Managing Assignment Types
A type is a classification, such as an “exam” or “paper” that helps give the student an idea of what the assignment is.
Definition of a Type
A type has only one attribute—its name. The name of the type displays in several places:
In the main view of the Coursework feature, sometimes as headings (depending on how the feature is configured).
In labels and automatically generated messages about assignments. For example, if you create an uploaded assignment of the type “paper,” that assignment will often be referred to as “an uploaded paper.” In these messages it is usually assumed that the name of the type is singular, so it’s recommended that you use a singular word.
Viewing a Type
By default, when you view an instance of the Coursework feature, the list of assignments is organized so that each unit is displayed as a heading, with that unit’s assignments listed below. With this setup, each assignment’s type is listed in a column labeled Type.
Alternatively, you can choose to organize the view by type rather than unit. When you do this, the types become more prominent—each is listed as a heading on the page.
The student views in both cases are similar—although if the feature is organized by unit, the student will see the type mentioned only in the description of open assignments.
How To
Navigate to the appropriate Coursework feature instance.
Click Manage Units & Types.
The system displays a screen showing several settings.
Click Add a Type. This link is midway down on the screen.
The system displays the Add a Type pop-up.
Enter a name for the new type.
Click Add Type to save the new type.
Note
You can also create a type while you are adding or modifying an assignment—to get started, just click the plus sign next to the Type field.
Navigate to the appropriate Coursework feature instance.
Click Manage Units & Types.
The system displays a screen showing several settings.
In the area of the screen labeled Types, locate the type that you want to rename and click the corresponding pencil icon.
The system displays the Edit a Type pop-up.
Modify the name as appropriate.
Click Edit Type to save the change.
By default, types are ordered alphabetically, but you might want to change this. The sequence of your types does two things:
It determines the sequence used within the Type drop-down list, which is on the screen where you create or modify an assignment.
If you have chosen to organize the feature instance by type, then type-ordering affects the sequence of the types in the main view of the feature.
To reorder types:
Navigate to the appropriate Coursework feature instance.
Click Manage Units & Types.
The system displays a screen showing several settings.
Click Type ordering.
The system displays a screen titled Ordering Your Types.
Select one of the following as appropriate:
Alphabetically
Manually
If you selected Manually, the screen updates to let you drag and drop the types. In this case, drag the types into the appropriate order. (To select any type, click the corresponding black arrows.)
When finished, click Done reordering.
Navigate to the appropriate Coursework feature instance.
Click Manage Units & Types.
The system displays a screen showing several settings.
Locate the type you want to delete and click the corresponding trash-barrel icon.
The system does one of the following:
If you currently have assignments of this type, a pop-up window is displayed that lets you reclassify the assignments as another type or choose to delete them.
If the type is currently not used, the system displays a pop-up window asking whether you are sure you want to delete the type.
If there are assignments of this type, choose the appropriate option for dealing with them.
Click Delete type.