Desire2Learn 8.3

Working with the Dropbox

The Dropbox is used by the instructor to retrieve and grade electronically submitted assignments. The instructor can also provide qualitative feedback to students using the Dropbox.

Adding a Dropbox Folder
Adding Release Conditions to a Folder
Downloading Assignments
Giving Feedback
Editing Feedback
Deleting Feedback

Adding a Dropbox Folder

In order for students to submit their assignments through the Dropbox, folders must be created for each assignment.

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, assign a name for the folder
NOTES:
Folder names should not contain the following special characters: * / : > < | ' & : #.
Folder names may contain underscores and hyphens.
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.
Click SAVE
The new folder will now be added to the Dropbox Folders section.
OPTIONAL: Add release conditions to the folder

Adding Release Conditions 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 cannot submit their project.

Adding Availability to 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 DATE
  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 DATE
  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 Additional Release Conditions to a Folder

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

Downloading Assignments

Once students have submitted their assignments in the Dropbox, you can open or download them for grading. As with any download, you should take steps to protect your computer from viruses.

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click DROPBOX
The Dropbox Folders pane appears.
In the Dropbox Folders section, click the desired folder
The Folder Submissions pane appears.
Click the link of the file you wish to download
The File Download dialog box appears.
To open the file from its location, click OPEN
OR
To save the file,
1. Click SAVE
  The Save As dialog box appears.
2. Navigate to the desired save location
3. Click SAVE
4. Locate and open the file
Repeat steps 3-4 for all desired documents

Giving Feedback

If a dropbox folder was set up to be associated with a grade/assessment item, you have the option to leave grade feedback in addition to assignment feedback.

Giving Feedback: In the Student Dropbox

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click DROPBOX
The Dropbox Folders pane appears.
In the Dropbox Folders section, click the desired folder
The Folder Submissions pane appears.
For the student you want to address, click LEAVE FEEDBACK
The Leave Feedback pane appears.
In the Dropbox Feedback text box, type your feedback
When finished, click SAVE
The feedback can now be viewed in the student's drop box.

Giving Feedback: In the Student File

To lessen any confusion when giving feedback about a paragraph in the document, or to add specific feedback in some parts of a student file, the instructor has the freedom to add and clarify feedback throughout the document.

Add comments to the student's document
For more information, refer to Creating Text Boxes or Working with the Track Changes Feature.
Save the file
From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click DROPBOX
The Dropbox Folders pane appears.
In the Dropbox Folders section, click the folder where the assignments have been placed
The Folder Submissions pane appears.
For the student you want to address, click LEAVE FEEDBACK
The Leave Feedback pane appears.
In the Feedback text box, type a message indicating where you have left your comments
Click ADD A FILE
The Submit a File dialog box appears.
1. Click BROWSE
  The Choose file dialog box appears.
2. Locate and select the file with your comments
3. Click OPEN
  The selected file is indicated in the Submit a File dialog box.
Click UPLOAD
The Insert File dialog box closes.
When finished, click SAVE
The feedback in the student file that you have just submitted can now be viewed in the student's dropbox.

Editing Feedback

You can add or change feedback you have given to a student.

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click DROPBOX
The Dropbox Folders pane appears.
In the Dropbox Folders section, click the folder where the assignments have been placed
The Folder Submissions pane appears.
For the student you want to edit feedback, click FEEDBACK LEFT
The Leave Feedback pane appears.
In the Dropbox Feedback text box, make the desired change to the message
When finished, click SAVE
The feedback in the student's drop box will now appear according to the changes made.

Deleting Feedback

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click DROPBOX
The Dropbox Folders pane appears.
In the Dropbox Folders section, click the folder where the assignments have been placed
The Dropbox Contents: [Folder Name] pane appears.
For the student you want to delete feedback, click FEEDBACK LEFT
The Leave Feedback pane appears.
In the Leave Feedback pane, click DELETE THIS FEEDBACK
A confirmation dialog box appears.
Click YES
The link Feedback Left will turn to Leave Feedback.
The feedback can no longer be viewed in the student's dropbox.
Click SAVE