On Brightspace there are two ways to create and share assignments, via the Assignments tool and via the Content tool.
Irrespective of where you start the assignment building experience and procedure is the same.
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Create an Assignment via Assignment Tool
To create an assignment via the Assignments tool: Go to the Assignments tool → Select New Assignment
Create an Assignment via Content Tool
To create an assignment via the Content tool: Go to Content → Select Create New → Select Assignment
Configure Assignment settings:
On the New Assignment page, enter the assignment Name, add the max point Grade (optional), and add a Due Date if necessary.
Due Dates and End Dates
A Due Date is the submission deadline of the assignment. Students can still submit after this date however submissions made after the due date will be marked as late, and late penalties might apply.
End Date is the final date and time that the assignment will allow new submissions. Once the end date of the assignment has passed, users can no longer submit to that assignment folder for credit. Learn more about the End date in Availability Dates and Conditions
Select each of the right hand drop-down menus (Availability Dates & Conditions, Submission & Completion, and Evaluation & Feedback) to set the specific assignment parameters, details are listed below.
Add Assignment Instructions
Use the instruction field outline assignment purpose, methods and tasks, using the Brightspace HTML editor.
Add text, attach resources, (i.e. videos, audio, gifs and other media files).
Select the Insert Stuff icon or the link icon to reuse or upload new resources to the assignment.
See HTML Editor for more details.
Assignment Grade Options
Select Grade Out Of to assign a grade value and to review grading options.
Grading Options
Edit or Link to Existing means this assessment counts towards the final grade and will appear in the Grades tab
Assign to grades category (optional)
Not in Gradebook means the assessment does not count towards final course grade and will not appear in the Grades tab, but has an associated score
Likely use case: Study, practice, or for preliminary submissions.
Reset to Ungraded reverts the assessment to an ungraded item
Availability Dates & Conditions
Set Start Date & End Date
Start Date: Earliest students can see an assignment
End Date: Last day students can see an assignment
Please note: The Start Date will not reveal the assignment to students if the assignment is hidden. Toggle the assignment to visible by selecting the Hidden toggle at the bottom of the editor.
Enable and add additional Release Conditions
Restricts access to assignment until X criterion is met (similar to a prerequisite)
More about Release Conditions can be found at this link: Release Conditions
Add parameters for Special Access
Useful for all student accommodations, and releasing assignments only to a specific group of students
Select Manage Special Access to add accommodations
Submission & Completion Options
Determine the Assignment Type
Individual Assignment: students submit on behalf of themselves
Group Assignment: students submit on behalf of a group
For more information about Groups see this article: Groups
Add or associate an existing assignment Category
This is strictly an organizational feature to tailor the view of the assignment’s tool into categories it does not impact grading or the final grade
Set the Submission Type
File submission: Students submit a file attachment such as a PDF or Word document
Text submission: Students submit a text response through the HTML editor or attach a video via the insert stuff button.
Students cannot upload and embed images alongside text (as with some other Brightspace tools).
This is a good option for facilitating video assignments. More information can be found in this student-facing guide for video assignments.
On paper submission: Students submit a hardcopy of their work in person. No submission online but grades can still be distributed through the Assignments tool
Observed in person: Students present work in person. No submission online but grades can still be distributed through the Assignments tool
Determine the max Files Allowed Per Submission
Unlimited: students can submit multiple attachments per submission
One file: students can only submit one attachment per submission
Outline the Allowable File Extensions
Students must upload specific file types, options include: PDF, Annotatable files (File types supported by annotation), Files that can be previewed without conversion (e.g., HTML, BMP), Images and Videos, Custom File Types, Compatible with Turnitin.
Set the parameters for attempted Submissions
All submissions are kept: Students can resubmit an unlimited amount of times until the End Date and instructors can view all submissions
Only one submission allowed: Students can only submit one time
Only the most recent submission is kept: Students can resubmit an unlimited amount of times until the End Date and instructors can only view the most recent submission
Add a Notification Email for completed submissions
Evaluation & Feedback
Rubrics: select Add Rubric to attach an existing rubric or to create a new rubric
Learn more about Rubrics in this article: Rubrics
Learning Objectives: select Manage Learning Objectives to attach existing learning objectives to the assessment
Annotation Tools: this feature allows Instructors to provide in-line feedback, we recommend enabling this feature for a more efficient and effective grading process.
Learn more about annotating in Brightspace in this article: Assignment Annotation Tools
Anonymous Marking: this feature cannot be disabled once submissions have been made, after grading is complete and feedback is published, usernames are revealed to the instructor and the assignment is no longer anonymous
Turnitin Integration: select Manage Turnitin to outline Turnitin similarity checking settings, ensure you read through ALL settings as some of the defaults have changed with this new integration
Review Assignment Details and Save
Once all assessment details are reviewed, toggle the visibility indicator to make the assignment accessible to students on the chosen start date and time. Then select Save and Close to save the assignment.
By default assignments are invisible and must be made visible in order for them to become available on the start date/time (the start date/time will not trigger the visibility of the assignment alone)
Assignments can be edited after being published. However, do this with caution, especially when Turnitin is enabled. Please contact edtech@brocku.ca for more info.