Your institution controls which tools are available in the Original Course View. The gradebook is always available to instructors in the Ultra Course View.
About categories
In the Grade Center, you can use categories to group related columns together and organize the data.
With categories, you can perform these tasks:
- Filter your view of the Grade Center. For example, you can view only assignment columns in the Grade Center grid.
- Calculate grades. For example, you can assign a weight to a category when you calculate final grades with a weighted column.
- Create a smart view. A smart view is a focused look at the Grade Center that shows only the columns that match a set of criteria. For example, you can create a smart view that only displays columns associated with the test category.
- Create a report. You can create a printable report that displays statistics of performance for all of the columns in a certain category.
Eight default categories
By default, these eight categories are created in the Grade Center:
- Assignment
- Blog
- Discussion
- Journal
- Self and Peer
- Survey
- Test
- Wiki—when the tool is available and you created a gradable wiki
When you create a gradable item from the list, a grade column is created automatically for the item in the Grade Center. The column is associated automatically with the correct category.
Create categories
You can create as many categories as needed to organize your Grade Center data. The Categories page in the Grade Center displays the default categories and those you create. Each category's row displays an optional description and the grade columns associated with that category.
When you manually create a grade column, you can associate it with a default or custom category. If you don't, it defaults to No Category.
- In the Grade Center, open the Manage menu and select Categories.
- On the Categories page, select Create Category and type a name and an optional description.
- Select Submit.
To edit or delete a category you created, open its menu. You can't delete a category that has columns associated with it.
View a category and associate columns
In the Grade Center, you can view the columns associated with a category in two ways. You can filter the view of the Grade Center and select a category. The columns associated with the category appear in the grid. The view remains in the Grade Center until you change it or close your browser.
You can also view all categories and associated columns on the Column Organization page. You can move one or more columns to a category, a different category, or no category. Open the page from the Manage menu.
If you didn't associate columns with a category when you created it, you can manually associate columns on the Column Organization page. You can also edit a column's settings.