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Online Faculty Development Course
Many LMS tools are replaceable by other web apps that, were it not for the access control an LMS provides, might be better in some respects. But the gradebook, offering calculation and reporting for professor and student, is what LMSes probably do best. For a F2F course, an online gradebook is a big improvement. For an online course it is essential, since students should have regular indication of how they are doing, without having to exchange emails with the professor.
This video introduces the D2L gradebook, and how it works for a course, its students, and professor.
This video introduces the D2L gradebook, and how it works for a course, its students, and professor.
In the Sandbox, we'll find tutorials that walk through the basics of building and operating a gradebook in D2L. But for now, it's safe to generalize: Simpler is better.
Many different graded items in a course, including lots of low-stakes assessments, is a good thing. But complicated calculations that describe how each assessment fits into the overall course grade is not. 4.0-scale grading, and gradebooks that weigh assignments by many different proportionate values can be confusing to students. A bewildering grade scheme for a course cultivates stress and skepticism.
Bear in mind that, at Canisius University, the final grade as represented in D2L is not, or does not have to be, the final grade a student receives. You must still enter a grade into the Final Grades tool (supplied through Banner, but available through MyCanisius) at the end of the semester.
Example: Weighted Gradebook
Example: Weighted Gradebook
Here's a reasonable weighted gradebook. With a brief syllabus explanation, a student will see that the Video Project and class participation are worth 30% and 10% of her grade, respectively. Meanwhile, as categories exams and writing assignments each make up an additional 30%. Items within those categories are equally weighted, too. With some scores in place, a diligent student can determine her grade-to-date fairly quickly.
Example: Points-Based Gradebook
Example: Points-Based Gradebook
An even easier alternative can be a points-based gradebook. Simply have all assessments-big, little, and everything in between-be worth points that add up to a total value in a basic addition problem. That's easy to describe in a syllabus and easy for students to calculate.
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