VIU Campus

Create Assignment

You will want to create a new assignment submission folder for each assignment in your course. This helps your students keep track of where they need to submit work and gives you the option of connecting your assignment to the Grade tool for easier assessment.

  1. Click Assessment and then Assignments from the course navigation bar.

  2. Click the blue New Assignment button.

  3. Give your Assignment Submission folder a name. 

  4. If you wish to grade the assignment, assign a score in the Grade Out of field.
    • Once you have done so, a Grade Item will automatically be created in the Grades tool for this Assignment Submission folder.
    • If you wish to edit this Grade Item or if you wish to attach this Assignment Submission folder to a Grade Item that you have already created in the Grades tool, click the In Grade Book button and select Edit or Link to Existing from the dropdown menu.
    • If you do not want to create a Grade Item for this Assignment, click the In Grade Book button and select Not in Grade Bookfrom the dropdown menu.
  5. If you wish, you can assign a Due Date for the assignment by clicking the Due Date input field and selecting a date from the pop up calendar. 

  6. If you wish, you can add instructions for your assignment by typing into the Instructions input field.

  7. You can also attach a document to the Assignment Submission folder by clicking the File Upload button. You can also record a short 2 minute audio clip as a part of your instructions by clicking the Record Audio button. 

  8. Edit any other settings underneath the Availability Dates & Conditions, Submission & Completion, and Evaluation & Feedback headings. 

  9. Underneath the Availability Dates & Conditions heading you can:
    • Assign a Start and End Date for the Assignment Submission folder.
    • Attach Release Conditions.
    • Grant Special Access.
  10. Underneath the Submission & Completion heading you can:
    • Choose the Assignment Type (Individual or Group Assignment). 
    • Choose the Submission Type (File submission, Text submission, On paper submission, or Observed in person). 
    • Select the Submissions Options you would like. The default settings are the most permissive and will present the fewest challenges to students.
    • Restrict the types of files that can be uploaded by students to the Assignment Submission folder (PDF only, Annotatable Files, Files that can be previewed without conversion, Images and Videos, or Custom Files Types).
    • Insert a Notification Email: You will receive email notifications each time a student submits to this Assignment Submission folder.
  11. Underneath the Evaluation & Feedback heading you can:
    • Attach a Rubric.
    • Attach Learning Objectives.
    • Enable or disable the Annotation Tools (Annotation Tools are enabled by default).
  12. Once you have finished editing, click the blue Save and Close button. 

Submission & Completion Options

When you create an Assignment Submission folder there are submission options available in the Submission & Completion tab. Submission and completion options gives you a lot of control over how your students submit to the Assignment Submission folder, but it is suggested that you tell students in the instructions what the options are:

  1. File Submission: Students will need to upload a file to the Assignment Submission folder in order to complete their submission. 

  2. Text Submission: Students will need to insert some text into the text field provided in order to complete their submission. This Submission Type is ideal if students are required to submit links such as a link to a video or a blog.

    If you are giving students options for the format of their assignment (For example, you are allowing students to create a video or write an essay) or if you expect students to write more than a few sentences, it is recommended that you select the File Submission type.

  3. On Paper Submission: Allows the submission to be marked as completed and assessed without having the student upload or write anything in the Assignment Submission folder. 

    This Submission Type is ideal if your students are handing their assignments to you physically in person but you would still like to assess and provide students feedback within VIULearn.

  4. Observed in Person: The Observed in Person Submission Type allows the submission to be marked as completed and assessed without having the student upload or write anything in the Assignment Submission folder. 

    This Submission Type is ideal for presentation assignments (either in person or over Teams) that you are viewing in person but would still like to assess and provide students feedback within VIULearn.

  1. Files allowed per submission: This option is only available in the File Submission Type. You have very limited choices. Students can either only submit one file or they can submit unlimited files.

  2. Submissions: For the File Submission or Text Submission Types, you can choose to keep everything a student submits, only the most recent item they submitted, or only allow them to have one submission. There are different reasons to choose each option. Please use your judgement on what option is best for your assignment. If you choose to limit to only one submission be sure to tell students in the instructions, so they do not accidentally upload the wrong file or insert the incorrect link/text.

  3. Marked as completed: For the On Paper or Observed in person Submission Types, you can choose how the assignment is marked as completed. You can require students to manually mark the assignment as completed, mark the assignment as completed automatically upon evaluation, or mark the assignment as completed automatically after the due date has passed. 

  1. PDF Only: Students will only be able to upload PDF documents to the Assignment Submission folder.

  2. Annotatable Files: Students will only be able to upload file types that are supported by the Annotation tool in VIULearn. A list of supported file types can be found on Brightspace's website here. Students will also see a list of allowed files types in the assignment submission screen.

  3. Files that can be previewed without any conversion: Students will only be able to upload .htm, .html, .mht, .mhtml, and .bmp files to the Assignment Submission folder.

  4. Images and Video: Students will only be able to upload the following file types to the Assignment Submission folder: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .tif, .tiff, .swf, .mpg, .mpeg, .rm, .mp3, .mp4, .m4v, .m4a, .avi, .wav, .ram, .asf, .mov, and .ra.
    For video content, it's recommended for students to upload their video assignments to VIUTube. They can then submit the link to their VIUTube video to the Assignment Submission folder.

  5. Custom File Types: This option will allow you to enter your own list of file extensions that are allowed. When creating your list, make sure you are entering a period before the file extension and if you are including more than one file extension, make sure that you are separating file extensions by a comma. For example: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .pptx

Restrictions

You can add date restrictions to your submission folders. You can also add release conditions and special access.

  • Start Dates control whether or not a student can access a submission folder:
    • If you assign a Start Date, students will not be able to access the Assignment Submission folder until after the Start Date has passed
    • If you do not assign a Start Date, the Assignment Submission folder will be "always available", unless you also assign an End Date.
  • Due Dates control whether or not a student submission is flagged as late:
    • You are not required to have a Due Date on a Assignment Submission folder.
    • A student can submit to a Assignment Submission folder before or after the Due Date.
    • If a student submits after the Due Date, their submission will be flagged as late.
  • End Dates control whether or not a student can access a Assignment Submission folder:
    • If you assign an End Date, students will not be able to access or submit to a submission folder once the end date passes.
    • If you do not assign an End Date, the submission folder will be "always available".

Special Access

Special Access allows you to customize access to a tool. It is most often used when students require special accommodations, such as additional time. It can also be used to give specific students a different due date then the rest of the class, such as in cases of illness.

Special Access is available under the Availability Dates & Conditions tab of the Assignment editing screen. If you cannot find it, please contact us. 

You can either allow certain users to have Special Access, or you can only allow users with Special Access to access the tool. The first option is best used in cases of accommodation or altered due dates. The second option is best used in the case of bonus or remedial assignments.

  1. Click Assessment from the course navigation bar. Select Assignments from the drop-down menu.

  2. Click the downward arrow next to the name of the Assignment Submission folder in question. Select Edit Assignment from the drop-down menu.

  3. Click the Availability Dates & Conditions tab. 

  4. Click the Manage Special Access text. 

  5. Select whether to Allow users with special access to submit outside the normal availability dates for this folder or to Allow only users with special access to see this folder.

  6. Once you are ready, click the Add Users to Special Access button.

  7. If you are going to assign the same Special Access options to multiple students, for instance if there was a specific date to make up missed assignments, make sure to adjust your view under Users so you can see all students before adjusting the settings. If you navigate to the next page of students without saving, you will lose all of your settings.

  8. Adjust your settings as appropriate and use the boxes to the left of the student names underneath the Users heading to check off those that need Special Access. When you are done, choose Save.

  9. Once you have created special access, you will see the student(s) name(s) appear under Special Access with a summary of their settings. You can Edit or Delete the Special Access using the icons.

  10. Click Save and Close to save the Special Access settings.

  11. Once you have finished editing the Assignment Submission folder, click Save and Close.

  12. You will also see a small key icon appear on your submission folder list indicating you have added special access to that assignment submission folder.

The final step for creating and using an Assignment Submission folder is to add it to your course content. This will make it easy for students to locate it.

  1. Choose Content from the course navigation bar.

  2. Select the Module or Sub-Module that you want the Assignment Submission folder to be located in.

  3. Use the grey Existing Activities button and choose Assignments from the dropdown menu. 

  4. Select your Assignment Submission folder from the list.

  5. The submission folder will appear at the bottom of the Module or Sub-Module. You can move your submission folder the same way you can move Topics.