Grading Discussion Forums

• Assess a Discussion Topic
• Assess Individual Discussion Posts within a Discussion Forum
• Grade Discussion Forums in the Gradebook

Assess a Discussion Topic

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
     • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
5. Click the arrow next to the discussion thread you want to grade, then click Assess Topic.
6. Click Topic Score below the name of the student you want to assess.
7. A pop-up window will open where you can view the post and enter the following grading information:
   • Enter a Topic Score in the top-right corner of the window.                               
   • Enter feedback in the HTML Editor under General Feedback.
8. When you are finished assessing the topic, click Publish. You can click Save Draft to save your feedback if you want to publish at a later date.

Assess an Individual Discussion Post

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
     • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.

3. In the navbar, click Tools.
4. In the drop-down menu, select Discussions.
5. Click the Discussion topic that you want to grade.
6. Locate the thread you want to grade, then click the arrow next to the thread name.
7. In the drop-down menu, select Assess Student.         
8. A pop-up window will open where you can view the post and enter the following grading information:
   • Enter a Topic Score in the top-right corner of the window.                               
   • Enter feedback in the HTML Editor under General Feedback.
9. When you are finished assessing the topic, click Publish. You can click Save Draft to save your feedback if you want to publish at a later date.

Grading Discussion Forums in the Gradebook

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
     • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Progress.
4. Select Grades from the drop-down menu.
5. The Grades page will open. Click the Manage grades tab at the top of the page.
6. Find the discussion topic you are assigned to grade from the list. Click the arrow beside the title of the topic of you want to grade, then select Enter Grades from the drop down menu.
7. You will see a table displaying the grading information for your students.  Students that have made new posts in the discussion will be indicated with an orange discussion icon
8. Locate the name of the student whose posts you want to grade, then click the discussion icon under the Submission column.
   

   NOTE: It is a best practice to avoid entering grades directly into the gradebook. It is recommended to grade in the pop-up window by clicking the discussion icon under the Submission column.

   TIP: You may filter students by group or name using the search feature.

9. A pop-up window will open where you can view and grade the post.
   • If you are grading with a rubric:
     1. An interactive rubric will appear above the student posts.
     2. Click the appropriate level for each criteria. The assigned points will automatically appear in the Criterion Score column.
     3. As you grade in the rubric,the Topic Score in the top-right side of the window will automatically update. This is the score that will be transferred to the gradebook.
        

        TIP: You may grade between levels of a rubric for partial marks by using the “Criterion score” column of a rubric. For example, you feel that the student earned a 1.5 which is between 1 and 2 on the rubric score. Edit the criterion score and always choose the lower of the two numbers within a rubric!

   • If you are grading without a rubric:
     1. Enter a Topic Score in the top-right side of the window.                               
     2. Enter feedback in the HTML Editor under General Feedback. 
        

        TIP: Be specific in terms of why you took off points, outstanding work, specifications, etc. Consult with your instructor for advice on how to give effective student feedback.

10. When you are finished assessing the topic, click Publish. You can click Save Draft to save your feedback if you want to publish at a later date.