Thursday, 28 September 2023, 9:51 AM
Site: Flinders Learning Online
Topic: FLO Staff Support (FLO_Staff_Support)
Glossary: How-to glossary
FORUM

Forum / Announcements - main entry

Whether you are starting from scratch or working with a discussion forum already created, using the forum activity in a topic ideally consists of 5 stages, in a looped process.

1. Plan  |  2. Build  |  3. Test  |  4. Administer  |  5. Review  || Support

forum icon

Forum and Announcements are the same activity. However, you do not need to add a discussion forum for Announcements as this activity will already be set up in your topic. The difference between Forum and Announcements is that announcements are for teacher use only – students cannot add a discussion post or reply to an announcement. When you set up a forum in your topic, students can interact with you and other students.

Announcements are a way of generating social presence/active teaching in your FLO topic. You can provide information to all students using the 'Latest announcements' block on the topic homepage. This is handy for important information (eg changes to lecture/tutorial times, assessment reminders). Remind your students to check their emails regularly. 

Forums enable participants to have asynchronous discussions (ie discussions that take place over an extended period of time). Discussion forums provide opportunities for social presence and can foster a community of practice in your FLO topic. Participation in the forum could contribute to an assessment grade, and could also indicate problem areas. Participants can subscribe to a forum to receive notifications of new forum posts. 

Good practice guides and tip sheets

Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to fourm-related resources are provided below. 

Inspirational and engaged teaching | Designing assessmentIncorporating Socratic questions into your FLO siteProviding constructive feedback in FLO | Communication, interaction and collaboration tools in FLO | Facilitating Student-Teacher interaction in FLO | Designing holistic rubrics | Online topic orientation | Rubrics | Providing students with comprehensive assessment information and support in FLO

 


1. Plan

Announcements

Announcements are a timely, active element in the topic – use them to post reminders, pose challenging questions, generate curiosity, answer a common FAQ, or respond to 'muddy points'. Announcements are posted to all enrolled students in the topic within 30 minutes of posting (assuming that they have not disabled email notifications in their personal preferences).


Forum

Discussion forums can have many uses, formal and informal:

  • a social space for students to get to know each other (eg a 'student lounge')
  • discussing topic content or reading materials
  • preparing for an assessment item, or as an assessment item (this can reduce emails to staff)
  • troubleshooting (a great way to foster a community)
  • continuing online an issue raised in a face-to-face session
  • a 'help centre' where tutors and students can give advice
  • teacher-only discussions (using a hidden forum)
The forum's purpose will determine the type of forum you set up. For example: 

Are you going to assess forum participation? | What type of forum will you set up? | Will you set up ratings in the forum?

Suggestions to help with planning:

  • Talk to teaching peers about issues around forum participation and assessment.
  • Decide what marks to assign to the forum (it could be a non-graded pass or a percentage).
  • Give students a rubric/marking guide that shows them what effective participation means – criteria could include originality, scholarly argument, type of interactions between students and demonstration of critical thinking skills (quality), as well as the number of posts and word length.
  • Decide whether to use peer assessment (ratings) – this approach could help create a sense of community and deepen learning: 
    • Ask your local eLearning team to set up the forum to allow peer assessment.
    • Decide on the range of ratings (eg 5 which means students can rate each other on a scale of 1-5)
    • How might students give feedback other than just a rating? It might be to reply to the rated post saying why they think it is worth x, and their own response. This is forum etiquette anyway when replying to posts (‘I don’t agree with…’ etc) and helps develop a critical but constructive approach.


2. Build

Announcements

You do not need to build the Announcements forum activity as it will already be set up in your topic. It will likely be sitting in Module 0.

Forum

Forum posts can be rated by teachers or students (peer evaluation). Ratings can be aggregated to form a final grade which is recorded in the Gradebook.


3. Test

You could ask your eLearning support team to check the settings for your forum, to make sure it serves the purpose you had in mind in the planning stage.


4. Administer

Announcements
Forum

View some tips for fostering a community and facilitating/monitoring a discussion forum (PDF file).

In FLO (tracking tips)


5. Review

The observations you note whilst the forum is running will help you fine-tune it for the next iteration of your topic, for example:

  • Would a different forum type be better?
  • Did students participate as much as you wanted? If not, why not?
  • Did student feedback tell you anything? (eg Touchpoint survey, class discussion, emails)
You could troubleshoot with your eLearning support team or colleagues to refine your approach.


  Training and support

  Troubleshooting

Support
eLearning support teams

Forum / Announcements - manage a discussion forum

1. Plan  |   2. Build   |  3. Test   | 4. Administer   |  5. Review   || Support

forum iconThis entry relates to the Forum activity.

Once the forum is made available to students (via the Forum settings), you may want to one or more of the following actions, depending on the forum settings.



Add, delete or move posts

Once a discussion forum is open for student posts, teachers will need to manage the forum – moderate posts (eg around  netiquette, 'muddy' points/teachable moments, drifting conversations), assess forum participation, rate posts etc. Students may also need to manage their and others' posts – follow the conversation, export their posts, use them in an eportfolio/for an assignment etc.

Staff can delete, move or export posts. Students can delete (their own post, within a 15-minute time frame) or export their posts.


Add a post

  1. Click on the forum

  2. Click the Add a new discussion topic button

  3. Add a Subject and Message

  4. Click on the Advanced link to:
    • add an attachment
    • set dates when the topic should or should not display
    • pin the topic to the top of the forum
    • post the topic instantly (there is a 15 minute period before notifications are sent to students)

  5. Click Post to forum

Delete a post

Teaching staff may want to delete a post if it is inappropriate (eg flaming).

  1. Click on the post you want to delete in the Discussion column

  2. In the next screen, click on the Delete option in the right-hand corner of the post
    delete prompt
  3. You will be asked if you are sure you want to delete the post. Click Continue to delete the post, and any replies to that post.

  4. Check in the post list screen to make sure it has been deleted

If you feel it is necessary to remove a post from a forum, but would prefer the post were not strictly deleted, please contact your eLearning support team to discuss splitting the post.


Move a topic

You can move a topic to another forum where it is more appropriate/relevant (eg a query about assessment may belong in a forum set up especially for this rather than where it has been posted).

  1. Click on the topic you want to move in the Discussion column

  2. In the next screen, in the top right-hand corner of the post click on the pull-down menu next to the Move button
    move discussion

  3. Choose the forum you want to move the topic to, and click Move

  4. Check in the original forum and the forum you have moved the topic to, to make sure the topic has moved

View a student's posts

A teacher can view the posts of a particular student and see all posts or any discussions started by that student. This is a useful feature if you want to provide feedback on a student's posts or see how often they are posting in a forum/s. 

  1. Click on the Participants link in the Topic Management panel (under User Links)
    Participants

  2. Click on the student's name (this will load their profile)
    participant's name

  3. Click Forum posts
    Forum posts

  4. You should see a list of the student's posts and the name of the forum/s the posts were made in – you can click the options Permalink, Show parent, Edit, Split, Delete, Reply or Export to portfolio
    forum options


Post a question to a Q and A forum

  1. Enter the forum by clicking on the activity on the topic homepage
    Q and A forum

  2. Click Add a new question
    Add a new question

  3. Enter a question Subject and Message
    Add question etc

  4. Press the Post to forum button

  5. The student will be able to view the question by clicking on the discussion Subject, and can post a response by hitting the Reply button. To see the other responses, they must first post their own.

    question posted

    post reply


Reply privately to a post

You can reply privately to a student’s post to give individual feedback within a forum. To reply privately, commence a reply as normal, and tick the Reply privately box underneath the text box.

The reply privately box is the third option under the text box. 

Students can not reply back to a private reply you have left. If you need to initiate a discussion with a student, use a different communication method.


Control how long forum posts are visible

You restrict student access to the forum in the Availability section of the forum settings, when you are setting up the forum. Once the forum is open to students, you can also set the dates when a topic is visible (or not visible).

  1. If creating a new topic, click on the Advanced link and open the display period.
    edit a forum post
  2. If the topic has already been created, open the topic you wish to restrict, then click on the Edit option below the post
    edit a forum post

  3.  Open the Display period tab, and select the Enable boxes to set dates for displaying the post (show/hide)
    display period options

Forum / Announcements - manage announcements

1. Plan  |   2. Build   |  3. Test   | 4. Administer  |  5. Review   || Support

forum iconThis entry relates to the Forum activity.

Each topic contains an Announcements forum. Only staff members are able to post into this forum and students will be sent an email copy of each message posted into this forum, assuming that they have not disabled email notifications in their personal preferences. Posting an announcement is an easy and reasonably effective way to communicate important information to students.

You could post an announcement:

  • when students get access to the topic (usually 1 week prior to topic commencement), as a welcome/orientation
  • when assessment item due dates are approaching, to support students being on task
  • when a guest lecturer is presenting, to encourage students to attend

Post an announcement – steps

  1. In your topic, locate the Announcements forum (usually in module 0) 

  2. Click on Add a new topic

  3. Enter a Subject and Message
    add a subject and message

  4. Select Pinned (under Advanced, see image above) if you'd like the message pinned to the top of the list
    pinned

  5. Select Post instantly (under Advanced, see image above) if you'd like the message to be emailed and made visible to students instantly. If post instantly is not selected, the post will be emailed 15 minutes later, giving you time to correct any mistakes you make after posting (depending on the students forum email digest settings in their profile)
    post instantly

  6. Select Post to forum

Forum / Announcements - marking a forum

1. Plan  |   2. Build   |  3. Test   | 4. Administer   |  5. Review   || Support

This entry relates to the Forum activity.

Forums have the ability to be marked. For information on how to enable marking in a forum view Create a discussion forum.

Good practice guides and tip sheets

Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to assessment-related resources are provided below. 

Rubrics and marking guides in FLO

 


Whole forum grading (individually)

If the forum has been set up for grading it will automatically appear in the Gradebook

Whole forum grading allows you to view all of a student’s posts in a particular forum and mark them as a whole, using either a numerical mark (Simple direct grading) or advanced grading methods (Checklist, Marking guide or Rubric). To do this:

  1. Open the forum, and click on the Grade users button
    grading users

  2. Click on the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the page to search for a particular student, or use the arrow buttons to move through students sequentially
    image of a not graded student

  3. On the left-hand side of the page, you will see all of the posts from the student you selected.
    image of grading
  4. If a student’s post is part of a thread, you can click on the View parent post link to see the post the student is replying to, or click on the View discussion link to see all posts in that particular discussion.

  5. On the right-hand side of the page, you can enter the student’s mark and choose whether the student will be notified that they have been graded.

    If you want to give written feedback, you can use the advanced grading features, which will appear here as well (the marking guide and checklist allow for individualised comments). You can also use private replies
    to give feedback within the forums, though you can’t add private replies from the marking screen.
    grade forum image
  6. Click on the Save button to save your changes. Once you have saved, the students status will change to Graded.
    save changes image

Whole forum grading (by group)

If the forum has been set up for grading it will automatically appear in the Gradebook

Whole forum grading allows you to view all of a student’s posts in a particular forum and mark them as a whole, using either a numerical mark (Simple direct grading) or advanced grading methods (Checklist, Marking guide or Rubric). To do this:

  1. Click the 'All participants' dropdown to select the group you wish to grade
    Selecting group for grading

  2. Select the group that you wish to grade (Group 1 in this example)
    Selected group for grading

  3. Once the group is selected from the dropdown, click on the Grade users button
    grading users

  4. Click on the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the page to search for a particular student, or use the arrow buttons to move through students sequentially
    image of a not graded student

  5. On the left-hand side of the page, you will see all of the posts from the student you selected.
    image of grading
  6. If a student’s post is part of a thread, you can click on the View parent post link to see the post the student is replying to, or click on the View discussion link to see all posts in that particular discussion.

  7. On the right-hand side of the page, you can enter the student’s mark and choose whether the student will be notified that they have been graded.

    If you want to give written feedback, you can use the advanced grading features, which will appear here as well (the marking guide and checklist allow for individualised comments). You can also use private replies
    to give feedback within the forums, though you can’t add private replies from the marking screen.
    grade forum image
  8. Click on the Save button to save your changes. Once you have saved, the students status will change to Graded.
    save changes image

Rate a forum post

If the forum has been set up for ratings, it will automatically appear in the Gradebook.

  1. Go to the forum, open a forum post (click on the link) and rate it using the drop-down rating box. (In the example below, the scale is out of 5). To give written feedback, add a private reply.
  2. You could sample one post for rating, or go into each post and rate them all (depending on the marking/assessment strategy). If the marking strategy involves marking multiple posts, be aware of the aggregation method used:

  • Average or ratings: the mean of all ratings given
  • Count of ratings: the number of ratings given is the mark
  • Maximum rating: the highest rated post determines the mark awarded
  • Minimum rating: the lowest rated post determines the mark awarded
  • Sum of ratings: all ratings are added together, and the total is the mark awarded

    rate
  1. If you wish to moderate the mark awarded, staff with the Teacher and Topic coordinator roles can override the grade using manual grading.

Forum / Announcements - troubleshooting

1. Plan  |   2. Build   |  3. Test   | 4. Administer   |  5. Review   || Support

forum iconThis entry relates to the Forum activity.


I'm not receiving forum posts to my email

There might be several reasons for this problem:

  • You may not be subscribed to the forum/s
  • You may not have your forum tracking set properly
  • You may be receiving daily digests
  • Your forum notifications may be disabled

You may not be subscribed to the forum/s

You will need to subscribe to forums before you receive new posts in your email. (Note: everyone in the topic is subscribed to the Announcements forum by default.)

  1. Click on your profile picture/name (grey toolbar top of screen)

  2. Click Preferences
    Preferences

  3. In the User account area select Forum preferences
    forum preferences

  4. In the Forum auto-subscribe section select Yes: when I post, subscribe me to that forum discussion
    subscribe

  5. Click Save changes


You may not have your forum tracking set properly

When you are notified of a forum post, you can choose whether this should mark the post as read for the purpose of forum tracking. 

  1. Follow steps 1 and 2 above

  2. In the Forum Tracking drop down list select Yes: highlight new post for me 

  3. In the When sending forum post notifications drop-down list select Do not mark the post as read – this will ensure when you receiving notifications posts are not marked as 'read'
    profile forum preferences

  4. Click Save changes


You may be receiving daily digests

By default, users receive forum posts compiled into a single email sent daily, usually overnight. (The exception is Announcement posts, which are sent out within 30 minutes.) You can change your notification settings to receive individual emails.

  1. Follow steps 1 and 2 above

  2. In Forum preferences section, change Email digest type to No digest (single email per forum post)
    forum preferences

  3. Click Save changes

Your forum notifications may be disabled

You can choose to turn off forum notifications. To turn them back on:

  1. Follow steps 1 and 2 above

  2. In the User account area select Notification preferences
    notifications

  3. In the Forum section, make sure all four Email boxes are set to On
    forum email notifications

  4. Click Save changes


Students can't post to a Q and A forum

For students to be able to post to a Q and A forum, a teacher must first post a question for students to respond to.

Below is the student view of a Q and A forum without a teacher-initiated question. Note that it does not yet have buttons where students can post a reply.

Q & A student view

Gradebook - build and edit a checklist for online marking (assignments and forums)

gradebook icon

This entry relates to the Gradebook.

You can design and use checklists to mark assignments and forums online.

See also Mark in FLO using a checklist (assignments)

Please note: Currently, the checklist can only be used in marking assignments (not forums).


Build a checklist

  1. Before you can build a checklist, you need to set up the assignment/forum for online marking using a checklist

  2. Give your checklist a name (required) and description (optional)
    name and description

  3. Add a name for your group in the Click to edit group area
    edit group name

  4. Add a description for your item in the Click to edit item area
    edit item

  5. To add more items, click the +Add item button
    add item button

  6. To add more groups, click the +Add group button
    add group button

  7. Select options for your checklist
    checklist options

  8. Click the Save checklist and make it ready button


Edit a checklist

To edit a checklist (prior to opening the assignment for submissions):

  1. Open the activity

  2. Select Advanced grading from the Actions menu cog
 Advanced grading

  1. On the Advanced grading page, click Edit the current form definition
    Text

Description automatically generated 

  2. To edit, click on the group name or checklist item (see step 3 onwards under Build a checklist above). To delete an item, click the cross icondelete icon

  3. Once you have finished making changes, click the Save button


Student view

Students can view the checklist (Grading criteria) before they submit their assignment on the Submission status screen:

checklist student view

Gradebook - build and edit a marking guide for online marking (assignments and forums)

gradebook icon

This entry relates to the Gradebook.

You can design and use marking guides to mark assignments and forums online.

See also Mark in FLO using a marking guide (assignments and forums)

 


Build a marking guide

  1. Before you can build a marking guide, you need to set up the assignment or forum for online marking using a marking guide

  2. Give your marking guide a name (required) and a description (optional)
    name and description

  3. Add a name for the criterion in the Click to edit criterion name area
    edit criterion name

  4.  Add a description for students – type in the Click to edit area. You can also add a description for the markers (if required)
    description for students

  5. Allocate a mark for the criterion, type a number into the Click to edit area for Maximum score
    maximum score

  6. Click the Add criterion button to add extra criterion
    add criterion

  7. Move your criterion up and down using the arrows, or delete (x)
    move or delete

  8. At Frequently used comments, type in the Click to edit area to enter a comment, then click the +Add frequently used comments button until you have finished entering the comments you want markers to use
    frequently used comments

  9. Select options for your marking guide
    marking guide options

  10. Click the Save marking guide and make it ready button

 


Edit a marking guide

Edit a marking guide (prior to opening the assignment for submissions)

  1. Open the activity
  2. Select Advanced grading from the Actions menu cog

3. On the Advanced grading page, click Edit the current form definition
4. Once you have finished making changes, click the Save button




Student view

Students can view the marking guide (Grading criteria) before they submit their assignment on the Submission status screen:

student view of marking guide

Gradebook - build and edit a rubric for online marking (assignments and forums)

gradebook icon

This entry relates to the Gradebook.

You can design and use rubrics to mark assignments and forums online. 

See also Mark in FLO using a rubric (assignments and forums)

Good practice guides and tip sheets

Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to assessment-related resources are provided below. 

Rubrics and marking guides in FLO | Constructive alignment in FLO | Designing holistic rubrics | Negotiated assessment



Build a rubric

  1. Before you can build a rubric, you need to set up the assignment/forum for online marking using a rubric

  2. Give your rubric a name (required) and a description (optional)
    name and description

  3. Add criterion in the Click to edit criterion area
    Add criterion

  4. Add performance standards in the Click to edit level areas
    add performance standard

  5. To add more performance standards, click the Add level button
    add more performance standards

  6. Add marks per performance standard – click the points areas
    add marks per performance standard

  7. To add extra criterion, click the Add criterion button
    Add criterion button

  8. Move your criterion up and down using the arrows, or delete (x). You can copy a criterion (with performance standard and marks) via the duplicate icon – the copy will appear at the end of the list
    move and duplicate criterion

  9. Select options for your rubric
    Rubric options

  10. Click the Save rubric and make it ready button



Edit a rubric

  1. Open the activity

  2. Select Advanced grading from the Actions menu cog
    advanced grading menu

  3. On the Advanced grading page, click Edit the current form definition
    edit the current form definition

  4. Once you have finished making changes, click the Save button



Student view

Students can view the rubric (Grading criteria) before they submit their assignment on the Submission status screen:

student view of rubric

Gradebook - mark in FLO using a marking guide (assignments and forums)

gradebook iconThis entry relates to the Gradebook.

If you set up a marking guide (an advanced grading feedback form) when you created an assignment or forum, you can mark online in FLO.

 


Mark an assignment using an online marking guide

  1. Open the assignment. On the Grading summary page, either:
    • click the View all submissions button and then click the Grade button for a particular student; or
    • click the Grade button to grade the first student in the list of submissions

  2. The marking guide will appear on the right side of the page in the Grade section
    Marking guide in the grade section

    To enlarge the marking guide:

    Option 1

    Click the Zoom in/out of region icon (in the grade section)

    zoom in out of region

    Option 2

    Click the Collapse review panel button (bottom right of page)

    collapse review panel button

    Click the Restore default layout (middle) button after you have finished marking

     

  3. Click in the text box underneath the criterion to type any comments and/or click the Insert frequently used comment button if comments were set up when building the marking guide

    marking guide comment

  4. Click in the grade box to provide a mark for the criterion

    marking guide mark

  5. Continue including comments and a grade for all criterion
  1. Save your changes
Warning: Feedback comments will NOT be saved unless all the other fields have valid entries.

 



Mark a forum using an online marking guide

  1. Open the forum and click the Grade users button
    Grade users button

  2. To search for a particular student to mark, click the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the grading area, or use the arrow buttons to move through students sequentially
    Find students to mark

  3. The marking guide will appear in the grading area on the right 
    Marking guide grading - forum

  4. Enter a grade in the Score out of ... text box and any feedback in the Additional comments text box for all criterion
    Enter mark and comment

  5. Click the Save button (top right of screen)
    Save button
    Note:
    The Close button returns you to the forum activity

Gradebook - mark in FLO using a rubric (assignments and forums)

gradebook icon

This entry relates to the Gradebook.

If you set up a rubric (an advanced grading feedback form) when you created an assignment or forum, you can mark online in FLO.

 


Mark an assignment using an online rubric

  1. Open the assignment. On the Grading summary page, either:
    • click the View all submissions button and then click the Grade button for a particular student; or
    • click the Grade button to grade the first student in the list of submissions

  2. The rubric will appear on the right side of the page in the Grade section
    Rubric in the grade section

    To enlarge the rubric:

    Option 1

    Click the Zoom in/out of region icon (in the grade section)

    zoom in out of region

    Option 2

    Click the Collapse review panel button (bottom right of page)

    Collapse review panel button

    Click the Restore default layout (middle) button after you have finished marking

     

  3. Click on the relevant performance standard for each criterion, they will appear in green

    rubric description

  4. Click in the text box at the end of the criterion to type any comments

    rubric - insert comment

  5. Save your changes
Warning: Feedback comments will NOT be saved unless all the other fields have valid entries.

 



Mark a forum using an online rubric

  1. Open the forum and click the Grade users button
    Grade users button

  2. To search for a particular student to mark, click the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the grading area, or use the arrow buttons to move through students sequentially
    Find students to mark

  3. The rubric will appear in the grading area on the right 
    Forum feedback form

  4. Select the relevant performance standard option for each criterion (the default option is Not set) and include any comments in the Additional feedback text box
    Select standard and provide feedback

  5. Click the Save button (top right of screen) to save the grades
    Save and close buttons
    Note:
    The Close button returns you to the forum activity

Gradebook - mark in FLO using a rubric, marking guide or checklist (assignments and forums)

gradebook icon

This entry relates to the Gradebook.

If you set up a marking guide, rubric or checklist (an advanced grading feedback form) when you created an assignment or forum, you can mark using the feedback form online in FLO.

See also Annotate (mark) student assignments in FLO (online) for how to mark student submissions using online annotation tools.

Good practice guides and tip sheets

Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to assessment-related resources are provided below. 

Rubrics and marking guides in FLO | Constructive alignment in FLO | Designing holistic rubrics | Negotiated assessment

 

Gradebook - set up a feedback template for offline or online marking (assignments and forums)

gradebook icon

This entry relates to the Gradebook.

Marking guides (or rubrics, checklists, feedback forms) address the assessment criteria and standards of performance. The topic coordinator may provide a marking guide in an assignment or forum.

When marking an assignment, you can use either an offline or online marking guide. When marking a forum, you can use one of the online marking guides.

Offline marking options

Online marking options

Good practice guides and tip sheets

Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to assessment-related resources are provided below. 

Inspirational and engaged teaching | Rubrics | Rubrics and marking guides in FLO

 


Set up an assignment for offline marking using a feedback template

Uploading a feedback template (usually a Word document) will allow you (later, during the marking process) to download a zip folder containing a copy of the marking guide for each student with the correct naming convention to be uploaded back into the assignment. FLO refers to these as feedback files. You will then be able to complete the feedback file (marking guide/rubric etc) for each student, zip up all feedback files and return to FLO in a one-step process.

  1. Create an assignment (Turn editing on > Add an activity or resource > Assignment)

  2. On the settings page, look for the Feedback template option (under Feedback types)

  3. Click Add to upload a file, and select the file on your computer. Alternatively, you can drag the file from your computer onto the file upload box

    assignment - feedback template dropbox

  4. Click Save and display

 


Set up an assignment/forum for online marking using advanced grading

First, you need to decide which advanced grading method best suits your needs – a marking guide, rubric or checklist (see examples below). You can experiment with all of them, but once you have set up one type you will lose the settings you created if you switch to another type (ie you will have to build the new one from scratch).

Please note: The Checklist advanced grading method for marking forums is currently disabled.

Set up – all options (marking guide / rubric / checklist)

In an assignment

  1. Create an assignment (Turn editing on > Add an activity or resource > Assignment)

  2. Open the Grade settings section,

  3. Choose ChecklistMarking guide or Rubric from the Grading method menu 

  4. Click Save and display

  5. Click the cog in the top-right corner of the screen, and select Advanced grading

  6. On the Advanced grading page, select Define a new grading form from scratch
    define new grading form

In a forum

  1. Create a forum (Turn editing on > Add an activity or resource > Assignment)

  2. Open the Whole forum grading section

  3. Choose point or scale from the Grade menu

  4. Choose Checklist, Marking guide or Rubric from the Grading method menu

  5. Click Save and display

  6. Click the cog in the top-right corner of the screen, and select Advanced grading

  7. Select Define a new grading form from scratch
    define new grading form




Marking guide example

A marking guide allows for a comment and score against each criterion. The score is determined based on marker discretion, out of a maximum score for each criterion. You can also set up frequently used comments. Build a marking guide

demonstration

 


Rubric example

A rubric allows for a number of performance standards, a score and a comment for each criterion. The score is prescribed based on the performance standard reached. Build a rubric

rubric example

 


Checklist example

A checklist allows for a series of items (ie criterion) and point values for each. The maximum value of the checklist is equal to the sum of all items. Students are awarded either all or no points for each item. Build a checklist

Checklist example

GLOSSARY

Download FLO - export a glossary

The glossary tool in FLO/Moodle has no corresponding equivalent tool in Canvas. However, you can export the entries from an FLO glossary as a text file (that you may wish to reuse in Canvas via another tool such as pdf, an H5P object etc). 

To export content from the glossary tool:

  1. Open the glossary you wish to export entries from. 


  2. Click on the cog in the top right corner of the glossary tool, and select Export entries.


  3. Select a format (usually File download) then click the Export to portfolio button.


  4. Choose the export format (usually Spreadsheet) then Next, then Continue.


  5. The content will be plain text in a spreadsheet and will not include any pictures.
    If you wish to export the pictures from your glossary entries, you will need to right click and click Save image as… (for PC) or Control + click (for Mac) for each glossary entry picture individually.
    eg

Glossary - main entry

Using the glossary activity in a topic ideally consists of 4 stages, in a looped process.

1. Plan  |  2. Build  |  3. Test  |  4. Administer  | |  Support 

glossary iconGlossaries give students the opportunity to create their own content and are a powerful tool for critical thinking, collaboration and sharing. 

The glossary can also become a legacy or resource for future topics. It is a product that could potentially be converted into a publishable resource (eg create your own textbook). 

Good practice guides and tip sheets

Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to teaching-related resources are provided below. 

Facilitating Student-Teacher interaction in FLO


1. Plan your glossary

The glossary tool enables participants (students) to create and maintain a list of definitions or to collect and organise resources/information. If the glossary auto-linking filter is enabled, entries will be automatically linked where the concept works and/or phrases appear within the topic.

A teacher can allow comments on entries (eg peer review, additional information). Entries can also be rated by teachers or students (peer evaluation). Ratings can be aggregated to form a final grade which is recorded in the Gradebook.

Glossaries have many uses, such as:

  • a collaborative bank of key terms
  • a 'getting to know you' space where new students add their name and key details
  • a 'handy tips' resource of best practice in a practical subject
  • a sharing area of useful videos, images or sound files
  • a revision resource of facts to remember


2. Build your glossary

You have planned your glossary. Now you are ready to set up your glossary. Students will be able to create an entry and add comments (if you choose Yes), but will not be able to rate an entry without further steps (see Glossary - optional settings).

Create a glossary activity
  1. In the topic, click Turn editing on 
     
  2. In the week/module where you want to add the glossary, click Add an activity or resource  


  3. Select Glossary and click Add

  4. Give the glossary a Name and Description

  5. Under Entries, amongst other options you can choose to allow comments (default is No)
    allow comments

  6. Under Appearance, select Display format. There are 7 display formats: 
    • Simple, dictionary style - No authors are displayed and attachments are shown as links
    • Continuous without author - Entries are displayed one after another without any separation apart from the editing icons
    • Full with author - A forum-like display format showing the author's data and with attachments shown as links
    • Full without author - A forum-like display format without authors and with attachments shown as links
    • Encyclopedia - As for "Full with author" but attached images are shown inline
    • Entry list - Concepts are listed as links
    • FAQ - The words QUESTION and ANSWER are appended to the concept and definition respectively  



      Timeline block: Using the 'Expect completed on' date in the Activity completion section will show a date to students in the Timeline block.

  7. Click the Save and display button

  8. Click on the Browse by category tab (1), then the Edit categories button (2). Adding categories to a glossary means you can apply them to entries (and have more than one) which makes for easier searching/navigation
    Clicking on the 'browse by category' tab brings the 'edit categories' button 

  9. Click Add Category, and name your category

    The settings described in this step and the step below.

  10. Use the Automatically link this category drop-down menu to select whether or not you would like to automatically link the category. For more information about auto-linking, see Set up auto-linking in a glossary entry

  11. Click on the Save changes button. Repeat steps 9 & 10 as required (you can also return to this at any time).

  12. The categories you create will allow users the option to browse by the glossary by category
Optional settings

See the following links for more options about using the Glossary activity:



3. Test your glossary

To make sure your glossary works as expected, create a test entry (this can be deleted once you are happy with the result).

Add a glossary entry

  1. Click the Add a new entry button

  2. Fill in the required fields

  3. Click Save changes 

  4. Once your entry has been added, try searching for the entry. In the search box type in the name of your entry

  5. Click search
    search glossary box

  6.  Your entry should now appear. To delete the entry press the trash icon. You can also preview the content by previewing it as a student.


4. Administer your glossary

In order to administer your glossary, you can use a variety of functions (listed below). You can moderate entries, set up ratings, import and export entries.

The export and import items are near the bottom of the list. In this picture they are marked with a red border.Export and import glossary entries

When a topic is rolled over, only the settings are copied over - glossary entries (like most student contributions) are not included. However, you can export the entries from one glossary and import them to another (eg. if you have a glossary of relevant terms/definitions). To do this:

  1. Open the glossary you wish to export entries from

  2. Click on the cog in the top right corner of the glossary tool, and select Export entries

  3. Click the Export entries to file button, and when prompted, save the file.

  4. Open the glossary you wish to import entries into.

  5. Click on the cog in the top right corner of the glossary tool, and select Import entries. Whoever does the importing will be listed as the author of all the imported entries.

  6. Upload the glossary, choose the destination of the imported entries (either the glossary you are in or a new glossary), and tick the import categories box (if needed).

You are advised to request support from your local eLearning support team to do this, as there are some considerations/limitations to this process. For example, the following features cannot be imported:

  • Student-created entries – their names will not come across (a good thing)
  • Comments on entries
  • Unused categories


Exporting content from the FLO glossary

The glossary tool in FLO/Moodle has no corresponding equivalent tool in Canvas.

However, you can export the entries from a FLO glossary as a text file (that you may wish to reuse in Canvas via another tool such as pdf, an H5P object etc). 


To export content from the glossary tool:

  1. Open the glossary you wish to export entries from. 

  2. Click on the cog in the top right corner of the glossary tool, and select Export entries.

  3. Select a format (usually File download) then click the Export to portfolio button.

  4. Choose the export format (usually Spreadsheet) then Next, then Continue.

  5. The content will be plain text in a spreadsheet and will not include any pictures.
    If you wish to export the pictures from your glossary entries, you will need to right click and click Save image as… (for PC) or Control + click (for Mac) for each glossary entry picture individually.
    eg


  Training and support

  Troubleshooting

Support

Contact your local eLearning support team 

Glossary - optional settings

1. Plan  |   2. Build  3. Test   | 4. Administer   | |   Support  

glossary iconThis entry relates to the Glossary activity.

Glossary has some optional settings which you can use, depending on the glossary's purpose and what you want students to do.


Moderate glossary entries before they are published

  1. Edit your glossary's settings


  2. Open the Entries section and, change Approved by default to No



  3. Click Save and display

  4. To moderate glossary entries, view the list of glossary entries, and click on the Waiting approval link in the top right corner of the page.



Set up ratings in a glossary

You may wish students to rate other students' work (peer assess). If making this part of the assessment, you could then view the ratings and determine an overall rating for a student. Glossary entries can be rated using a scale. By default, only teaching staff can rate glossary entries, though students can be given permission to do so if desired (see step 2 below). Any ratings given are recorded in the Gradebook.

If you set up glossaries for rating, the glossary item will automatically appear in the Gradebook. Otherwise, if you want to assess the glossary you will need to manually add it to the Gradebook.

  1. Edit the settings of the glossary you wish to set up ratings for
    click to edit glossary

  2. Under Ratings, check the Roles with permission to rate list. If you want students to rate posts, you will need to add Student to this list. To do this, contact your local eLearning support team 

  3. Set the Aggregate type
    • Average of ratings (default) – useful if there is more than one post/one marker
    • Count of ratings: The number of rated items becomes the final grade. Note that the total cannot exceed the maximum grade for the activity
    • Maximum rating: The highest rating becomes the final grade
    • Minimum rating: The lowest rating becomes the final grade
    • Sum of ratings: All ratings are added together. Note that the total cannot exceed the maximum grade for the activity

  4. Set the Scale Type:
    • If you change the type to Scale, change the scale to Non-graded pass so no Maximum points can be set
    • If you tick the box Restrict ratings to items with dates in this range: you will need to set the dates (From, To)
    • If leave the type as Point, you can set the Maximum points (default is 100)
      Note: You can leave the default at 100, as if you set the weighting of the final grade for this assessment in Gradebook, the grade will be automatically scaled down

  5.   If you tick the box Restrict ratings to items with dates in this range: you will need to set the dates (From, To)
     

  6. Click Save and display


Set up auto-linking in a glossary entry

If the glossary auto-linking filter is enabled, entries will be automatically linked where the concept works and/or phrases appear within the topic.  
These steps must be repeated for each entry for which auto-linking is desired.

  1. Open your glossary and click on the Add a new entry button

  2. Enter the entry's Concept and Definition, along with any relevant Categories, Keywords and Attachments 

  3. Under the Auto-linking heading, enable auto-linking by selecting the check box beside This entry should be automatically linked 
    The Auto-linking section contains one setting   

  4. Click Save changes 

Enable auto-linking in an existing glossary entry

To enable auto-linking in an existing glossary entry, identify the relevant entry in the glossary and select the cog icon to the right of the entry.  Enable auto-linking as in step 3 above.

    select the edit cog beside the relevant entry 

Glossary - troubleshooting

1. Plan  |   2. Build  |  3. Test   | 4. Administer  ||  Support

quiz iconThis entry relates to the Glossary activity.

Questions/problems


Students can't comment on glossary entries

Edit your glossary's settings. Under the Entries heading, make sure Allow comments on entries is set to Yes.

     'Allow comments on entries' is the second to last option in this section. The default option is 'no'.

GRADEBOOK

Gradebook - add a manual grade item

Gradebook iconThis entry relates to the Gradebook.

Manual grade items can be used to record grades for activities that are not undertaken through FLO (eg contribution to tutorial discussion, oral presentation). Most FLO activities you set up will appear in the Gradebook automatically (note that if you set up a forum and want to grade it, you will have to set it to be rated).


Steps

    1. In the Gradebook, click on the Setup tab, then the Gradebook setup link
      Gradebook setup tab
    2. Click on the Add grade item button, which will appear under the list of assessments
      add grade item

    3. Give the item a Name

    4. Set a Maximum grade
      item name and maximum grade

    5. Click the Save changes button 

Gradebook - build and edit a checklist for online marking (assignments and forums)

gradebook icon

This entry relates to the Gradebook.

You can design and use checklists to mark assignments and forums online.

See also Mark in FLO using a checklist (assignments)

Please note: Currently, the checklist can only be used in marking assignments (not forums).


Build a checklist

  1. Before you can build a checklist, you need to set up the assignment/forum for online marking using a checklist

  2. Give your checklist a name (required) and description (optional)
    name and description

  3. Add a name for your group in the Click to edit group area
    edit group name

  4. Add a description for your item in the Click to edit item area
    edit item

  5. To add more items, click the +Add item button
    add item button

  6. To add more groups, click the +Add group button
    add group button

  7. Select options for your checklist
    checklist options

  8. Click the Save checklist and make it ready button


Edit a checklist

To edit a checklist (prior to opening the assignment for submissions):

  1. Open the activity

  2. Select Advanced grading from the Actions menu cog
 Advanced grading

  1. On the Advanced grading page, click Edit the current form definition
    Text

Description automatically generated 

  2. To edit, click on the group name or checklist item (see step 3 onwards under Build a checklist above). To delete an item, click the cross icondelete icon

  3. Once you have finished making changes, click the Save button


Student view

Students can view the checklist (Grading criteria) before they submit their assignment on the Submission status screen:

checklist student view

Gradebook - build and edit a marking guide for online marking (assignments and forums)

gradebook icon

This entry relates to the Gradebook.

You can design and use marking guides to mark assignments and forums online.

See also Mark in FLO using a marking guide (assignments and forums)

 


Build a marking guide

  1. Before you can build a marking guide, you need to set up the assignment or forum for online marking using a marking guide

  2. Give your marking guide a name (required) and a description (optional)
    name and description

  3. Add a name for the criterion in the Click to edit criterion name area
    edit criterion name

  4.  Add a description for students – type in the Click to edit area. You can also add a description for the markers (if required)
    description for students

  5. Allocate a mark for the criterion, type a number into the Click to edit area for Maximum score
    maximum score

  6. Click the Add criterion button to add extra criterion
    add criterion

  7. Move your criterion up and down using the arrows, or delete (x)
    move or delete

  8. At Frequently used comments, type in the Click to edit area to enter a comment, then click the +Add frequently used comments button until you have finished entering the comments you want markers to use
    frequently used comments

  9. Select options for your marking guide
    marking guide options

  10. Click the Save marking guide and make it ready button

 


Edit a marking guide

Edit a marking guide (prior to opening the assignment for submissions)

  1. Open the activity
  2. Select Advanced grading from the Actions menu cog

3. On the Advanced grading page, click Edit the current form definition
4. Once you have finished making changes, click the Save button




Student view

Students can view the marking guide (Grading criteria) before they submit their assignment on the Submission status screen:

student view of marking guide

Gradebook - build and edit a rubric for online marking (assignments and forums)

gradebook icon

This entry relates to the Gradebook.

You can design and use rubrics to mark assignments and forums online. 

See also Mark in FLO using a rubric (assignments and forums)

Good practice guides and tip sheets

Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to assessment-related resources are provided below. 

Rubrics and marking guides in FLO | Constructive alignment in FLO | Designing holistic rubrics | Negotiated assessment



Build a rubric

  1. Before you can build a rubric, you need to set up the assignment/forum for online marking using a rubric

  2. Give your rubric a name (required) and a description (optional)
    name and description

  3. Add criterion in the Click to edit criterion area
    Add criterion

  4. Add performance standards in the Click to edit level areas
    add performance standard

  5. To add more performance standards, click the Add level button
    add more performance standards

  6. Add marks per performance standard – click the points areas
    add marks per performance standard

  7. To add extra criterion, click the Add criterion button
    Add criterion button

  8. Move your criterion up and down using the arrows, or delete (x). You can copy a criterion (with performance standard and marks) via the duplicate icon – the copy will appear at the end of the list
    move and duplicate criterion

  9. Select options for your rubric
    Rubric options

  10. Click the Save rubric and make it ready button



Edit a rubric

  1. Open the activity

  2. Select Advanced grading from the Actions menu cog
    advanced grading menu

  3. On the Advanced grading page, click Edit the current form definition
    edit the current form definition

  4. Once you have finished making changes, click the Save button



Student view

Students can view the rubric (Grading criteria) before they submit their assignment on the Submission status screen:

student view of rubric