Desire2Learn 9.0

Organizing the Dropbox

If a course is entirely online, the Dropbox is the most efficient method for students to submit assignments and for instructors to provide feedback. Proper organization and structure is key for an effective Dropbox.

To collect student assignments there must be a folder in the Dropbox. Having a separate folder for each assignment makes grading and providing feedback more efficient. It also makes it easy to identify which students have submitted their assignments.

When you create a folder, you can assign it to an existing category or create a new one. Categories organize Dropbox folders and help students find the correct folder for their assignment.

Adding a Dropbox Folder
Adding Restrictions to a Folder
Editing a Folder
Editing a Category
Deleting a Folder

Adding a Dropbox Folder

There must be a folder in the Dropbox before students can submit assignments. It is recommended that you create a folder for each assignment that will be submitted. When you create a folder, you can create a new category or assign the folder to an existing category.

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click DROPBOX
The Dropbox Folders pane appears.
Click NEW FOLDER
The New Folder pane appears.
On the Properties tab, in the Name text box, type the desired name
NOTES:
Folder names may contain underscores and hyphens.
Folder names should not contain the following special characters: * / : > < | ' & # { } ".
From the Category pull-down menu, select the desired category
OR
To create a dropbox category,
1. Click NEW CATEGORY
  The New Dropbox Category dialog box appears.
2. In the Name text box, type the desired category name
3. Click SAVE
  You category is created and you are returned to the New Folder pane.
To link this folder with a grade item, from the Grade Item pull-down menu, select the appropriate item
OR
To create a new grade item,
1. Click NEW GRADE ITEM
  The New Grade Item dialog box appears.
2. In the Name text box, type the desired name
3. OPTIONAL: In the Short Name text box, type an abbreviated form of the name
4. From the Category pull-down menu, select the desired category
5. In the Grading and Restrictions sections, select the desired settings
  For more information on creating new grading items, refer to Working with the Grades Tool.
6. Click SAVE
  You are returned to the New Folder pane.
To add instructions, in the Custom Instructions text box, type the desired instructions
Click SAVE
The new folder will now be added to the Dropbox Folders section.
OPTIONAL: Add restrictions to the folder

Adding Restrictions to a Folder

You can open a window of time for students to upload their project into a dropbox folder. Students trying to submit their project before or after the window will not be allowed to do so.

Adding Restrictions: Availability of a Folder

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click DROPBOX
The Dropbox Folders pane appears.
For the desired folder, click EDIT
The Edit Folder pane appears.
Select the Restrictions tab
To set a Start Date, in the Availability section,
1. Select Has Start Date
2. In the following pull-down menus, select the desired date
  OR
  To select a date from the calendar, click SELECT START DATE IN CALENDAR
  HINT: To set the date to the present time, click NOW.
To set an End Date, in the Availability section,
1. Select Has End Date
2. In the following pull-down menus, select the desired date
  OR
  To select a date from the calendar, click SELECT END DATE IN CALENDAR
  HINT: To set the date to the present time, click NOW
To add this event to the class schedule, select Display in Schedule
Click SAVE

Adding Restrictions: Additional Release Conditions on a Folder

For information on how to add additional release conditions to a folder, refer to Releasing Course Content: Adding Additional Release Conditions

Editing a Folder

Once a folder has been created, it can be modified to adjust the due dates of an assignment.

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click DROPBOX
The Dropbox Folders pane appears.
OPTIONAL: To change the order of the folders,
1. Click REORDER
  The Reorder pane appears
2. Using the pull-down menus, change the folders order
3. Click SAVE
In the desired folder's row, click EDIT FOLDER
The Edit Folder pane appears.
Make the desired changes to the folder
Click SAVE
The changes are saved.

Editing a Category

Once a category has been created, you can edit its name.

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click DROPBOX
The Dropbox Folders pane appears.
For the desired category, click EDIT
The Edit Dropbox Category dialog box appears.
In the Name text box, make the desired changes
Click SAVE
The category is updated.

Deleting a Folder

If you no longer need a folder, it can be deleted.
WARNING: Deleting a folder deletes all files within it. If you think you will need to refer to the files, be sure to save them.

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click DROPBOX
The Dropbox Folders pane appears.
Click DELETE
The Delete Folders pane appears.
Select the desired folder(s)
HINT: A folder is selected when a checkmark appears in the adjacent box.
Click DELETE SELECTED
A confirmation dialog box appears.
Click DELETE
The folder and its contents are deleted.