Blog

The semester is wrapping up...

^{Credit: Stephanie Mast, PH 611 (Fall 2018)}

Key Dates

Please make note of these important dates:

The Fall 2018 semester ends on SATURDAY, December 22 — one day earlier than the usual end of a module.

Please remind your students about this early deadline by posting an announcement and/or sending a message through the Mailbox.

Keep in mind that you can extend the due date for your assignments, if you want to give students an extra day or two to finish up. (Learn more: Setting Up Your Topics) However, once the semester is officially over, students will no longer have access to the course modules. (They will still be able to view course media and everything in the Discussion.)

Final grades for all classes are due by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, December 29. (Learn more: Posting Progress Grades.)

Part-time instructors must submit their final hours for the semester by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, December 31. (Learn more: Reporting your hours in Workday.)

Wrapping Up — and Looking Ahead

You might find it helpful to review these blog posts, which provide guidance on crucial end-of-semester tasks and issues:

Making it all up?

Incompletes: Do you know what to do?

Wrapping up the semester well

Winding down...

If you're teaching next semester...

RETURN TO: Teaching Library: Online Teaching Blog | Resources For ONLINE Instructors | Teaching Library Home

Thanksgiving Holiday 2018

The Academy will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from Thursday, November 22, through Sunday, November 25.

Online instructors and students are NOT expected to be in their online classes during this period.

NOTE: These days are NOT part of the blackout time for part-time instructor work, however, so you may choose to work and report your hours as usual on these days.

Since the Module 11 deadline falls during this break, we strongly suggest that you extend the deadline for your Module 11 topics and quizzes, to allow students some extra time to complete and submit their work. (How much additional time you allow is up to you.)

To extend the deadline for your quizzes, contact the Online Help Desk.

To extend the deadline for your topics: Simply edit your topics (course topics and global topics) and adjust the due and close dates.
- Course Topics
  Click here to expand...
  1. Navigate to your Current or Pending Topics page (depending on when you make this change), and click the "Edit" link next to any topic you want to update.
  
  2. Change the close date and due date (for assignments). Then click the "Submit" button to post your updates.

- Global Topics
  Click here to expand...
  1a. Navigate to your Global Topics page, and use the dates interface to make your updates. The topics are automatically updated with the new dates you enter.
  
  1b. Alternatively, you can click the "View / Edit" link next to any topic you want to update.
  
  2. Change the close date and due date (for assignments). Then click the "Submit" button to post your updates.

And don't forget to let your students know about this schedule change (by posting an announcement or creating an informational topic — or using whatever means you prefer to communicate important information).

Happy Thanksgiving!

LEARN MORE

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Answers to your Gradebook questions

The Gradebook, which launched in Summer 2018, is now active in more than 400 classes. We've noticed a few questions coming up over and over, so I'm going to answer them here.

Q: Do I have the Gradebook in my class?

A: This is an important question! If the Gradebook has not been activated in your class, you cannot yet use it. You can find out by checking your Course Home/Syllabus page. Open the grading tab and check your grading breakdown.

If you see a colorful pie chart there, then — in most cases — yes: your class has the Gradebook!
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Please note: There are a few online classes that have the new pie-chart breakdown without an active Gradebook. You can double-check to make sure your class has the Gradebook by looking for the Class Grades Matrix. (See, below, My class has the Gradebook, but where is it?!!)

If you only see a list of categories and percentages, then the Gradebook is not yet active in your class. Talk with your academic director if you are interested in using the Gradebook next semester.
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Q: How can I learn how to use the Gradebook?

A: The Online Teaching Library has lots of training materials available for the Gradebook!

The main page is here: The Gradebook. Here you can learn more about the Gradebook rollout and navigate to an array of written training materials.

We also have two training videos that cover all the basics of the Gradebook:
- Watch the video for online instructors.
- Watch the video for onsite instructors.

Q: My class has the Gradebook, but where is it?!!

A: When people ask this question, they're usually looking for the Class Grades Matrix.

Show / hide the Matrix

^{Click to enlarge.}

There are links to the Matrix from three pages:

Option #1: There’s a link on the Section Grades page.

From the Enrollments section of your Home page, click the Grades link.
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The Section Grades page opens. Click the link to Class Grades Matrix.
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Option #2: There’s also a link on the Student Grade Detail page.

From your Home page, click the Grades link.
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The Section Grades page opens. Click the Detail link for any student.
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The Student Grade Detail page for that student opens. Click the link to Class Grades Matrix.
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Option #3: There's another link on the Progress Grading interface.

During a progress grading period, click the Submit Grades link under the Enrollments section of your Home page.
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The Progress Grading interface opens. Click the link to Class Grades Matrix.
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Q: Where can I find my students' overall grades?

A: Overall grade calculations are performed only during a progress grading period. You can see them on the progress grading interface or on the Student Grade Detail page – but not on the Class Grades Matrix.

Keep in mind that the Matrix is only a report. It reflects the information you have entered and calculates average grades for each category and each assignment. Once you enter progress grades, these will be displayed on the Matrix, as well. At present, the Matrix cannot calculate an on-demand overall grade for a student, but we hope eventually to add this feature to the Gradebook functionality.

Q: Can my students see their progress grade calculations?

A: Yes! Beginning this semester, students can see the pie chart and the rest of their grade calculation information when they check their progress grades.

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