Google Drive Assignment (Instructor Guide)

Please note: Google Drive Assignments is only available to institution courses. It is not available in personal courses. If you are interested in licensing CN, please contact info@thecn.com.

Instructors can create a Google Drive Assignment from two places: Task tool and GradeBook. The assignment creation process is almost the same.

We recommend instructors to use the Task tool to give students detailed instructions and show the assignment submission link upfront to students. In this tutorial, we are going to show how to create a Google Drive Assignment from the Task tool.

Step1: Create or edit a task

Step2: Create the Google Drive Assignment SmartLink. For detailed instructions on creating tasks and SmartLinks, please refer to this article. 

Step3: Select “Prompt Students to Submit a Google Drive Assignment” from the action list.

Step4: Add a new GradeBook Item for this assignment.

The assignment creation form will then show up. On the form, “Google Drive Assignment” is already selected as the default submission type. Select one of the following three options:

Option 1: Generate Google Docs Template: Instructors select a Google Doc file from their Google Drive as a template. When students work on the assignment, they will get their own Google Doc copy. You access their Google Docs file to grade.

Option 2: Upload File from Google Drive: students will be prompted to upload a file from their Google Drive to CN. Instructors will need to download the student's file to grade.

Option 3: Link to File from Google Drive: students will be prompted to select a file from their own Google Drive. Instructors access their Google Docs file to grade.

Complete the entire form and click the ADD ITEM button. The assignment has now been created.

Students Submit Assignment and Instructors Grade Submissions

Case1: If the assignment is set to Generate Google Docs Template, when students click the assignment SmartLink, they see this pop-up window.

Click Open Google Docs Assignment will generate their own Google Docs copy and take them there to edit it. Once students generate their own Google Docs copy, the blue SUBMIT will become active. When students are ready to submit the assignment, they click the button, a submission entry will appear in the course DropBox, where their instructor can click the link to directly access the corresponding student copy.

Instructors can also go to their Google Drive to view student copies following this folder hierarchy: Google Drive>>course folder >> assignment folder.

Please note: institutions may set up a school-wide Google Drive folder to host all student Google assignment copies. Please read this article for details. If your institution set up the school-wide Google Drive folder, student copies will reside in the school Google Drive, instead of the instructor’s. 

Case 2: If the assignment is set to Upload File from Google Drive, when students click the assignment SmartLink, they see this pop-up window.

They simply click the Upload File from Google Drive link to select a file from their Google Drive and submit the assignment. A copy of the file will then be uploaded to CN. A new submission entry will appear in the course DropBox, where their instructor needs to download the file to view it. 

Case 3: If the assignment is set to Link to File from Google Drive, when students click the assignment SmartLink, they see this pop-up window. 

They simply click the Link to File from Google Drive link to select a file from their Google Drive and submit the assignment. A new submission entry will appear in the course DropBox, where their instructor can click the Google Drive link to access the student file.