Update: Grades icons and Enter Grades pages

This month's update to BOLT includes changes in the Grades tool. All icons in Grades are now consistent with the Daylight Experience in BOLT. Additionally, the page when entering grades for a grade item includes the following improvements:

• column widths adjusted to better match the information in the column
• feedback column indicates if feedback has been entered or not and includes a short preview of any entered feedback
• event log column removed and can be accessed via the user's context menu

The Enter Grades page for an assignment submission folder with changes highlighted.

Exempt a Student from Multiple Grade Items

Instructors can now exempt students from a number of grade items at once by using the Bulk edit exemptions option in Enter Grades. This improves upon the new Grade Exemption feature in BOLT.




To exempt a student from multiple grade items at once,

1. In the course, click Coursework.
2. Select Grades.
3. Click Enter Grades.



4. Click on the student's name.

5. Click the drop down arrow.
6. Select Bulk edit exemptions.

7. Select the checkboxes for all the grade items to exempt the student from.
8. Click Save and Close.

NEW in BOLT: Grade Exemptions

Instructors can now use an exemption as a reason why a student has not completed a grade item. Previously, a blank grade could mean the student hadn’t submitted the item, and a zero (0) could mean either exempt, ungraded, or failure.




Having a specific exemption setting supports the differentiation for learners. Instructors can now exempt numeric, selectbox, pass/fail, calculated, formula, and text item types; however, instructors cannot exempt a learner from a final calculated grade or a final adjusted grade.




To exempt a student from a grade item, go to Enter Grades for any grade item and:


1. Select the checkbox beside the student's name.
2. Click Exempt.
3. Click Save.




To remove an exemption, go to Enter Grades for any grade item and:
1. Select the checkbox beside the student's name.
2. Click Unexempt.
3. Click Save.

When an instructor exempts a grade item for a learner, the following pages are affected:
Instructor pages: Enter Grades, Grade User, Grade Category, Grade Item, Import Preview. 


Student pages: My Grades, Class Progress: Summary and Grades tabs

New in BOLT: Include Group & Section in Gradebook Export

You can now include group and section membership for each student in gradebook exports.

When exporting grades from the gradebook, under User Details there is a new option to include group and section membership information for each user. This allows for more detailed analysis of grades outside of BOLT.

To include group or section membership in grade exports,

1. Click Coursework.

2. Select Grades.

3. Click Enter Grades.

4. Click the Export button.

5. Select the data you want to export- select section or group membership under the User Details header if you want to include this information in your export.

New Section and Group Membership options

6. Select the grade items you want to export.

7. Click either Export to CSV or Export to Excel to export the gradebook.

Whenever you make changes to Grades, it is a good idea to export your gradebook before you make any changes. This way if something goes awry, you can revert back to your gradebook prior to the changes you made!

Pearson MyLabs & Mastering for BOLT 2016Fall

Do you use Pearson MyLabs & Mastering products in your course?


Are students completing graded work in the MyLabs system? Would you like to be able to sync those grades over to BOLT easily?


We now have an integration in BOLT to easily sync grades from Pearson MyLabs & Mastering to BOLT Gradebook.

If you want to add the integration to your 2016Fall BOLT course, please request it with our web form here: http://goo.gl/forms/tG38b35eS3


If you want to know more about this integration, search for "Pearson" in the BOLT Help Course.

Did you know you can restore grade items you accidentally deleted?

If you accidentally delete a grade item, you can use the Event Log feature in Manage Grades to restore it.


Go to Coursework > Grades > Manage Grades.


1. Click the More Actions button.


2. Select Event Log.

3. On the Event Log page, look for the name of your deleted grade item.


4. Click the Restore link beside the grade item ID number.

The grade item and its student and grades data will be restored.

BOLT Best Practice: Grades

Best Practices for Working with Grades

	Use simple names. Use simple names for grade items in BOLT. Avoid using special characters and punctuation in grade item names. If you have an assignment you want to call Research Paper - 3, call it Research Paper 3 instead.
	Backup your gradebook. You should back up your gradebook each time you make changes. Do this in BOLT via the Export feature in Grades. If you need to revert to the gradebook prior to changes, you can import your backup.
	Save each page view and save frequently. If you have multiple pages of students in your gradebook, you need to save changes on each page before navigating to the next page. Save your changes frequently to avoid losing any grading work.
	Release final grades. Students will not see their final grades until you release them. You can release a final calculated or final adjusted grade in BOLT. You can release final grades at the end of the semester, or release at the beginning and opt to automatically update final grades as items are graded.

Campus Pack Grade Sync

You can now create grade items and assess students from within blogs, journals, and wikis!

A collage showing the grade and assessment feature now integrated with blogs, journals, and wikis

Just follow the usual process to add a blog, journal, or wiki to your course content and set up the tool.