Instructors: Grade a Moodle Drop-box Assignment Offline

Offline marking - downloading and uploading multiple grades and feedback files

If you don't have an internet connection, want to use an annotations tool, or prefer to grade outside Moodle, you can do so (including with anonymous submissions) by downloading a zip file of the assignments, using your method of giving feedback, and uploading the zip file back into Moodle. Conveniently, you can also set the dropbox so that you also get a gradesheet that will upload the assignment grades to the Moodle Gradebook. One and done! The directions below are an excerpt from the Using Assignment Moodle Doc. which has information that might answer your other questions about assignment drop-boxes or grading. (Keep in mind that for now, we do not have the annotating option integrated with the Moodle Grader.)

These easy stages explained below:

Step-by-step guide

1. Download the submissions
2. Download the spreadsheet (grading worksheet) to record grades.
3. Grade and annotate (if applicable) the submitted work.
4. Upload the completed grading worksheet.
5. Upload the annotated submissions (if applicable).

Important Note: You cannot upload marks and feedback to Moodle if you have enabled Rubrics or Marking Guides!

Before you start, enable the multiple file upload settings

Go to the settings of that assignment. For Feedback types, ensure that the Moodle Assignment settings, Feedback comments, Feedback files, and Offline grading worksheet are ticked.

Downloading student submissions

You can download a zip file containing all of the assignment submissions by selecting ‘Download all submissions’ from the 'Grading actions' menu at the top of the grading table, or in the settings menu.

File submissions will be downloaded in the format uploaded by the student. Online text submissions will be downloaded as HTML files. Each file in the zip will be named with the student first and last name followed by a unique identifier (not the user ID number).

If each submission is more than a single file, then submissions may be downloaded in folders by ticking the option 'Download submissions in folders' (below the grading table). Each submission is put in a separate folder, with the folder structure kept for any sub-folders, and files are not renamed. Each folder will be named with the student first and last name followed by a unique identifier (not the user ID number).

You can also download selected assignment submissions (rather than all of them) by selecting the ones you want and then choosing 'With selected....Download selected submissions'.

Download the Grading Worksheet to record grades

1. Next, to download the spreadsheet in which you'll enter the grades and brief comments, return to the Moodle Assignment page and from its Grading action drop-down menu choose Download grading worksheet and save that file (keep its csv file format).

Note: Helpfully that downloaded worksheet will contain any existing grades and summary comments which have already been given for that assignment i.e. if marking has already started. However, to see pre-existing comments fully you may need to set your spreadsheet to 'wrap text' within cells.

Grade and annotate (if applicable) the submitted work

After downloading the submissions and the grading worksheet:

1. Open a downloaded assignment file to assess it.
2. Open the csv file in a spreadsheet editor e.g. Excel.
3. For that student's record (if anonymous, a number corresponding to the submission file name will display), enter grades in the Grade column and summary comments in the Feedback comments column for each student.
4. Leave the other data untouched unless you know exactly what you're doing.
5. Repeat as needed.
6. Save the csv file.

Note: Take care to enter data in the correct column of the spreadsheet.

If you are annotating the submissions to return to students as feedback:

1. Open a downloaded submission.
2. Carry out your annotations.
3. Save it in its original place i.e. the folder corresponding to that student.
4. Repeat as needed.

If you have separate feedback files to upload to students:

1. Save these within that student's folder.
2. You can give students multiple feedback files in this way e.g. annotations on their work along with a separate pro forma.

IMPORTANT Note: Don't change the name or location of the folder - Moodle needs this information to allocate the files correctly.

Compress (zip) all the feedback files

First: locate the folder containing the feedback files on your computer:

1. Select them all (Ctrl+A) within the folder)

2. Zip the student folders:

   1. Windows: Right click one of the selected files and Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder.
   2. Mac: Right Click (or Ctrl+click) one of the selected files and click Compress.

3. Give the new zipped file with student folders inside an appropriate name. This file is now ready for upload to Moodle.

Upload the completed grading worksheet

When you are ready to upload grades and summary feedback:

1. Click on the assignment name on the Moodle course homepage to access the summary page and click View/grade all submissions.
2. From the Grading action drop-down menu choose Upload grading worksheet.
3. Click Choose a file... and upload the grading worksheet to Moodle, or drag the csv file to the arrow and wait for the file name to appear in the box.
4. There is a checkbox to overwrite records that have been modified more recently in Moodle than in the spreadsheet - only check this if you want to spreadsheet to overwrite all Moodle records, including ones made more recently than the spreadsheet.
5. Click Upload grading worksheet; a Confirmation box displays the students grades and feedback that will be imported - check this carefully.
6. If you are ready to proceed, click Confirm; a summary of updates displays.
7. Click Continue.

Upload multiple feedback files in a zip (if applicable)

1. Click on the assignment name on the Moodle course homepage to access the summary page and click View/grade all submissions.
   
   
   
   
2. From the Grading action drop-down menu choose Upload multiple feedback files in a zip.
   
   
   
   
3. Click Choose a file... and upload the compressed zipped assignment submissions file (with the student folders inside) to Moodle, or drag the compressed/zipped file to the arrow and wait for the file name to appear in the box.
4. Click Import feedback file(s).
5. The Confirmation box will list all the feedback files and student names that will be imported.

6. Click Confirm; the next screen summarizes the changes.

7. Click Continue.

From the page containing the Grading Table, you can check your feedback files by enabling Quick grading (see Options at the bottom of that page) and scrolling horizontally, if needed.

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