Overview
Good news: Harmonize’s best tools and features are now available for assignments! With Harmonize Assignments, you can:
- Get video, audio, and screen recording! Students can upload documents and images, submit text, or record audio, video, and screen captures right within Harmonize. They can even do combinations of these modes in a single assignment submission.
- Provide detailed feedback for documents, images, and video. Harmonize makes grading easier for all types of assignment submissions.
- Use AI to save time and create better discussions. We offer AI integrations to help you generate unique prompts and create rubrics. You can even enable AI Coaching for your rubrics so that students can receive real-time writing feedback that supports self-reflection and revision.
Interactive Tutorial
Use the interactive tutorial below to learn how to create an Individual Assignment in Harmonize. Some tips:
- Turn the volume up! Alternatively, you can mute the demo to view captions.
- Get ready to interact! If you see a flashing purple dot, click it to move forward.
Watch the interactive demo below to learn more.
Create an Assignment
- Set up a Harmonize assignment the way you normally would in your school's learning management system.
- In the content picker, select Assignment.
- Add Instructions for your assignment into the textbox or use Generate Prompt to get AI assistance.
- Consider changing the complexity level of your assignment to suit your students' needs. Each level offers very different kinds of activities.
- Create a rubric in Harmonize if you would like students to receive AI coaching on their drafts. To create a rubric, you will first click on Generate Focus Areas.
- Consider using AI Coaching so your students can receive feedback on their work based on your rubric and then make changes before submission.
- When you're happy with the assignment, click Publish.
Configure Additional Settings in the Editor
To access the editor during assignment creation, choose Configure Additional Options at the final step instead of publishing. Or click Configure Manually at any time.
After opening the editor, you will be presented with a number of options presented on four different tabs. The tabs and options are covered below.
Tab 1: Instructions
The Instructions for your discussion will be displayed to your students. To create your instructions, you can copy and paste from pre-existing discussions, use our tools to create a prompt from scratch, or use the AI Brainstorming tool to get you started.
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[1] Edit Dates. Set an open/close date and time using your timezone. See Setting Assignment Dates.
- If a topic should always be open, leave the fields blank.
- If this topic is tied to an LMS assignment then the dates may not be editable.
- [2] Generate Prompt. Save time and discover new possibilities with our AI Brainstorming tool. See Harmonize Brainstorm.
- [3] Add Text: Enter the discussion prompt or assignment description in the text area. You can use additional formatting to customize the description.
- [4] Add Media and Files. Upload images and other files like slide decks and lecture notes.
- [5] Other options. Record audio/video, embed links from the web, create a poll, schedule a meeting, and more.
- [6] Generate Focus Areas. Help your students understand how you will be grading. We can even help you generate a rubric. See Harmonize Rubrics.
Tab 2: Assignment Settings
Additional settings are available on the Assignments tab.
Here you will find the following settings:
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TurnItIn Settings. Toggle this on to send submissions to TurnItIn.
- Note: Only text posted in the text box will be sent to TurnItIn. Attachments will not be sent to TurnItIn.
- Default CC Language. Instructors teaching World Languages may wish to change the captioning language for videos.
- Video & Audio Duration Limits + Screen Capture Duration Limit. Extend limits for longer recordings and presentations.
Tab 3: Peer Review
If you want to enable Peer Review, see Create a Peer Review Assignment.
Tab 4: Milestone Due Dates & Autograding
Additional settings are also available on the Milestone Due Dates & Auto-grading tab.
Here you will find the following settings:
- Turn on Participation Auto-Grading. Toggle auto-grading on or off.
- Give Credit for Late Participation. By default, this setting is off, but you can toggle it on to allow late work to count for credit. This setting is only visible when auto-grading is enabled.
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Minimum Word Counts. Set minimum word counts for assignment posts and peer reviews.
- Note: Only text entered in the text box will count toward the minimum word count.
- Points. Adjust the points given to the assignment post vs. the peer reviews. This setting is only visible when auto-grading is enabled.
Grade an Assignment
All of Harmonize's critique tools are available to you when you grade:
- Harmonize Annotations (for uploaded documents)
- Timestamped video feedback (for video and screen recording)
- Drawing and commenting on Images (for all image file types)
You can even turn on auto-grading and set minimum word counts (though note that only words entered in the textbox will count).
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can I add peer review to my assignment?
- Yes, you can do this by toggling on Peer Review on the Peer Review tab. See Create a Peer Review Assignment.
Q. Can I use a rubric I already have?
- If the rubric is inside Harmonize in another topic in the course, then yes. Just click "Select Existing Rubric."
- Note: Canvas users can attach any Canvas rubric to any Harmonize assignment, and it will be available for grading in the SpeedGrader. However, these rubrics cannot be used for AI Coaching.
Q. Can I set a minimum word count?
- Yes, you can set a minimum word count for an assignment on the Milestones Due Dates & Auto-Grading tab in the editor.
- Note: The minimum word count will only apply to text submitted in the Harmonize textbox. It does not work for uploaded documents.
Q. How do Milestones work for assignments? Can I have more than one?
- By default, assignments only have one milestone. However, you can always add additional milestones using the Milestones Due Dates & Auto-Grading tab. This might be useful if you want students to keep a journal with successive entries or if you'd like them to reflect on work after submitting it.