ANGEL Community Hub

Q: A participant checked the box to lock a grade, but could then overwrite/change the grade without unchecking the box. Please let me know if this is a known issue and/or how/why that could happen, as it seems to defeat the purpose of the lock.

A: This is not a glitch. From within the Gradebook an instructor can modify any grades. The lock function is to prevent them from accidentally over-writing a grade by changing the grade in the Lessons tab or by importing a spreadsheet. This is why you can physically over-write on the Enter Grades screen, even if the "Lock" box is checked.

Q: A participant attempted exporting and could see all TAs for the Course in her spreadsheet. She had all of the display boxes for "Only Students" checked before the export. How can she export without TAs, and what if she deletes them in Excel keeps grades there and then wants to import back to the Gradebook? Will grade/student alignment/accuracy be compromised?

A: From the Gradebook, the export function does not have a select "only students" option (figure). You can simply export your entire Gradebook. Once you do you can delete any TA or faculty columns and re-import without any issues, I just tried it and it went without a hitch (figure).

If you are referring to the print feature from the View screen (where you can generate a PDF file) I did that and it only pulled the student data and not any faculty information.

Q: It does not appear that the Gradebook rounds on the .5. Does it do so for final/published grades? I was told that the PSUGB did not round. If an instructor wants to round up, must they make provisions in the Grading Scale? What is the best answer?

A: It does not appear that the Gradebook rounds up or down. I went in and gave students a grade of 85.4, another 85.5 and another 85.6 and that is the grade they got. It also did not round up on the final grade. The grade is what the grade is entered. If an instructor wished to round up he/she can do in when they publish the final grades in the end (they get an option to change grades there) or they can go into the actual assignment and round up the grade there.

The reason for this setup is that not all instructors agree on rounding therefore we had to be specific with our calculations and let the instructors adjust them manually.

Q: Is the Gradebook available in a Resource Library?

A: A resource library is a place for stored course content (quizzes, drop boxes, presentations, papers, etc). Faculty members use resource libraries to store content they used continuously over several courses and or semesters or to share content with other faculty. There is no Gradebook for a resource library. It is simply a place to store course resources.

Q: Some participants had past PSUGB experience and were quick to point out "..I could do this in the PSUGB" or "...that is not what it was like in the PSUGB". I provided the disclaimer that this is a different product and continued to reference it throughout the session. I was under the impression that those who used the PSUGB had been given the opportunity for the earlier/preemptive training that addressed comparison.

A: All individuals who used the PSUGB were offered the opportunity to use the Course Gradebook and most did take us up on it.

Here is a link to the pilot podcast for the ANGEL Community Hub. Note that at the time this was recorded (July '06) we were still referring to the Community Hub as "Liquid ANGEL". ACH: Pilot Podcast.

Note: To watch a reply of the Gradebook session click here.

First off, a great big Thank You to ALL who participated in Thursday's (10/26) session. Without YOU nothing else could have happened. We had folks show up in person from the TLT Training Group, World Campus, Harrisburg, and perhaps other places. I do not have the final roster in front of me to do everyone justice. Additionally, we had folks joining us via Breeze from Abington, Behrend, Hazleton, Worthington-Scranton, Lehigh Valley, York..again I apologize for missing anyone. It's my faulty memory and no slight towards you. Full props will be coming once I gather up all the data.

Also, a big THANK YOU to Rox Toto, and the College of Engineering, for hosting the event. Everything was perfect. The accommodation's, the support, all was spot-on. And another big shout out needs to go to the man who produced and facilitated our gradebook shin-dig, John Spotts. If any of you ever get the opportunity to work with John you'll get top notch technical help and facilitation.