We have looked at how we can add graded activities to a Moodle course so that they can be awarded a mark and used with the Gradebook. This is the main way in which we grade an assessment, as the students need to complete something in order to be graded (such as an assignment, quiz, discussion, or any other Moodle activity). We can also use the assignment tool to provide feedback on a student's assignment even if the students do not submit any work online, such as class presentations or practical work.
However, what if we would like a grade that is not linked to an activity to be added to the Gradebook? Perhaps students receive an additional grade based on their attendance in lessons. You might want the grade to be in the Gradebook for the final course grade but you do not want it to appear as an activity within the Moodle course. This is where a Graded item, added directly into the Moodle Gradebook, can be useful. The following steps indicate the steps to be followed:
- From the main course screen, find the Administration block and click on Grades to get to the Gradebook.
- Go into the Categories and items screen (click on the Categories and items tab on the top of the page if the tabs are available. Otherwise, click on the drop-down list and click on Simple view under the categories and items heading).
- Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the Add grade item. The following screenshot will appear:
- Give the graded item a name (add in the
Attendance gradetitle).There are four Grade types available for graded items:
- Value: This enables a number grade to be awarded. If this is used, the maximum and minimum grades possible can be set. For this example, we will keep the default options of Minimum grade
0.00and Maximum grade100.00). - Scale: This allows you to choose a scale that is available within the course in order to grade this item. If this is chosen, the scale's drop-down list becomes available to enable us to choose the scale we would like to use.
- Text: This does not allow any grade to be used, but written feedback can be added. This will not be used in Gradebook calculations.
- None: This means that no grade is assigned to this item.
- Value: This enables a number grade to be awarded. If this is used, the maximum and minimum grades possible can be set. For this example, we will keep the default options of Minimum grade
- Click on Save changes at the bottom of the screen and go back to the main course screen.