The Timed Assignments feature allows you to create a Drop Box and set it up so that students will have a limited time in order to submit an assignment. This is a great feature when you would like students to work on a final paper or assignment but only give each student a limited time period (eg; two hours) to do so. A standalone Drop Box and a Drop Box linked to an event in Schedule Builder can be setup as timed assignments. However, the timed assignment feature cannot be enabled on a Drop Box that is set up for group submissions, and vice versa.
Once the timed assignment feature has been enabled, the time limit set, and the instructional file uploaded, students can engage in the following Timed Drop Box workflow:
- A student clicks the Unlock and Start Timer button to start the process.
- A warning page is displayed, like the one before taking a timed and graded quiz. The warning page contains the following:
- The amount of time in minutes that the student has to submit the file into the Drop Box.
- A warning that sharing the file in any way is a violation of the School's academic ethics policy.
- The student clicks the PROCEED button to continue.
- The timer starts and the instructional file students are to use along with the assignment instructions are displayed to the student.
- The student downloads the instructional file.
- The system sends an email to the student that they have until a certain date/time to submit the file.
- On the student main Drop Box page, an Unlocked until [date, time] message is displayed. There is no active countdown timer on the page.
This Quick Look on the CTL Blog gives a visual demonstration of the Timed Drop Box option.
Note: If a student is unable to upload their assignment due to technical difficulties, you can choose to upload the file on their behalf.