate CRN from the pull-down menu... …and click the Submit button. The midterm grades exported from DC Connect will appear alongside your class list for you to review. NOTE: If the grades listed are not what you exported from DC Connect, please contact CAFE staff for support diagnosing the problem.

Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 1 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Unit Topic: peerScholar Introduction peerScholar is a customizable peer assessment tool that helps develop your students’ critical and creative thinking skills. The tool allows instructors to set up individual, group or case study assignment submissions for students to peer review. This is done through three phases: creating, assessing, and reflecting. peerScholar is designed for peer to peer evaluation and grading as well as self-assessment. What are the benefits to using peerScholar for your students? • An opportunity for students to acquire analytical, learning skills and perform critical thinking developed by the critical thinking aspect of peerScholar. • Students attain continual practice in self-reflection, assessing quality of feedback and a sense of where their own work fits relative to the work of peers. • Feedback is prompt and timely which maximizes learning impact. • Students learn to communicate their ideas in an efficient manner. Content This document covers the following topics: • Getting Started o Create a New Module o Adding an External Learning Tool o Modifying Tool Properties o Accessing peerScholar • Adding an Activity o Types of Activities o Create Activity § Appendix A: Classic § Appendix B: Case Study § Appendix C: Group Work o Additional Tools o Set Dates Menu o Customize Grading Menu • Grading System o Navigating the Grading System o Progress and Grading o Syncing Grades Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 2 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Getting Started Create a New Module Access the Content tab in your DC Connect course. Add a module to the left-hand navigation bar by clicking Add a module… and give it a name. Adding an External Learning Tool Inside your new module, select External Learning Tools from the Existing Activities drop down menu. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 3 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Scroll down, and select peerScholar. Modifying Tool Properties Under the arrow to the right of your new peerScholar tool link, click Edit Properties In-Place. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 4 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 You can rename the link by clicking on it, add dates and restrictions, or add a description. We recommend checking Open as External Resource as it will allow you and your students access to view the tool in its own full-screen page. Accessing peerScholar Access the tool by clicking on the link or by selecting View Topic under the topic action menu. Here you can select whether you’re creating a classic (individual), case study or group work assignment. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 5 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Adding an Activity Types of Activities Once you have launched peerScholar through your DC Connect course, you will be automatically brought to the Add Activity menu. There are 3 options to choose from: Classic allows you to create an assignment and various assessments for your students to complete. This will be done individually and students give/receive feedback to/from a random set of peers. Case Study allows you to create different cases (topics) to assign to different students. Students can give feedback to peers who did the same case or a different case. Group Work allows you to create an assignment and various assessments for grouped students. Students will submit as a group & peer assess other groups. Click the type of activity of your choice and then click the Create Activity button. You will be entered into the builder. Click the Let’s Go! bar to continue. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 6 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Create Activity Please refer to the Appendices of this document for the details of creating each activity type. Appendix A: Classic Appendix B: Case Study Appendix C: Group Work Additional Tools On the right-hand side of the builder, there is a menu with 3 icons. The Plus Sign will allow you to access additional assessments that will be prompted to students as a last response at any phase (create, assess and reflect). The Eye Icon allows you to preview how students will view each phase. The Gear Icon shows advanced phase settings. You are able to set a word limit in this menu. You may also enable require completion of Assess Phase to participate in Reflect Phase in this menu. Set Dates Menu Manual Control Once you have built your activity and performed any additional steps, you must set the dates where your activities will open and close to students. You may choose the Manually Control Due Dates option to control the opening and closing of the phases from the Activity dashboard. This is useful for in class assessments or for instructors that want more manual control. If you choose to manually control due dates, you can toggle each phase on or off from this panel on your peerScholar dashboard after completing your activity setup. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 7 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Automatic Scheduling You may choose the Schedule Due Dates option to pre-schedule due dates and times so that phases open and close automatically. Dates schedule by clicking on the pencil icons of each phase. You can choose the range in which they run using the calendar provided. Time confirms and sets the times as well. Submit Late allows for late submissions by toggling on the slider. NOTE: if there in an overlap in dates and timing, you will not be able to continue to the next stage until it is resolved. Click the Continue button once it has turned orange. Customize Grading Menu The grading menu allows you to create grading assessments for yourself or any teaching assistants you've associated with your course. Make sure you complete the Customize Grading Menu before you begin the grading process. Types of Grading After you have finished building your activity and setting your dates, grading is the next step. There are 3 types of grading options. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 8 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Instructor/Teaching Team Evaluations is a manual grading process. This option allows you to set up grading assessments, similar to the ones created in the Assess phase of the Build Activity Menu. From there, you and your teaching team will undergo a grading process that will display peer evaluations, self-evaluations and revisions of a student’s work. Peer Ratings is an automatic grading process that uses peer assessments to generate or contribute to the student’s grade. Student Participation is an automatic grading process that provides grades based on the completion of each phase. Select the grading process that is appropriate for the activity and your teaching team. Instructor/Teaching Team Evaluations When Instructor/Teaching Team Evaluations is selected, click on the Add Assessment link. This will allow you to create grading assessments that will be the platform of your marking. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 9 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 The Assessments Setup menu will pop up. There are currently 8 different types of assessments to choose from. Add in assessments by clicking on the ones you would like to use and following the prompts. Keep in mind that these assessments should be catered towards grading the student's work and can include grading based on all revisions (initial and final), grading self-reflections and grading the student’s peer assessments. After you have finalized your grading assessments, you must dedicate points to each assessment. Use the up and down arrows in the points box to add a weight to each grading assessment. The sum of all the points for each assessment will equal to a final mark. You may also choose to select Grade Anonymously which will hide the name of the student from the grader to avoid unconscious bias or preconceived ideas. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 10 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Peer Rating When Peer Rating is selected, the peer assessments that you initially created in the Assess phase of the Build Activity Menu will display. To use the peer assessment gradings, select the check box on the side to allow the assessment given to the student by a peer to be used towards their final grade. All assessments created in the assess phase have allocated quantitative values to each option except for the Comments assessment and therefore can be used to provide a quantitative grade. Now select the Calculate By dropdown menu and select the option that fits your activity. The option Drop simply drops the lowest and highest assessment grades given and then takes the mean of the remaining. After you have finalized your grading assessments, you must dedicate points to each assessment. Use the up and down arrows in the points box to add a weight to each grading assessment. The sum of all the points for each assessment will equal to a final mark. It is recommended that points follow the assessment quantitative values in a logical manner. For example, if the highest value in the “choice” assessment option is 3, it is recommended that you dedicate 3 points in the marking scheme. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 11 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Student Participation When Student Participation is selected, the three phases found in the Build Activity Menu will be visible. To incorporate the student’s completion of each phase as a grade, select the check box beside each phase that you want to grade the student on. From there, you may select if you wish to grade the student based on if they completed the entire phase (including any additional questions) and/or if they submitted or assessed work. After you have finalized your grading assessments, you must dedicate points to each assessment. Use the up and down arrows in the points box to add a weight to each grading assessment. The sum of all the points for each assessment will equal to a final mark. Assistant Settings You may skip over the Assistant Settings as Teaching Assistants are not available in your course. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 12 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Grading System Navigating the Grading System Once you have completed the Customize Grading Menu and students have submitted their assignments, assessed their peers’ assignments and reflected, it is time to grade their work. From the dashboard of your course, click on the Grade Now button. The grading system will appear for you. Student Identification In the center of the grading system, the student’s name will appear and you are able to cycle through all the students. NOTE: If Mark Anonymously was checked in the customized grading menu, the student's name will not appear when grading. However, the student’s name will still be accessible next to their grade in DC Connect. peerScholar recommends using the anonymous grading feature as it can remove unconscious bias or preconceived ideas based on the name of the student. Peers Underneath the student’s name, are the peers that have assessed the student’s work. Clicking on each peer will show their assessments. You may also view the self-assessment that the student has completed if that option was toggled on during the Build Activity phase. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 13 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Student's Composition The left-hand panel displays the Student’s composition that they have submitted. At the bottom of the composition, there are 3 options: Draft: shows the initial submitted work. Revised: shows the revised submitted work after peer edits. Changed: shows the changes made to the work. Changes will only show if the student edits directly on the peerScholar system. Attachment Submissions If your students have submitted an attachment in addition to or instead of a written composition, the files will be downloadable at the bottom of the screen. Click Files to open the file popup menu. Click on the file names to download each file individually and open separately on your computer in the appropriate software. Assessment from Peers The middle grey panel displays the assessments and feedback from each peer conducted in the Assess phase. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 14 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Grader's Assessments The white panel on the right-hand side is the grading portion of the system. Instructors will complete the assessment they created in the Customizable Grading menu. View Feedback given to Peers Clicking on the three dots will allow you to view feedback given to peers. This means that you are able to see the assessments that the student has conducted on their peers. The grading system changes and the left panel now shows the peer’s composition and the middle panel shows the student’s comments on their peers' work. Saving After you have completed grading, click on the green Save button and move onto the next student. Once all students are graded, the dashboard should indicate that all students have been marked. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 15 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Progress and Grading peerScholar’s dashboard offers many options to view the progress of your student’s work. In the dashboard, locate the tab called Student Progress & Grading. Under this menu, you are able to view the progress of each student’s work in every phase. Clicking on the status of the student’s work will open a menu of options. Mark as NOT Submitted: this will change the student’s status to “In Progress” Edit: this option allows you to edit the student’s submission in the Create phase and in the Reflect phase. This may also be useful for manual submissions by the instructor in the case that students submit their work to you and not the system. Allow Late Access: grants the individual student permission to submit late in any phase. It is recommended that in the Assess phase, all students submit their assessments on time to avoid unequal distribution of peer assessments. The View Distribution button allows you to see the distribution of peer to peer in the Assess phase. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 16 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Syncing Grades After you have completed the grading, you are able to transfer them to DC Connect. On the peerScholar dashboard, you are able to click Show to make your grades visible to students in the peerScholar system. You may also hide grades if you wish to do so after showing them. Clicking Gradebook will take you to the grades that you have submitted into the system. In the Gradebook panel, grades that you have allocated to each student are displayed. This panel shows all the grades of every activity that you have made. To sync the grades to DC Connect, simply click on the Sync Grades button. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 17 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 A menu will pop up confirming how you would like the grades to be transferred. Smart Sync: this function allows you to send only new/updated grades. This function is useful for syncing grades for later activities, as previous activities would have been completed and resending grades is unfavourable. All Sync: this function allows you to send all grades. This includes every previous activity that has been completed. Once you have made your selection, click Continue. The grades will take time to process before they enter into DC Connect. Once they are processed, follow the procedures in which you would manage and enter grades. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 18 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Appendix A: Classic Classic Activity Setup If you have selected the Classic activity type, you will be automatically entered into the Build Activity tab. You may click on the dropdown menu of the header, allowing you to edit the name of the activity, the description and add tags. Create Phase Provide details of the specific assignment in the text box. You may attach images, create hyperlinks and tables by accessing the icons in the header above. Attachments such as an external grading rubric may be included by clicking on the paperclip icon at the bottom. If your assignment is a written composition, use your instructions to direct students to copy and paste their compositions into the Create Phase text editor instead of uploading a pdf or word document file. This way, the students and instructors evaluating them later can interact directly with the written content within peerScholar and don't have to mark downloaded files separately. Use your instructions field to set expectations by breaking down the peerScholar process. This can help make the experience more intuitive for your students by specifying steps in the process for your particular assignment. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 19 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Assess Phase Select the Number of Peers you want each student to assess. For works ranging from 1 - 2 pages, peerScholar recommends that 5-6 peers should be used. Add in assessments by clicking the orange Add Peer Assessments button. Assessments created here are used by students to assess other students. The Assessments Setup menu will pop up. There are currently 8 different types of assessments to choose from. Add in assessments by clicking on the ones you would like to use and following the prompts. You may add multiple assessments to evaluate your students. Some notable ones are: Point: allows you to ask students to provide a value to their peers’ work by setting up minimum and maximum values. Matrix: allows you to mimic a provided rubric where students score their peers’ work in the matrix. Comment: a qualitative option allowing you to ask students to provide insights and feedback on their peer’s work and answer any questions about the work. All assessments, excluding Comment can be assigned a quantitative value towards each option. This value will be used to quantify qualitative options. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 20 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 For example, the assessment tool Choice allows you to create qualitative options that students can select when assessing their peers’ work. By assigning a value to each option, this allows for more Peer Ratings grading options in the Customize Grading menu. To access the quantitative values, click on the gear icon located on the top of the menu. The blue Self-Assessment slider can be toggled on and off to determine if you want students to self-assess their own work. When toggled on - you may choose if they assess themselves using the peer assessment you created above and if not, you may add new assessments that cater to the specific self-evaluation task. Reflect Phase You may toggle Revise and Resubmit on and off. When on, students may revise their work after peers have assessed it and resubmit it to be marked. When off, students will not have this option. You may choose to toggle Assess the Feedback on and off. When on, you may add feedback assessments using the assessment types found in the assessment section to create questions that will require students to assess the feedback given to them. When off, students will not have this option. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 21 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Appendix B: Case Study Case Study Setup If you have selected the Case Study activity type, this menu will appear before you have built the activity allowing you to setup case parameters. Select the number of cases you would like to create in the dropdown menu. This will determine the variety of selection your students will have. Click on the respective pencil icons to add a name to each of the cases and a description to provide more detail to students. On the right side, a gear icon is shown. This will give you options to divide students into groups. Select the option that best fits your activity. Click Continue. Case Study Activity Setup Once in the Build Activity menu, the create phase will display. You may click on the dropdown menu of the header, allowing you to edit the name of the activity, the description and add tags. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 22 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Create Phase For each case, provide details in the text box. Click on the case nickname tabs to navigate between each case. You may attach images, create hyperlinks and tables by accessing the icons in the header. Attachments such as an external grading rubric may be included by clicking on the paperclip icon at the bottom. If your assignment is a written composition, use your instructions to direct students to copy and paste their compositions into the Create Phase text editor instead of uploading a pdf or word document file. This way, the students and instructors evaluating them later can interact directly with the written content within peerScholar and don't have to mark downloaded files separately. Use your instructions field to set expectations by breaking down the peerScholar process. This can help make the experience more intuitive for your students by specifying steps in the process for your particular assignment. Assess Phase In the Number of Peers section, peerScholar recommends that 6 peers should be used to provide an accurate assessment. The How will Cases Assess Each Other area will determine the peers that students will be assessing in the assess phase. Select the option that best suits your assignment. Now, add in assessments by clicking the orange Add Peer Assessments button. Assessments created here are used by students to assess other students. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 23 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 The Assessments Setup menu will pop up. There are currently 8 different types of assessments to choose from. Add in assessments by clicking on the ones you would like to use and following the prompts. You may add multiple assessments to evaluate your students. Some notable ones are: Point: allows you to ask students to provide a value to their peers’ work by setting up minimum and maximum values. Matrix: allows you to mimic a provided rubric where students score their peers’ work in the matrix. Comment: a qualitative option allowing you to ask students to provide insights and feedback on their peer’s work and answer any questions about the work. All assessments, excluding Comment can be assigned a quantitative value towards each option. This value will be used to quantify qualitative options. For example, the assessment tool Choice allows you to create qualitative options that students can select when assessing their peers’ work. By assigning a value to each option, this allows for more Peer Ratings grading options in the Customize Grading menu. To access the quantitative values, click on the gear icon located on the top of the menu. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 24 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 The blue Self-Assessment slider can be toggled on and off to determine if you want students to self-assess their own work. When toggled on - you may choose if they assess themselves using the peer assessment you created above and if not, you may add new assessments that cater to the specific self-evaluation task. Reflect Phase You may toggle Revise and Resubmit on and off. When on, students may revise their work after peers have assessed it and resubmit it to be marked. When off, students will not have this option. You may choose to toggle Assess the Feedback on and off. When on, you may add feedback assessments using the assessment types found in the assessment section to create questions that will require students to assess the feedback given to them. When off, students will not have this option. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 25 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Appendix C: Group Work Group Work Activity Setup If you have selected the Group Work activity type, you will be automatically entered into the Build Activity tab. You may click on the dropdown menu of the header, allowing you to edit the name of the activity, the description and add tags. Create Phase Provide details of the specific assignment in the text box. You may attach images, create hyperlinks and tables by accessing the icons in the header above. Attachments such as an external grading rubric may be included by clicking on the paperclip icon at the bottom. If your assignment is a written composition, use your instructions to direct students to copy and paste their compositions into the Create Phase text editor instead of uploading a pdf or word document file. This way, the students and instructors evaluating them later can interact directly with the written content within peerScholar and don't have to mark downloaded files separately. Use your instructions field to set expectations by breaking down the peerScholar process. This can help make the experience more intuitive for your students by specifying steps in the process for your particular assignment. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 26 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Assess Phase Next, the Number of Groups each Group will assess, will determine how many groups are assigned to one another to peer review. Select a number that best fits your assignment. Now, add in assessments by clicking the green Add Group Assessments button. Assessments created here are used by students to assess other students. The Assessments Setup menu will pop up. There are currently 8 different types of assessments to choose from. Add in assessments by clicking on the ones you would like to use and following the prompts. You may add multiple assessments to evaluate your students. Some notable ones are: Point: allows you to ask students to provide a value to their peers’ work by setting up minimum and maximum values. Matrix: allows you to mimic a provided rubric where students score their peers’ work in the matrix. Comment: a qualitative option allowing you to ask students to provide insights and feedback on their peer’s work and answer any questions about the work. All assessments, excluding Comment can be assigned a quantitative value towards each option. This value will be used to quantify qualitative options. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 27 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 For example, the assessment tool Choice allows you to create qualitative options that students can select when assessing their peers’ work. By assigning a value to each option, this allows for more Peer Ratings grading options in the Customize Grading menu. To access the quantitative values, click on the gear icon located on the top of the menu. The blue Self-Assessment slider can be toggled on and off to determine if you want students to self-assess their own work. When toggled on - you may choose if they assess themselves using the peer assessment you created above and if not, you may add new assessments that cater to the specific self-evaluation task. Reflect Phase You may toggle Revise and Resubmit on and off. When on, students may revise their work after peers have assessed it and resubmit it to be marked. When off, students will not have this option. You may choose to toggle Assess the Feedback on and off. When on, you may add feedback assessments using the assessment types found in the assessment section to create questions that will require students to assess the feedback given to them. When off, students will not have this option. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment Thank you to Ryerson University for sharing the contents of this document. Page 28 of 28 Modified after: https://www.ryerson.ca/courses/instructors/tutorials/content/peerscholar/ last updated: 9/27/19 Manage Groups Once you have built your activity, the Manage Group Menu will appear. You may create new groups for your activity, or you may use existing groups from previous activities. After clicking Create New Groups, a menu allows you to determine how students will be divided into groups. Students may be: • Divided randomly by the peerScholar system • Given the freedom to choose their own groups • Can be manually distributed with your control Afterwards, select how many groups you would like to create. Consider the nature of the assignment and the number of students in your course. Click Continue once you are done.

Respondus Campus-Wide: Updates and Connection to DC Connect Introduction Respondus is a powerful tool for creating and managing tests or quizzes that can be printed to paper or published directly to DC Connect. Existing DC Connect quizzes can also be retrieved from a course to be printed in hard copy. NOTE: Respondus is a Windows only application. Content This document covers the following topics: • Installing Respondus • Updating Respondus • Connecting to DC Connect o Deleting Old Settings o Adding a New Server Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment last updated: 11/19/18 Page 1 of 6 Installing Respondus The installation file and licensing information is available on the I: network drive (also known as the “open” drive), in the Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment folder. Specifically, you will need to open the Respondus and Installer subfolders. Additional supporting documentation can be found in the Respondus subfolder. NOTE: The I: network drive is only available when logged into the campus network. Run the Respondus4Campus.exe file and follow the onscreen prompts to install the application. The installation process will create a shortcut on your desktop. Once installed, Respondus will ask for your license information. This can be found in the current YYYY license key.txt file. Close the application before continuing to the Update Respondus section of this document. Updating Respondus The application will need to be updated before it will work properly with DC Connect. However, it must run in a special mode. Click the Windows Start menu and find the Respondus 4.0 Campus-Wide application in the menu options. Right click on the item. Mouse over the More option, and then click the Run as administrator option. The application should now open in a new window. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment last updated: 11/19/18 Page 2 of 6 Click on the Help tab... ...and then the Check For Update option. Follow the onscreen prompts and agree to any confirmation requests. Close and restart the application if prompted to do so. Connecting to DC Connect Once you have installed and/or updated Respondus, you can connect the application to DC Connect. This will allow you to Publish quiz content to, or Retrieve quiz content from, your DC Connect courses. Deleting Old Settings If you have updated Respondus from a previous version, you will need to delete any previous settings used to connect to DC Connect. Click on the Retrieval tab... ...and then the Retrieve Questions link. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment last updated: 11/19/18 Page 3 of 6 Select the existing connection to DC Connect in the Server: pull-down menu and then click the Edit Settings button. Click the Delete button. Repeat these steps for all existing connections to DC Connect. Adding a New Server To connect Respondus to DC Connect return to the Retrieval tab and click the Retrieve Questions link. Click the Server: pull-down menu and select the - add new server - option. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment last updated: 11/19/18 Page 4 of 6 Select the Yes, check for preconfigured server settings option and click the Next button. Enter an appropriate name for the connection. Check the Save my User Name and Password on this computer checkbox. Select the Run connection test option. Click the Next button. A new window will appear with the login page to DC Connect. Enter your Banner ID and Network Password and click the Sign in button. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment last updated: 11/19/18 Page 5 of 6 Click the Next button when the connection test is complete. Click the Finish button. Respondus is now linked to your DC Connect account. You can Publish or Retrieve quiz content as necessary. Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment last updated: 11/19/18 Page 6 of 6

Respondus LockDown Browser - Instructors Introduction In class, online testing can sometimes be difficult to invigilate, especially in densely packed or non-traditional classroom spaces. Respondus LockDown Browser is a custom browser that locks down the testing environment within a learning management system. Students are unable to copy, print, access other applications, or visit other websites during an online exam. Quizzes in DC Connect can be configured to utilize this application, thus increasing the integrity of your inclass, online testing. Content This document covers the following topics: • Accessing the Respondus LockDown Browser Dashboard • Enabling Respondus LockDown Browser for a Quiz • Recommended Settings • Best Practices Accessing the Respondus LockDown Browser Dashboard Professors do not download and/or install Respondus LockDown Browser on their computers. However, they do set the requirement that students must do so. In your DC Connect course, navigate to the Quizzes tool to access the Respondus LockDown Browser Dashboard. Next, click on the LockDown Browser tab. NOTE: On the About LockDown Browser page you will find support resources. However, not all the content presented is applicable to DC Connect, or your students’ experience. Click the red Continue to LockDown Browser button. The Respondus LockDown Browser Dashboard will appear and your list of quizzes will be displayed. Enabling Respondus LockDown Browser for a Quiz Click the action menu to the left of the quiz you want to have LockDown Browser used as a requirement. Select the Settings option. Select the Require Respondus LockDown Browser for this exam option. Click the Save + Close button. Respondus LockDown Browser is now required for students to begin the assessment. Recommended Settings Respondus LockDown Browser To minimize the likelihood of a technical disruption in your assessment, it is recommended that you do not enable the Require LockDown Browser to view feedback and results option… …or any of the Advanced Settings. DC Connect Quiz There are some Properties and Restrictions settings in your quiz that may hinder a smooth assessment experience. On the Properties tab of your quiz, set the Questions per page: to a reduced number. Five to ten questions per page is recommended. On the Restrictions tab of your quiz, in the Optional Advanced Restrictions section, do not set any IP Address restrictions. Best Practices If you plan on requiring your students to use Respondus LockDown Browser for your DC Connect quizzes, there are some recommended best practices to follow. Hardware If students in your program of study are not required to have a laptop computer, do not use Respondus LockDown Browser for your DC Connect quizzes. Documentation Be sure to distribute the Respondus LockDown Browser – Students documentation to your class. This document explains minimum computer requirements, how to prepare for a Respondus LockDown Browser quiz, how to download and install the application, and what to expect when taking the quiz. Be sure to review the document yourself. Practice Do not require Respondus LockDown Browser for the first time on a mid- to late semester, highstakes assessment. In order to familiarize your students with downloading, installing, and using the application, create a simple, low-stakes quiz at the beginning of the semester that your students must complete. WIFI Ideally, all your students will be able to use a wired internet connection when completing the Respondus LockDown Browser quiz. However, as this is unlikely, have your students turn off any device (mobile phone, tablet, etc.) that connects to the wireless network that they are not using to complete the quiz. This will help minimize the load on the wireless network supplying your test environment, and thus minimize the chance of a service interruption. Contingency Despite your best efforts, there may be students who are unable to get Respondus LockDown Browser to function properly. Should this occur, be sure to have paper versions of your assessment on hand as backup.

Respondus LockDown Browser - Students Introduction Respondus LockDown Browser is a custom browser that secures the testing environment within DC Connect when taking a Quiz. When using the browser, you will not be able to copy, print, access other applications, or visit other websites (such as the course Content). Quizzes in DC Connect may be configured to utilize this application, thus increasing the integrity of your inclass, online testing. NOTE: Respondus LockDown Browser should only be used for taking DC Connect quizzes. It should not be used in other areas of DC Connect. Content This document covers the following topics: • Computer Requirements • Preparing for a Respondus LockDown Browser Quiz • Downloading and Installing Respondus LockDown Browser • Taking a Respondus LockDown Browser Quiz Computer Requirements Respondus LockDown Browser can be installed on a desktop or laptop computer. The application will not run on a mobile device. If you are using a Mac, be sure the OS is version 10.10 or newer, and that you have 120 MB permanent space on the hard drive available. If you are using a PC, be sure the OS is Windows 7 or newer, and that you have 75 MB permanent space on the hard drive available. Preparing for a Respondus LockDown Browser Quiz Before taking a DC Connect quiz that requires Respondus LockDown Browser, there are steps you must take to ensure you have the best possible (glitch free) assessment experience. Prior to taking the quiz: • Make sure your battery is at full charge • If possible, plug in to a power source • If possible, use a wired internet connection • Turn off all other WIFI devices so they are not competing for the wireless signal • Make sure your operating system is updated • Run the Respondus LockDown Browser update (if you have previously installed the application) • Shut down and restart your computer before doing the quiz Downloading and Installing Respondus LockDown Browser Quizzes that require Respondus LockDown Browser will be clearly labelled in your list of quizzes. After clicking on the quiz link, you will be taken to the Quiz Details page. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the Quiz Requirements section. Click on the Download and install the latest version of LockDown Browser link and follow the prompts to install the application on your computer. Taking a Respondus LockDown Browser Quiz Prior to taking the quiz, be sure to follow the steps described in the Preparing for a Respondus LockDown Browser Quiz above. Access your course in DC Connect and navigate to the Quizzes to display the Quiz List. Click on the quiz link for the quiz you wish to attempt. Scroll down to the bottom of the Quiz Details page and click the Launch LockDown Browser button. A LockDown Browser Status pop-up will appear, …as well as a Launch Application window. Click the Open link button to start Respondus LockDown Browser and begin your quiz. If there are applications running in the background that are communicating with the internet, you may receive a message pop-up that says something like “Some Backlisted Application(s) are Running”. Your quiz will not open until these applications are closed. Follow the on-screen prompts to do so. The following are properties of Respondus LockDown Browser that you should be aware of: • Assessments are displayed full-screen and cannot be minimized • The browser prevents access to other applications including messaging, screen-sharing, virtual machines, and network monitoring applications • Print, Print Screen and screen capture functions are disabled • Copying and pasting anything to or from an assessment is prevented • Right-click menu options, function keys, keyboard shortcuts and task switching are disabled • Browser menu and toolbar options are removed, except for Back, Forward, Refresh and Stop NOTE: Do not use the “Back” and “Forward” buttons at the top of the LockDown Browser window to navigate through the pages of your quiz. Use the on-screen Previous Page and Next Page buttons.

Reweighting the Gradebook for Individual Students Introduction There are times when a final grade calculation for a student does not follow the same weighting as the other students in the class. For example, a student might miss an assessment (for some acceptable reason), and the course outline describes that the weight of this missed assessment will be transferred to a later (or final) assessment. Content This document covers the following topics: • Setting up Groups • Setting up a consolidated grade item • Inputting marks and documenting the process   Setting up Groups The first step is to set up the ability for students to see their reweighted grades, without breaching any privacy. Click on Classroom navigation option, (or Course Admin)… …and select the Groups option. Click on the New Category button… … and set the Category Name to “Reweighted”. Set the Enrolment Type to be # of Groups - Manual Enrolment… …and the number of groups to be the number of students who need an item reweighted. Next, click the Save button. Now click the action menu for the Reweighted item you just created and select the Enrol Users option. Click on the checkboxes to enrol one student in each of the available groups. NOTE: The students in these groups are only the ones who need an item reweighted. Click the Save button to set your enrolments. You can now go to the course Grades.   Setting up a consolidated grade item In this example, the Test 2 item will be reweighted to receive the weight of the Assignment #2 item. Click on the Grades navigation option and go to the Manage Grades page (if you are not taken there by default. Create a New grade item, Numeric type, and call it (Final Assessment) - Reweighted. Set the Maximum Points to be the same as the original (Final Assessment)… …and set the Weight to be the combined weight of the missed item and the final assessment item. Check the Bonus checkbox to make this new item a bonus to your course.   Click Save, but don’t close the item. To prevent confusion, it is best that only the desired student(s) see this new grade item. Click on the Restrictions tab of the item you are still editing. Scroll down to the Release Conditions section of the page and click Show Release Conditions if they are not currently displayed. Click the Create and Attach button.   In the window that appears, set the Condition Type… …to be Classlist > Group Enrolment. Choose the first Group in your Reweighted group category… …and click the Create button. Repeat this Create and Attach process for each student that needs to be assigned this reweighted item.   You will see conditions listed at the bottom of the Restrictions page. Be sure to change the To access this item, users must satisfy pull-down menu to Any condition must be met. You can now Save and Close the grade item NOTE: if you have students who missed different assessments, you may need to make multiple (Final Assessment) - Reweighted items of different combined weights.   Inputting marks and documenting the process The next steps are a matter of documentation. For the appropriate student(s), assign a mark of 0 to the missed assessment and indicate in the grade Feedback that the weight of this missed assessment has been transferred to (Final Assessment) - Reweighted. For the same student(s), note the student achievement on the final assessment, then overwrite that with a mark of 0, and indicate in the grade Feedback that the weight of this assessment has been transferred to (Final Assessment) - Reweighted. Lastly, input the achievement you noted in the step above in the (Final Assessment) - Reweighted item only for the appropriate student. The other students should have no mark. The result is that the achievement (and high weighting) of the (Final Assessment) - Reweighted bonus item compensates for the zeroes that have been input for the missed and original final assessment grade items. There is no need for manual calculations, or the Final Adjusted Grade item. The Final Calculated Grade will be correct for all students.

UNIT TOPIC: Rubrics Introduction Rubrics are grading tools that explicitly represent the performance expectations for an assignment or piece of work. A rubric divides the assigned work into component parts and provides clear descriptions of the characteristics of the work associated with each component, at varying levels of mastery. A well-designed rubric can reduce instructor subjectivity, provide a guide to students as to what is expected, act as a learning tool, and reduce the time spent in marking! Content This document covers the following topics: • Accessing the Rubrics Tool • Creating a Rubric o Defining Achievement Levels and Criteria • Managing Rubrics o Copying a Rubric o Editing a Rubric's Properties o Edit a Level, Criterion or Criteria Group o Add a Level, Criterion or Criteria Group o Reorder Criteria or Reverse Level Order o Delete a Level, Criterion or Criteria Group o Delete a Rubric • Using a Rubric to Mark an Assignment Submission Folder o Adding a Rubric to an Assignment Submission Folder o Grading Assignment Submissions with a Rubric • Using a Rubric to Mark a Discussion Topic o Adding a Rubric to a Discussion Topic o Grading a Discussion Topic with a Rubric Accessing the Rubrics Tool Select the Rubrics item from the available navigation options of the Navbar. If you have difficulty finding the item, click on the Course Admin link and then the Rubrics link found in the Course Administration options. Creating a Rubric To create a new rubric, click the New Rubric button. Enter a Rubric Name. Select the Rubric Status. Draft - This is the initial status for any new rubric. It means the rubric is not yet available for new associations. Published - This status means you can make associations with the rubric. NOTE: Once a rubric has an association, you cannot change its name, description, levels and criteria. Archived - Archived rubrics do not appear in default search results and are not available for new associations. Existing associations with Archived rubrics remain functional. Choose the Type of Rubric. Analytic - Most rubrics are analytic. An analytic rubric breaks performance into multiple criteria. You assess each criterion separately, resulting in an overall assessment score. Holistic - Holistic rubrics do not break performance into separate criteria. Performance is assessed holistically, so that you consider several different criteria, but make only one overall assessment. Input the number of Levels and… …the number of Criteria you would like to have for your rubric. NOTE: These are initial values; they are easy to change later. Choose your Scoring Method. Text Only - Performance levels are expressed using only text. For example, three performance levels for a rubric could be Poor, Good, and Excellent. Points - Includes points to assess performance. For example, three performance levels for a rubric could be Poor (0 points), Good (1 point), and Excellent (2 points). Custom Points - Similar to the Points scoring method, but you can customize the points given for each criterion (row). For example, if performance levels are "Poor", "Good", and "Excellent", then the criterion "Spelling and Grammar" could be worth 0 points, 10 points, and 20 points for each level, but the criterion "Expression" could be worth 0 points, 30 points, and 60 points, making it worth 3 times the points for "Spelling and Grammar". Percentages - Percentages can be used only for Holistic type rubrics. Percentages is similar to Points, but measures performance in percentages instead of points Make sure the Competencies box is checked in the Advanced Availability section. Click Save. Defining Achievement Levels and Criteria Click on the Levels and Criterion tab. In the Criteria action menu select Edit Criteria Group. Enter the name of the criteria as a whole… … as well as the name of each level of assessment (ex. Excellent - Poor). NOTE: It is quite common to leave the Level Names as they are. When finished, click Save. Click the action menu for a criterion and select Edit Criterion. Enter a Criterion Name. Add a Description at each criterion level Your Description should clearly identify what a student must do to satisfy this level of the criteria. You can also input pre-scripted Feedback for each criterion level. This will serve as a starting point for specific, personalized feedback for each student. If you are using the Custom Points scoring method, you can also enter a Score for each level of the criteria. Repeat for the other levels of the Criteria. Click Save. If you are using the Points scoring method for your rubric, you can set the point value of each level by clicking on the action menu of a level, selecting the Edit Level option… … and inputting the desired score for that level To be able to assign the rubric to any assessment it must first be Published. To publish your rubric, go back into the Properties tab and select Published from the Status action menu. Click Save. Managing Rubrics Copying a Rubric Copying a rubric creates a new rubric based on an existing rubric in the same org unit. The new rubric has the same properties, levels and criteria, and is shared with the same org units as the original rubric. To copy a rubric, click the action menu for the rubric you want to copy and select the Copy option. Editing a Rubric's Properties To edit the properties of a rubric that has already been created (or copied), click on the action menu of the appropriate rubric and select the Edit Properties option. Make the appropriate changes and click Save to complete the edits. Edit a Level, Criterion or Criteria Group To edit the levels or criteria of an existing rubric, click the rubric’s name in the rubrics list and select the Levels (holistic rubrics) or Levels and Criteria (analytic rubrics) tab. Click the action menu for the level, criterion or criteria group you want to edit… … and select Edit Level, Edit Criterion, Edit Criteria Group. Make the appropriate changes and click Save. Add a Level, Criterion or Criteria Group To add levels or criteria to an existing rubric, click the rubric’s name in the rubrics list and select the Levels (holistic rubrics) or Levels and Criteria (analytic rubrics) tab. Next, select Add Criterion, Add Level, or Add Criteria Group in the action bar above the rubric table. Fill in the appropriate fields and click Save. Reorder Criteria or Reverse Level Order To reorder the criteria or reverse the level order of an existing rubric, click the rubric’s name in the rubrics list and select the Levels (holistic rubrics) or Levels and Criteria (analytic rubrics) tab. As needed, select Reorder Criteria, or Reverse Level Order Make the appropriate changes and click Save. Delete a Level, Criterion or Criteria Group To delete levels or criteria of an existing rubric, click the rubric’s name in the rubrics list and select the Levels (holistic rubrics) or Levels and Criteria (analytic rubrics) tab. Click the actions menu for the level or criterion you want to delete and select the Delete Level, … …Delete Criterion, … …or Delete Criteria Group option. Delete a Rubric On the Rubric List page, click the action menu for the rubric you want to delete and select the Delete option. Using a Rubric to Mark an Assignment Submission Folder Adding a Rubric to an Assignment Submission Folder Please see the Assignments handout, available on the CAFE website, for instructions on how to associate your rubric with an existing Assignment Submission Folder. Grading Assignment Submissions with a Rubric Once a rubric has been added to an Assignment Submission Folder, it can be used to evaluate a student’s submission and provide feedback. Click the rubric icon when viewing a student’s assignment submission to access the rubric. After carefully considering the student’s work and comparing it to the criteria requirements, select the appropriate level by clicking on the radio buttons. Any feedback you have built into the rubric will automatically appear in the Score and Feedback cell. If you wish to alter either the score or feedback set by a level selection, click the pencil icon in the Score and Feedback cell. Make the desired changes and click the Save button To clear the contents of the Score and Feedback cell, click the eraser icon. If you need to close the rubric so you can see and/or review the student submission, click the Save button. All of your selections and feedback will be saved and display when you access the rubric later. If you have completed the rubric and accompanying feedback, click the Save & Record button to save the assessment information and transfer the total score and feedback to the Assignment Submission Folder. Using a Rubric to Mark a Discussion Topic Adding a Rubric to a Discussion Topic Please see the Discussions handout available on the CAFE website, for instructions on how to associate your rubric with an existing discussion topic. Grading a Discussion Topic with a Rubric Please see the Discussions handout available on the CAFE website, for instructions on how to assess a student’s discussion post.

Sandbox Management Introduction Sandbox courses are made available to professors so they may explore DC Connect tools and features, or develop new content, in a private space. The ability to create and manage sandbox courses is now available to faculty through the Sandbox Management widget found on the My Home page of DC Connect. The purpose of this document is to outline the steps professors can take to create and manage their suite of sandbox courses. NOTE: The maximum number of sandbox courses professors can create using the Sandbox Management widget is fifteen. Content This document covers the following topics: • How to Access the Sandbox Management Widget • Managing Sandbox Courses o Adding a New Sandbox o Renaming a Sandbox o Deleting a Sandbox How to Access the Sandbox Management Widget The Sandbox Management widget can be found on the My Home page of DC Connect. It is situated in the right-hand column of the main page, below the Updates and SALS ONLINE widgets. You may need to scroll down the page to bring it onto the screen, especially if you have undismissed DC Connect Announcements. When you first access the application, click the Do not ask me again for this application checkbox and then the Continue button. This step simply allows the system to automatically name and enroll you as the Instructor of the newly created course. There is no security risk. NOTE: If you are using the Safari browser on an Apple computer, the tool can only be used by having it open in a new window. Click on the Sandbox Management Tool link to open it. Managing Sandbox Courses Adding a New Sandbox To create your first sandbox course, click the Add button in the Sandbox Management widget. An information page will display to confirm the creation of the new sandbox. Refresh your browser, or click the DC Connect logo to reload the page and see the result. The very first sandbox you create will be titled (Firstname) (Lastname)’s Sandbox 1 and will automatically be populated with a course template that you can repurpose. NOTE: Each time you Add a new sandbox, the system looks to the existing ones to determine what the new name should be. If there is no existing “Sandbox 1”, then “Sandbox 1” will be used and the template automatically copied into it. If you would like a completely empty sandbox, be sure not to rename Sandbox 1. All new sandbox courses are automatically Pinned in your list of course. Renaming a Sandbox To rename an existing sandbox course, select the appropriate sandbox by clicking its radio button… …and then click the Edit button. Click in the text input field to edit the name of your selected sandbox. Click the Submit button to affix your changes. An information page will display to confirm update. Refresh your browser, or click the DC Connect logo to reload the page and see the result. Deleting a Sandbox To delete an existing sandbox course, select the appropriate sandbox by clicking its radio button… …and then click the Delete button. An information page will ask you to confirm the delete process. Click the Yes button if you are confident you wish to delete the selected sandbox. An information page will display to confirm update.