Nexus Review: What is the NYU Brightspace Gradebook and why should I use it?

1 hour ago

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Managing student submissions, feedback and grade calculations can be an administrative time sink. The NYU Brightspace Gradebook can streamline these tasks while providing transparency regarding student progress.

Key Features

Automated Grade Calculation: After setup, the Gradebook can calculate final grades based on your grading scheme. This means that it handles complex weighted percentages across distinct grading categories (e.g. Discussions are worth 15% of the overall grade and there are 12 graded discussions) without requiring manual calculation.
Transparent Progress Tracking: Grades can be made visible to students. This provides a clear real-time view of their current standing and individual assignment scores. This transparency helps to manage student expectations and prevents final grade disputes.
Centralized Feedback and Grading: The Gradebook ties separate tools (e.g., assignments, discussions, quizzes) together into an automated calculation engine. It also consolidates student submissions, inline feedback, and grades into a single location. This eliminates the need to manage physical papers and cross-reference emails and spreadsheets.
Custom Configuration: You can customize the gradebook to weight assignments and select what to display to students. The gradebook can also be edited throughout the semester.

Tips for Getting Started

Begin with the Setup Wizard (NYU login required). Note the following key choices:

Consider a Weighted vs Points grading scheme. If your syllabus has language like “Assignments 15%, Participation 20%,” then you want weighted.
Use the “Adjusted Final Grade” feature. This gives you the flexibility to manually adjust any final course grades at the end of the term.
Select the “Drop Ungraded Items” option so unsubmitted future assignments do not prematurely skew student grades downward.
Consider whether or not you want to select the “Display Final Calculated Grade” option. This allows students to see and track their cumulative grade instead of just per-assignment grades.

Then create categories, create items and link assignments, discussions and quizzes (NYU login required) to build out your Gradebook. Make sure to title categories and items with the same language used in your syllabus to minimize confusion.

Resources & Support

First-time users may find the NYU Brightspace Gradebook unintuitive. Despite this, the upfront time investment is worth it for the benefits it provides throughout the semester.

For assistance setting up your course site Gradebook, see the following resources: