How to use single and group assignments in Moodle
Back-to-school tips from ONLYOFFICE
Moodle, an open-source learning management system, is a popular platform used by educators worldwide to create and manage online courses. It offers a wide range of features that allow teachers to design engaging and interactive learning experiences for their students.
The provided Moodle tools include assignments which are crucial in assessing students’ understanding and progress.
In this article, we’ll cover two types of assignments, and find out how to use ONLYOFFICE & Moodle for effective online learning.
Single assignments
Single assignments, as the name suggests, are tasks assigned to individual students. These assignments are designed to assess a student’s understanding of a particular topic or concept, their ability to apply what they’ve learned, or their skills in research, analysis, and problem-solving.
In Moodle, creating a single assignment is straightforward. Teachers can specify the assignment’s name, description, and submission settings, such as the due date, cut-off date, and whether students can resubmit their work.
They can also set the grading method, whether it’s a simple direct grading, a grading scale, or a more complex rubric.
One of the key benefits of single assignments is that they allow teachers to assess each student’s individual understanding and progress. They can provide personalized feedback and guidance, helping students identify their strengths and areas for improvement. Single assignments also encourage students to take responsibility for their learning, as they need to complete the tasks independently.
However, single assignments also come with challenges. For instance, they can be time-consuming for teachers, especially when they have a large number of students. They also require students to have a certain level of self-discipline and time management skills, which can be challenging for some of them.
Group assignments
On the other hand, group assignments are tasks assigned to a group of students. These assignments are designed to assess students’ ability to work collaboratively, their communication and leadership skills, and their understanding of the topic or concept as a group.
In Moodle, creating a group assignment involves similar steps as creating a single assignment. However, teachers need to set up groups first. They can create groups manually, or they can let Moodle automatically create groups based on certain criteria, such as the number of groups or members per group. Once the groups are set up, teachers can assign the task to the groups.
One of the main benefits of group assignments is that they promote collaboration and teamwork. Students can learn from each other, share ideas, and solve problems together. They can also develop important skills, such as communication, leadership, and conflict resolution. Group assignments can also be less time-consuming for teachers, as they only need to grade one submission per group.
However, group assignments also have their challenges. For instance, they require a high level of coordination and communication among group members, which can be difficult in an online setting. They also raise issues of fairness, as some students may contribute more than others, but all group members receive the same grade.
How to create an assignment in Moodle 4
An assignment activity in Moodle allows students to submit their work, either by uploading a file or typing directly on the site.
To add an assignment to a course, go to Dashboard -> Course Name, and activate the Edit mode switcher in the upper right corner.
Click Add an activity or resource next to the section in which you want to place the assignment. Select Assignment from the list of activities.
Add the assignment name and description to explain what students must submit. Expand the settings to select, for example, availability times, how you want them to submit and how you plan to give feedback. You can upload a help or example document from the Additional files area.
Here, you can also check the Group submission settings to have students submit in groups.
ONLYOFFICE + Moodle: docs and assignments
The integration of ONLYOFFICE Docs and Moodle allows working with office files directly within the course structure (by adding the ONLYOFFICE document activity). When participants are able to work with documents in the learning environment with no need to get distracted by other applications, it greatly enhances productivity and involvement in the educational process.
Besides, using the ONLYOFFICE Assign Submission plugin, its possible to create and share assignments in the form of text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and PDF forms.
To do so, just select the ONLYOFFICE document type in the Submission types tab while creating an assignment.
Please note: the ONLYOFFICE Assign Submission plugin requires the main ONLYOFFICE plugin to be installed and integrated with your Moodle platform. Find more information in the Help Center.
Bonus: read about the experience and findings of ONLYOFFICE Customer Care Team who chose Moodle to create a training center.
