Gradebook Versatility in Moodle 3.0 Nic Bongers, MFA - bongers@oakland.edu Oakland University - Rochester, Michigan

Gradebook setup - Quick History Moodle 1.x - “Categories and items” “Sum of Grades” Moodle 2.x - “Full View” “Natural Weights” Moodle 3.0 - “Gradebook Setup” has its own button on Administration Block = MOODLE’S GRADEBOOK KEEPS GETTING BETTER

What can the Gradebook do? Sum of Grades...(adding up the points), weighted grades... it’s all NATURAL! What about Extra Credit? The answer is YES. Drop the lowest? YES. Convert course grade to letter grade or 4.0 scale? YES. Faculty don’t think Moodle can do “their gradebook...” = YES, THE GRADEBOOK CAN “DO CRAZY!”

Sum of Grades using Natural Scenario: “The tale of the 400 pt. Course total... Faculty set 400 pt. Course totals and make a HUGE mistake. 200/400 is not a 2.0! When someone designs a gradebook to hit “magic” point total, what they’re really doing is weighing their grades with points. Ignore the weights column if you’re adding up points using Natural. = “NATURAL” will simply add up the points

Example - Sum of Grades using Natural

Example - Weighted Grades using Natural Scenario: Faculty isn’t sure how many quizzes, forums, there will be... but wants the course to “add up to 100.” Example Gradebook Setup Categories: Forums (?) - 20% Quizzes (?) - 15% Assignments (15) - 15% Exams (4) - 30% Research Paper (1) - 20% = FLEXIBILITY!

Adding Extra credit as a “Category” Scenario: Many students are on the border of an average and good grade... = EASY FOR YOU AND FOR STUDENTS

Adding Extra credit as a “grade item” Scenario: They usually do poorly on the Midterm exam, they don’t want to override the exam grade. Solution: Offer extra credit to help that exam score = WILL THIS MAKE YOUR STUDENTS APPRECIATE YOU? HMMMMM......

Dropping the lowest grade? = NO MORE “PULLING YOUR HAIR OUT” IN EXCEL!

User Report: Editing “what the students see” Change the Grade display settings to show a nice and clean page. Grade display preferences????? = CLEAN / LESS STUDENT CONFUSION

What do you choose? Grade items vs. “Offline” Assignments = OFFLINE ASSIGNMENTS INCLUDES DESCRIPTIONS

Excluding empty grades BENEFIT: Students see a running total of how they are doing in the class. Things in the future (empty grades) will not negatively affect their course total. WARNING: Faculty must manually enter “0” for things a student failed or did not complete for it to negatively affect their grade. = REST EASY, THERE’S A NEW WAY TO ENTER 0’s...

Single View: the best thing ever No more using Grader Report to input grades Bulk insert 0’s for empty grades! Bulk insert any grade for all students. Input or view grades for one assignment... all on one page. Input or view at all grades for one student... all on one page. = THE SINGLE VIEW SAVES YOU TIME

What’s the craziest gradebook I’ve done? Combined Course with Masters students & Undergrads mixed in one class. Weights were different for each group... had to grade each group differently OLD SCHOOL MOODLE - Edit Calculation! = YES, THE 3.0 GRADEBOOK STILL HAS CALCULATIONS CAUTION: USE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY

What is a tricky gradebook strategy? Giving students points without it applying to the Course total... = PREVENTS PROCRASTINATION

What’s some of the things the Gradebook cannot do??? I have had to say “no” to the following faculty requests... Taking Attendance that’s not worth points, but if they skip too many classes, their grade drops up to and including failing. Easy way to anonymously post all the scores of the class so they can see how their peers were graded. Dynamically put all the scores for an assignment on a “curve” = REMEMBER NO LMS GRADEBOOK CAN DO EVERYTHING

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