Manually Enter a Rubric in Harmonize

Overview

Use this workflow if you want to enter your own four-column rubric in Harmonize for a Discussion, Peer Review, or Individual Assignment. Once you create a rubric in any one of these activity types, you can select it in other Harmonize activities in the same course.

Creating a rubric in Harmonize can be helpful when:

You are in a non-Canvas LMS and want to grade Harmonize activities with a rubric inside Harmonize.
You want to use AI Student Coaching, which requires a rubric in Harmonize.
You want students to use the rubric for rubric rating during Peer Review, which requires a rubric in Harmonize.

Step 1: Get to the Focus Areas Screen

Option A: You are creating a new activity (Wizard)

Start creating a new Harmonize activity (Discussion, Peer Review, or Individual Assignment).
Enter your requirements and your instructions.
After entering instructions, choose Set up Rubric & AI Coach.

When you reach the point where you can generate Focus Areas, continue to Step 2: Generate and edit Focus Areas.

Screenshot placeholder: Wizard screen where you begin rubric setup or generate Focus Areas.

Option B: Your activity already exists (Editor)

Click Edit.
Scroll down and click Generate Focus Areas.
Continue to Step 2: Generate and Edit Focus Areas.

Step 2: Generate and Edit Focus Areas

A loading screen will appear while your focus areas are being generated.

After they are generated, you will see Focus Areas with a title and description. In this screen, you can:
- [1] Edit any title or description by clicking into the text fields
- [2] Remove a Focus Area (trash icon)
- [3] Add a Focus Area (Add Focus Area button)

Once you arrive at this screen, you should:

Review the generated Focus Areas.
Replace each Focus Area title and description so they match your rubric criteria.
Add or delete Focus Areas until the list matches the criteria in your rubric.
Enable or Disable AI Coaching.
Click Next to proceed.

Optional note: If the generated Focus Areas are very different from your rubric, consider revising your activity instructions so your grading criteria are clearer before you continue.

Step 3: Generate the full rubric

After you click Next, one of two things will happen:

If you enabled AI Coaching, a rubric will automatically be generated.
If you did not enable AI Coaching, choose Generate Full Rubric.
Harmonize will generate a four-column rubric from your Focus Areas.

Step 4: Edit the Rubric to Match Your Rubric Exactly

Edit rating labels (top row)

You may optionally Reverse the Rating [1] order to display the highest criteria first.
Click the Pencil Icon [2] next to the rating labels (the four column headers).
Update the Rating Labels [3] to match your rubric (for example: Exemplary, Acceptable, In Progress, Needs Improvement).
Click Save Rubric [4].

Edit each row (criteria, points, and cell text)

Each Focus Area becomes one rubric row. You will edit rows one at a time.

For a particular Focus Area row, click the pencil icon at the end.

In the row editing view, update:
- The points [1] for each column
- The description text [2] in each cell

Repeat for each row until your rubric matches.
Click Updating Ratings [3].

Step 5: Save Your Rubric

When you are finished editing, click Save Rubric and Publish your changes.
Your rubric is now available to select in other Harmonize activities in the same course.

FAQ

Can I make a three-column or five-column rubric?

No. Harmonize rubrics are always four-column rubrics.

Can I edit the points and all the text to match my rubric?

Yes. You can edit criteria titles and descriptions, rating labels, rating descriptions, and required points.

What does “Not Coachable with AI” mean?

It means the criterion may be too subjective, based on factual correctness, or based on non-text components. You can still use the rubric for grading, and you can revise the criterion wording if you want to make it more coachable. Hover over the question mark icons to see why.

Will my rubric sync to Canvas?

Yes, usually. The rubric can sync to Canvas and appear in SpeedGrader as long as there is not already a Canvas rubric attached to the activity.

I edited my rubric text and it changed or disappeared. What happened?

Most likely: you clicked Regenerate (cycle icon) for a row, which rewrites rating text for that row.

I clicked “Update Focus Areas” and my rubric row edits are gone. Can I get them back?