Desire2Learn 8.3

Organizing the Dropbox

If a course is entirely online, the Dropbox is the only method for students to submit assignments and for instructors to provide feedback (aside from email). Thus, proper organization and structure is key for an effective Dropbox.

There must be a folder in the Dropbox in order to collect student assignments. It is recommended that you create a folder for each assignment that will be submitted. This makes grading and providing feedback more efficient. It also makes it easy to identify which students have and have not submitted their assignments.

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

Adding a Folder
Editing a Folder
Editing a Category
Deleting a Folder

Adding a Folder

A folder must be created in order for students to be able to submit assignments. It is recommended that you create a folder for each assignment that will be submitted. At the time 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.
NOTE: If the Dropbox link does not appear, it needs to be added. Refer to Customizing the Navigation Bar for more information.
Click NEW FOLDER
The New Folder pane appears.
In the Name text box, type the desired name
NOTES:
Folder names should not contain the following special characters: * / : > < | | ' & : #
Folder names may contain underscores and hyphens.
To specify a category for this folder, from the Category pull-down menu, select a category
OR
To create a category,
1. Click NEW CATEGORY
  The New Dropbox Category pane appears.
2. In the Name text box, type a name for the new category
3. Click SAVE
  The category is now available for selection from the Category pull-down menu.
To associate the files in this folder with an item in the Grades tool, from the Grade Item pull-down menu, select the item
To add instructions, in the Custom Instructions text box, type the desired instructions
To set the start date,
1. On the Restrictions tab, in the Availability section, select Has Start Date
2. Using the pull-down menus, select the desired start date
  HINT: To choose a date from the calendar, click SELECT DATE
To set the end date,
1. On the Restrictions tab, in the Availability section, select Has End Date
2. Using the pull-down menus, select the desired end date
  HINT: To choose a date from the calendar, click SELECT DATE
Click SAVE
The folder is added.

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 RE-ORDER
  The Re-Order 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.