Google Assignments is a new feature to allow seamless integration of Google Drive with Gauchospace for submitting and grading assignments. It is an external tool that Google has developed for Learning Management Systems (LMS).
You can find Google's Assignment help center here. For more general information on Google Assignment from our help center, please click here, or if you would prefer to use Gauchospace's assignment tool, see our Assignment Reference Guide. An advantage of using the Gauchospace assignment tool is that you can utilize groups, while Google Assignments cannot be used with groups. Google Assignment is great for professors wanting to grade and handle assignments completely via Google Drive.
NOTE: Google Assignment currently does not support separating submissions by groups or sections, so large classes with sections and TAs will want to consider how they will grade submissions before setting up.
Read on to learn how to set up the Google Assignment.
Adding a Google Assignment
- Turn Editing on.
- Go to the desired week and click Add an activity or resource.
- Go to the "All" tab and select Google Assignment.
4. Enter the assignment name. All configuration will be done in the tool, not on this settings page. After entering the assignment name, click Save and Display at the bottom of the page. Note: if you want to add a template file to the assignment (a file that goes out to all students), click "Select Content" under the activity name.
If you click "Select Content" it will bring you to a screen where you can add a file. Note that if you haven't linked your UCSB email account to google assignments, clicking Select Content will bring you to pages that look like step 5 before you are able to attach a file.
5. You will now see the Google Assignment tool on your page. Click sign in to sign in with your UCSB email account.
An external window will pop up, and you will be prompted to link your UCSB google account to Gauchospace, the LMS (learning management system). Click Link to create your Assignment.
Assignment Settings
Below is your Gauchospace home page for your Google Assignment as an instructor. Click Open in Assignments or Set points* to open the external Google Assignment, where you can edit, grade and view assignments. From this Google Assignment Gauchospace home page, you can change the due date and scroll down to view submissions.
*Note: When you set points in Google Assignment, they will be scaled to 100 in GauchoSpace Gradebook.
Google Assignment Gauchospace page:
After a submission:
External Google Assignment page:
Components of the External Google Assignment Page:
View instructors and students: Click the gear icon to view all instructors and students for this assignment and their emails.
Set Total points: Set the number of points the assignment will be graded out of. Note that if you change the point total after grading, the grades will NOT be rescaled.
Set Due date: Change the due date of the assignment and set an optional due time.
Return Assignment: Check the box on the left of each assignment, then click return to complete grading and return them to a student.
View Assignment: Click anywhere on this row to view and grade the assignment.
Create Rubric: Here you can create a rubric for your assignment. The rubric is built on the criterion that an instructor can create. The point value and level for each criterion must be specified and there is the option to give a description for each point/level value.
Below is an example of how a full criterion might look.
Once the rubric has been set and saved it will then be shown on the right side of the assignment. The levels for each criterion can then be selected and the points will be added up at the top of the rubric*.
*Note: You will still need to manually add the point value in the Grade box for students to receive that grade in GauchoSpace.
Grading an Assignment
Google Assignments grades will automatically sync with your Gauchospace gradebook. To view a submission, click on the student's name, as indicated in the screenshot above. Then, you will be taken to a screen similar to this in order to review the submission:
Let's first focus on the column on the right hand side. Here, you can use a comment bank, view the document separately from the grading view, enter a grade, and add feedback.
1. View your comment bank: Here, you can add comments that you use frequently and access them quickly. Find more information on using the comment bank here.
2. Access Pop out view: If you click on this button, the document will enter in a new tab without the grading interface.
3. Enter a Grade: Enter the student's assignment grade here. From here there is also a quick way to change the point total of the assignment:
4. Enter your feedback: Add your overall feedback here, and the student will be able to view it once you return an assignment.
Adding a TA or co-grader
It is also possible to add another user, such as TA, to grade Google Assignments. First, the TA will need to be added in Gauchospace. Next, they should open the Google Assignment. They will then reach a screen asking them to send a request to you (the instructor) for access:
After clicking Send request, the TA will now need to wait for the instructor to approve it.
Next, the instructor will receive an email that appears as below. Click View requests:
Any pending requests will appear. Click the check mark, then click Approve in order to allow the TA to have access:
Now, the TA will have access to the Google Assignment. They will receive an email (as below) to link their google account. They will also be able to log into your course site and link their Google account there, and they will have the ability to grade. Note again that Google Assignment does not have the ability to use separate groups, eg for sections.
Returning a Google Assignment
To complete the grading process with Google Assignment, you will return the assignment to students. There are two locations where you can Return an assignment to students after grading.
1) Google Assignment homepage
2) Individual Assignment page
