The Media@UCSF plugin for the CLE includes an activity called the Media Assignment. Just like the standard assignment activity, it provides a method for collecting digital files from students for grading and automatically appears in the gradebook.
However, the Media Assignment is designed to only accept media files as a submission. While it is possible for students to upload video files to the standard assignment activity, or submit links to files loaded into UCSF Box, the Media Assignment is a better choice because it removes many of the issues associated with downloading and playing video files, such as large file sizes and video player incompatibilities.
Furthermore, because the Media@UCSF system includes the Capture desktop application, Express Capture webcam recorder, and KMS Go mobile app, students have quick and easy access to recording tools for the assignment.
Additional Help
- Learn more about Media@UCSF: Media@UCSF: Overview.
- Questions and consults: Contact the Learning Tech Group.
To add a Media Assignment activity to your course:
- On the home page of your course, turn Edit mode on.
- Navigate to the topic section in your course where you want the assignment to appear, and click the Add an activity or resource link.
- From the chooser, select Media Assignment and then click OK.
- Provide a Name for the assignment.
- In the Description box, provide instructions for students, including details about grading criteria and your expectations for their video (how long it should be, quality expectations, etc).
- Set Available from and Due Date dates and times, if your assignments have specific time constraints.
- Optional: If you want students to be able to re-upload / change their submission, set Allow re-submitting option accordingly. If you set this option to "Yes," the grader should wait until after the Due Date has passed to begin grading submissions.
- In the Grade group, set a Maximum Grade value.
- Click the Save and return to course button.
The process for students to upload a video to the Media Assignment is very similar to the process that course editors use to upload videos to the course. They have the same options available in the Add New menu and have their own My Media repository to select videos from.
The student submission process is:
- Locate the Media Assignment icon on the course home page, and click to open.
- Review the instructions, then click the Add media submission button.
- Click the Add New button to upload or create a new video.
- Or, click the Embed button next to a video that was previously uploaded.
- Click the Submit media button to complete the submission process.
The submission will now be available to course instructors for grading.
For more information about the media upload process, please review this helpful article.
When the student media submissions are in, it's time for course instructors to begin the grading process. When grading activities like assignments and quizzes, it is always recommended that the scores be set in the activity, and not directly in the gradebook module. This ensures that the link between the gradebook and activity remains intact.
To grade student Media Assignment submissions:
- Locate the Media Assignment icon on the course home page, and click to open.
- Click the Grade Submissions button.
- You will see a list of students and their media submissions. You have two options for grading.
- On the Grade submissions page, locate Allow quick grade box under Optional settings and check it.
- Use this quick grade page to quickly enter comments and select a grade for each video. Click a video to open a pop-up window for review. Just be sure to click the Save feedback button near the bottom if you entered the text.
- Or, click the Grade link to open the student submission on a new page to view, grade, and comment. Click the Save changes button when done with each (The second option gives you more space for typing feedback).
And that's it! After you have saved a student's grade, they can open the Media Assignment again to see their grade and feedback.