Instructions and Files

If you add a description, this text will be displayed as soon as the assignment becomes visible to students (either because it is active, or because you selected Display to students while it’s inactive).

The description is shown in a few different places. First, students will see it in the main view of the feature, along with the name of the assignment (for this reason, it may be a good idea to keep the description somewhat concise).

The description is also shown to students on the Student Assignment Details screen.

However, note that for an online test or an uploaded assignment, once the student has started taking the test or has uploaded a file, the description will be collapsed—so on future visits to the Student Assignment Details screen, the student will need to click an instructions link to see the description, along with any instructions or files that you uploaded.

When creating or modifying the assignment definition, you enter the description using a rich text editor. For more information on using this editor.

Instructions are displayed to students only after the assignment has been made active (even if the assignment itself is set to be visible before then). Instructions are shown on the Student Assignment Details screen.

If you also included a description, the instructions are displayed right below the description.

However, note that for an online test or an uploaded assignment, once the student has started taking the test or has uploaded a file, the instructions will be collapsed—so on future visits to the Student Assignment Details screen, the student will need to click an Instructions link to view the instructions, along with any description text or files that you uploaded.

You use the Files field to make an attachment available to students as soon as the assignment becomes active. Files are not displayed before the assignment becomes active, even if the assignment itself is set to be visible before then.

If you also included instructions, the attached file will display below the instructions.

However, note that for an online test or an uploaded assignment, once the student has started taking the test or uploaded a file, the files will be collapsed—so on future visits to the Student Assignment Details screen, the student will need to click an Instructions link to view the files, along with any description or instructions that you created.

To upload a file, click the Add a File link and follow the prompts.

Note that you can give the file a label and a description, if desired.