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For classrooms that engage in a back-and-forth student-teacher work flow for assignment distribution, draft review, revisions and grading, here’s an idea on how to streamline that process using Webspiration Classroom™ service. The web-based tools that Webspiration Classroom offers can help cut back on the amount of loose-leaf papers that students and teachers need to haul to-and-from the classroom. It can also create new ways for teachers to easily provide students feedback on assignments quickly and efficiently, guiding students throughout their learning process. So, keep reading to improve the student-teacher work flow process in your classroom!

In this Quick Lesson, you will:

• create an assignment online
• post or distribute an assignment to your students
• instruct your students to retrieve and turn in an assignment
• and provide feedback and return assignments to your students in Webspiration Classroom.

Create an Assignment

Create an assignment from scratch in either the Diagram or Outline View or use an existing document, such as one of the English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies or Thinking Skills templates found in Webspiration Classroom. Any of these templates may also be modified to better support your curriculum objectives and/or your students’ individual needs.

TIP: Use the Comments section of the Collaboration Panel to provide instructional guidance for the assignment.

Give Assignment

There are two basic ways you can give a Webspiration Classroom assignment to your students:

1. by posting in your assignments folder or school template folder in Starter Docs
2. or by distributing a copy of the document to each student.

In our last Quick Lesson titled “QUICK LESSON: Improve Lesson Distribution in Webspiration Classroom,” I provided detailed information on how to do both of these tasks. Below are a few quick instructions on how to post and distribute an assignment, as well as how to create a new school template:

1. Post an Assignment
   • Select “Post Assignments” under “Assignments” in the top menu.
   • Name your assignment and click “Rename.”
   • Create a description and click “Post.”
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2. Distribute an Assignment
   • Select “Distribute Assignment” under “Assignments” in the top menu.
   • Enter the student user name + Org ID or email address.
   • Add an optional message by checking “Notify Recipient” and then click “Share.”
     
     TIP: It’s a good idea to send your students a notification of the assignment. Select the “Notify Recipients” check box. Notify recipients and type in a short message. Each student will receive a message from you in their Message Center or email, if your school has it. This message will have a link directly to your assignment document.
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3. Create a School Template
   • Open or create a document.
   • Select “Make Template” under “Tools” in the top menu.
   • Name and describe your template and select the “School” button.

Instruct Students to Retrieve an Assignment

Student can easily retrieve the assignment you’ve provided through the Webspiration Classroom Document Manager by following one set of the instructions below:

1. Get a Posted Assignment
   • Go to the Webspiration Classroom Document Manager.
   • Click on “Starter Docs” in the left tab.
   • Open the “Assignments” folder.
   • Go to the your teacher’s folder.
   • Click on the assignment and open.
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2. Get a Distributed Assignment
   • Go to the Webspiration Classroom Document Manager.
   • Find the distributed assignment’s document title.
   • Check the box to the left of the document.
   • Select the “Open” icon from the top menu.
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3. Get a School Template
   • Go to your Document Manager.
   • Select the “Starter Docs” tab.
   • Open the “Templates” folder for your school.
   • Open your template.

Have Students Turn in their Assignments

Students can turn in a copy of their assignment by simply clicking on “Submit Assignment” under the “Assignments” menu. This allows students to turn in their work as soon as they are done with it. The student will be prompted to rename the document, then asked to select your name from the Teachers/Faculty listing before they click “Share.” In your Document Manager, you will find their document with a purple status symbol, signaling that the student has turned in the assignment and it’s ready for you to review. The student’s work will also be time stamped so that you will know if he or she has turned in the assignment on time.

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Return an Assignment

Use the “Comments” section to provide students with feedback. Use General Comments to offer your overall thoughts on the assignment or get more detailed with Topic-specific comments. Then return this assignment with your comments to your student by clicking “Return Assignment” under the “Assignments” menu. In your Document Manager, the status symbol will change to green, signaling that you have returned a copy of the assignment with your feedback.

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Webspiration Classroom’s electronic Document Manager and student-teacher work flow process will help you and your students keep track of assignments, save time and even cut back on paper waste. This process can be done multiple times for rough drafts and final projects. The time stamp on submitted assignments will make it easy for you to see if students have turned in their work on time. Plus, the status symbol in the Document Manager will help you keep track of assignments that you’ve received and returned.

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For more information on how to improve the student-teacher work flow process in Webspiration Classroom, visit our Help Center at http://www.webspirationclassroom.com/classroom-getting-started/assignments while logged-in to your account.

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Sarah Cargill
Thinkspiration Ambassador, Inspiration Software

Social Media Specialist for Inspiration since 11/12. Loves STEM, environmental education, visual learning and all things related to people overcoming challenges!

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