Instructor Support for Educational Systems

How do I create an Assignment?

Updated on

This article will explain you can create an Assignment and the possibilities provided by the Assignment tool.

Create an Assignment

Click here to watch a video on how to create an Assignment.

  • Click Course Tools in the navbar of your course.
  • Click Assignments. You will land on the Assignments homepage. Here, you will see an overview of all your assignments.  
  • Click New Assignment.

Important: If you want to create a group assignment, make sure to set up Groups beforehand. This way, students may work on an assignment together and you can assess group assignments. 

  1. Provide the assignment with a title. This is displayed on the Assignments homepage. 
  2. You can indicate the maximum points within the assignment by filling in the Grade Out Of amount. When you enter a score, a new option will appear called In Gradebook. Clicking on it will give you 4 options:
    1. In Gradebook: Will create a new grade item in the Gradebook.
    2. Edit or Link to Existing: Selecting this will give you the option to Create and link to a new grade item or Link to an existing grade item.
    3. Not in Gradebook: The grade will not be added to the Gradebook.
    4. Reset to Ungraded: The assignment will not be graded.

      Make sure that the max. score you fill in here, matches the max. score of the grade item. For more information see here.

  3. Indicate a deadline at Has Due Date. Important: if you select Now as the due date this renders the Properties Assignment type and Submission type unchangeable. By clicking Now, you will set the actual deadline in motion. Make sure to communicate this deadline in advance with your students.  For more information see here.
  4. You can change the availability for assignment by adding a Start Date and/or End Date. Adding either will change the availability before or after these dates respectively depending on the selection made:
    • Visible with access restricted: The assignment will show up in the Assignment List, but will not be accessible to students.
    • Visible with submission restricted: The assignment will be accessible and students will be able to view the assignment information but not submit their work.
    • Hidden: The assignment will not show up on the Assignment List for students.
    • Add availability dates to Calendar: Selecting this will add the date(s) to your course calendar.
  5. You can give Instructions on the assignment by typing them in the HTML-editor box of Instructions.
  6. Include any additional information. You can:
    1. Click File upload to upload a File.
    2. Click Attach Link to Existing Activity to connect the assignment to an Existing Activity in Brightspace.
    3. Click Attach Weblink to place an external Link.
    4. Click Record Audio to upload or record an audio message.
    5. Click Record Video to upload or record a video message.
  7. Hidden from users is turned on by default when you create an assignment. This means that students cannot see the assignment. Deselect the option Hidden from users to make the assignment visible to students.

Are you creating a group assignment? Give the assignment a name that clearly indicates that it concerns a group assignment, to make sure that students hand in their group work at the correct assignment.  

Types of Assignments

Under the tab Submission & Completion you can select the type of assignment and the submission type.

  1. Select the Assignment Type:
    • Click Individual assignment if students must submit individual work and if they are assessed individually. 
    • Choose Group assignment if students must hand in one assignment per group, for which they will all receive the same group mark. Determine the Group Category to specify which groups have access to the assignment. Note: this option is only available if you have set up Groups beforehand.
  2. Select a Submission type. This will determine how students shall hand in their assignments. This could be a: 
    • File submission. Students submit the assignment by uploading it in a file (for example a Word- or PDF-file).
    • Text submission. Students can write and post a text, image or link to their work. A html-editor box provides an area for submission to this assignment type. For example, if students are required to make a web page, they can link it here.
    • On paper submission. Students hand in their assignment via a hard copy.  They do not have to upload it in the Assignment, but by using this option you can still provide and process feedback in the Grade Book. Note: you cannot use Turnitin with this option.
    • Observed in person. You will provide feedback for an assignment done in class, or in a work-group. For example, this could be for a presentation or an assessment. You can process the assignment grade afterwards. Neither you nor the student have to upload a file in the Assignment. This option allows you to process feedback in Grade Book. Note: you cannot use Turnitin with this option. 

Please note: If you intend on using Turnitin for your Brightspace assignment, always select File submission as your Submission type.

'File submission'

  1. Choose the amount of Files Allowed Per Submission. You can allow students to either upload multiple files (Unlimited) or only one (One File).
  2. Select the amount of Submissions allowed per student or group.  You may choose: to save all submission attempts (All submissions are kept), only the most recent attempt (Only the most recent submission is kept), or allow only one submission attempt (Only one submission allowed).
  • If you select the option 'Only the most recent submission is kept' when it concerns group assignments, be sure to communicate this to your students. If students split up the work among themselves and upload the files separately, only the last uploaded file will be saved. If you select the option 'Only one submission allowed' the assignment will be closed as soon as one of the group members has submitted something. Make sure to communicate this clearly to your students as well!  
  • If you want students to submit multiple files, choose 'Unlimited' in combination with 'All submissions are kept'.

'Text submission'

Choose how you would like to receive Submissions

  • If all submission attempts are saved, choose 'All submission are kept';
  • If only the most recent attempts are saved, choose 'Only the most recent submission is kept'; 
  • If students are allowed a single submission attempt, choose 'Only one submission allowed'.

'On paper submission' and 'Observed in person'

With Marked as completed you can select how a completed assignment is registered. This can be done:

  • Manually by learners: the students register the completed assignment themselves in Brightspace. 
  • Automatically on evaluation: the assignment is completed by students once you have assessed it. 
  • Automatically on due date: the assignment is completed by students once the deadline has passed. 

By providing your email address under Notification Email, you will receive an automated email for every student submission to the assignment. Note: separate multiple email addresses with a comma. 

Evaluation and Feedback

Under the Evaluation & Feedback tab you can:

  1.  Add a Rubric.
  2. Enable Annotation Tools in case you want to use Brightspace's Annotation Tool to give inline feedback.
  3. Enable Anonymous Marking in case you want grade anonymously.
  4.  Enable Turnitin by clicking Manage Turnitin.

Creating a Video-assignment

You may include Video-assignments to let students submit a video. For this, the students must first upload a video to Kaltura and then submit it in the assignment. To create a video-assignment, you must select either 'File submission' or 'Text submission' when choosing your submission type. With:

  • File submission: students have to hand in another file, aside from the video (for example a text-file with a description or explanation). Students upload this file in the assignment (for example a Word- or PDF-file) and place the link to the video in the comment section in Kaltura.
  • Text submission: students place the link to the video in Kaltura and they will have the option to add a short summary in the comment section of the assignment. Use this option if students do not need to hand anything else in, other than a video.

Furthermore, the optional settings for video-assignments are the same as for any other assignment.

Video on how to create an Assignment

This video is made by Brightspace supplier D2L. Some screens might have a different look and feel to the Universiteit Leiden Brightspace environment.

Previous Article How do I use Assignments?
Next Article How do I set restrictions for an Assignment and/or set different (due) dates per group or sections of students?