Smartsite 2.4.x summer upgrade

Key Feature Enhancements and Bug Fixes for Smartsite Summer 2007 2.4.x upgrade

Bug Fixes

  • Resources: fixes forced email notification when editing files

More seamless integration between Gradebook and other tools

Continued and/or improved integration with:

  • Tests & Quizzes
  • Assignments
  • Forums

New Assignments Features

New features in Assignments tool include:

  1. Allow grading of assignment where student has not posted a submission
  2. Allow non-electronic submission type (no attachment or text input required)
  3. Allow faculty to choose to be notified of student submissions (per submission or batched)
  4. Allow faculty to download all submissions, grade, comment, attach or modify submissions and then Upload All
  5. Allow faculty to reorder assignments from the default.

New Gradebook Features

Projected scope of Sakai gradebook 2.5 release work by Indiana team.
Major changes include:

Verified new features with our 2.4.x update:

  • Allow categories and/or weighted categories. (tick)
  • Allow faculty to choose to enter grades by points, percentages, or letter grades associated with percentages. (tick)
  • Ability to import grades using a downloaded spreadsheet template. Moved import individual gradebook item to Add Gradebook Item page. (tick)
  • Better labeling to distinguish gradebook items from assignments (form Assignment tools.) (tick)

Pending verification:

  • Allow instructors to view an individual student's grade report.
  • Allow export course grades in addition to export gradebook.
  • New calculate course grade workflow allowing users to verify to grades before calculating and displaying.
  • Users decision to "include gradebook item in calculation of cumulative scores and course grade" moved to the gradebook item summary/grade page. (tick)
  • Blank grades treated as null (rather than current treatment as 0). (tick)

Future enhancements/features (possibly later this summer or fall):

  • Allow instructor to "see what a student sees".
  • Various layout enhancements.
  • Split gradebook setup and course grade settings into 2 pages.
  • Banner integration for grade submission.
  • Item weighting deferred past summer.