Feature Enhancement API change so that Assignments creates 'internal' rather than 'external' Gradebook entries. This gives more flexibility and editing capability to the gradebook entry from within the Gradebook, and provides a less fragile Assignment to Gradebook integration.
Assignments Tool enhancement for 2.4 - Assignment to GB Integration change
With the advent of comments in Gradebook, handling gradebook entries created by the Assignment tool become more complicated when changes are made due to potentials for data loss. Instructors have also requested more control over gradebook entries that have been created by Assignments. The current API used by Assignments to create gradebook entries creates them as 'external' gradebook entries, which limits the editing capabilities for Assignment created gradebook entries from within Gradebook.
Instructors may change an Assignment to point to a different gradebook. It could be the change removes the last associated assignment to the gradebook entry, leaving a 'dangling' gradebook entry. Automatically removing the gradebook entry is fragile, and though grades wouldn't be lost (they still remain with each submission), comments entered into the gradebook entry would be lost. The current API creates gradebook entries from Assignments as 'external' entries. External entries cannot be removed from Gradebook. This is different than how MessageCenter functions, where 'internal' gradebook entries are created.
Assignments will change for 2.4 to use a different API to create gradebook entries. Gradebook entries will be created as internal rather than external, and thus can be fully edited (and removed) from within the Gradebook.
- When an Assignment is moved to another Gradebook entry, such that the original Gradebook entry no longer has any associated Assignments, the dangling Gradebook entry will not be automatically deleted. The Instructor can remove the dangling Gradebook entry from within the Gradebook
- When an Assignment is moved to another gradebook entry, grades for submissions associated with the Assignment will be removed from the original gradebook entry.
- If a change is made in Gradebook to a grade that came from Assignments, the grade in Assignments will be updated.
- Assignment created gradebook entries can be edited just as an assignment created in Gradebook can be. Comments can be added, grades can be changed, the gradebook entry can be deleted, etc.
- Deleting an Assignment created gradebook entry does not delete the associated Assignment(s).
- With the API change, if an Assignment has an associated Gradebook entry, then changes to a submission grade in the Gradebook tool changes the grade for that submission in the Assignment tool.