The Google Assignment activity is an alternative to the Assignment activity native to AsULearn allowing students to create and submit work through Google Drive. Copies of submissions will be saved in corresponding folders in Drive accessible by both instructor and student. Grading within the Google Assignments interface allows instructors to create rubrics and comment banks, and provide meaningful feedback to students within the Google Assignment interface. Grades are automatically incorporated into AsULearn gradebook.
Use Your App State Gmail Account!
For best results, use Google Chrome. This LTI tool requires you to be logged into your @appstate.edu Google account only in your Chrome browser. If you are signed into multiple Google accounts in the same browser while using this activity, unpredictable results may occur.
Using Google Assignments
1. Open the More menu in the Settings Bar at the top of your course page.
2. Select "LTI External Tools" from the list.
3. Click the switch button across from "Google Assignments" in the "Show in activity chooser" column.
1. Return to your course page, and turn editing on.
2. Open the Activity Chooser.
3. Select "Google Assignments".
4. On the next page, click the Select Content button.
5. Click the Link button to begin linking your App State Gmail account.
Important Note
Be sure to use your Appstate Gmail account for this step.
After selecting your Appstate account and clicking the Link button, you will see a screen from Google telling you what types of access the assignment tool will have with your Google Drive.
6. If you are comfortable proceeding, click the Link button.
1. If you followed the steps above, the Google Assignments setup page will open in a window.
This is where you will make the settings for this assignment.
From this page you can:
- Enable the optional Check plagiarism feature. This is a different plagiarism checker than the Turnitin assignment activity, and only searches resources available to Google. Learn more about originality reports from Google.
- Attach an existing file from your Google Drive to the assignment (to serve as a template or prompt for the assignment) using the Attach button.
- If you do not have a file ready to share, you can use the Create button to make one at this point.
- Once a student opens the Google Assignment, they will receive a copy of anything that you attach. They will then be able to edit the document and return it to the assignment for grading.
- If you have general support or instructional documents attached to the assignment, they should be linked in AsULearn instead of attached here.
- Set the maximum points for the assignment.
- This will be linked to your AsULearn gradebook.
- Set the due date for the assignment.
- This date will only show inside the assignment. It does not show on the AsULearn calendar, so make a manual event on your course calendar if you want it to appear there for students.
- Build a rubric here for grading the assignment.
- Rubrics can be reused for different Google Assignments.
2. Clicking the Create button will return you to the Adding external tools page.
The text "✔ Content selected" will now display next to the Select Content button.
3. Add the Activity name, then update any remaining settings you want to change.
4. Click the Save and return to course button to complete the assignment setup.
Tips, Extra Info, and Limitations
- Google Assignments do not work well for group assignments, since each student’s assignment will need to be graded individually – group grading is not an option.
- To create multiple Google Assignments, each assignment must be created separately. You should not duplicate the activity with the option in AsULearn.
- You will need to recreate Google Assignments each semester as Google's service does not allow them to restore properly from backups.
- All Google Assignments must be created in AsULearn via this activity. These are not the same as assignments created at assignments.google.com
- You will not be able to edit the Total Points after creating the assignment. This points total will sync with your Gradebook. If you change the point total in either the Gradebook or through the Google Assignments the link may break preventing your students from accessing it. If you MUST change point values, delete the assignment and create a new one.
Additional Support
Google offers their own support articles for using a Google Assignment: https://support.google.com/edu/assignments/answer/9069281?hl=en