Creating and Grading Forums

Microsoft Edge

Forums

The **Forum** activity allows students and teachers to exchange ideas by posting comments as part of a 'thread.’ Files such as images and media may be included in forum posts. The teacher can choose to grade and/or rate forum posts and it is also possible to permit students to rate each other's posts. Grading: **Forums** do not have the option of being graded in **Open Grader**. **Open grader** is not going away; however, the grading options for Forums do not include **Open Grader**. The grading options for **Forums** are **Whole Forum Grading** or **Ratings**. **Whole forum grading** is a feature that allows instructors to assess student forum postings from a grading interface that collects each student’s postings on one page. Setup: To set up **Whole Forum Grading**, go to **Add an Activity** and select **Forum**. To begin adding a Forum, navigate to your Moodle course and select the topic to which you wish to add the resource. At the bottom of the topic, select **Add an activity or resource**.

Green arrow pointing to the About Moodle section in the left‑hand course navigation menu.

When the topic loads, toggle on Edit Mode, which is located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Toggle switch labeled Edit mode shown in the on position.

Next, scroll to the bottom of the page, locate and select the **Add an activity or resource** button.

Green arrow pointing to the Activity or resource button that appears when adding content to a section in Moodle.

Click **Forum**.

Moodle pop‑up window displaying the Add an activity or resource menu with a grid of activity icons in the center of the course page.

In the settings, choose **Whole forum grading** and select the grade **Type**.

Green arrow pointing to the dropdown menu where Point is selected as the grade type in the Whole forum grading settings.

Next, set the **Maximum grade**, **Grading method**, and **Grade category**. For a demonstration of this section of the help guide, watch this video on [Forums & Whole Forum Grading](https://hml.occc.edu/Play/9280).

Green arrows pointing to the Maximum grade field, the Grading method dropdown, and the Grade category dropdown within the Whole forum grading settings.

Grading Using Whole Forum Grading

To grade a Forum using **Whole Forum Grading**, access the **Forum** activity and select **Grade Users**.

Green arrow pointing to the Grade users button at the top of the discussion list.

The forum grading interface contains all of a student's forum posts on the left side of the screen, their name, a grade entry field, and a communication option on the right side of the screen. Their forum posts will contain post titles, dates, and content. You can scroll through all the students by clicking the arrow or search by name by clicking on the magnifying glass. Below is an example of **Whole forum grading** using **Points**.

Green arrows pointing to the Save button and the Grade entry field in the grading panel for a forum activity.

The following is an example of using a rubric to grade in whole forum grading. A rubric will also reveal an option for instructors to leave feedback. For a demonstration of this section of the help guide, watch this video on [Forums & Whole Forum Grading](https://hml.occc.edu/Play/9280). Also watch, [Adding a Rubric to a Forum](https://hml.occc.edu/Player/42j8FJ79).

Green arrow pointing to the Additional feedback text box in the grading panel beside a list of rubric rating options.

Setting up a Forum with a Rubric

Click on **Add an activity or resource**, and select **Forum**:

Large pop‑up window in Moodle showing the Add an activity or resource menu with icons for different activity types displayed in a grid.

Select **Whole forum grading**, choose **Point** and enter the maximum grade. Next, click on the **Grading method** dropdown menu and select **Rubric**.

Green arrows highlighting the Whole forum grading section, the Point grade type and maximum grade field, and the dropdown menu where Rubric is selected as the grading method.

When finished entering the settings, title, and description of the forum, select **Save and display**. The next screen will give you the option of **Defining new grading form from scratch** or **Create new grading form from template**.

Green arrow pointing to the option labeled Define new grading form from scratch in a selection menu.

On the **Define rubric** page, start by giving your rubric a name and a description.

Green arrow pointing to the text field where the rubric name Rubric – Class Presentations is being entered.

Next, when you scroll down, you will see a blank Rubric.

Green arrow pointing to the editable rubric criterion field labeled Click to edit criterion, alongside point levels for 0, 1, and 2 points.

This rubric needs clearly defined criteria and levels of achievement to be a useful grading tool. To begin defining your criteria, select **Click to edit criterion** and type the name of your first criterion.

Green arrow pointing to a text box labeled “Presentation Delivery” within a rubric editing interface showing point levels.

Once you name the criterion, select **Click to edit level** to describe each achievement level. You can also select the points to edit the number of points associated with each level. If you need more levels of achievement, simply select **Add level**. Once you are satisfied with your first criterion, select **Add criterion** to add more in the same way.

A rubric editing screen showing the Presentation Delivery criterion with several editable point levels, along with green arrows pointing to the Add criterion button and the Add level button.

If you want to remove either criteria or levels of achievement, use the ‘X’ icons.

A rubric editing screen displaying three criteria, with red arrows pointing to the Presentation Delivery title and the Satisfactory level under Supporting Technology.

Once you are satisfied with your levels and criteria, you can adjust the Rubric options below. These options control what information is displayed to students about your rubric. When you are finished adjusting options, select **Save rubric and make it ready.**

A rubric options panel showing multiple checked settings for displaying levels, points, descriptions, and remarks, with buttons below to save the rubric or cancel.

Create new grading form from a template

To use a template, select **Create new grading form from template**. The next page will have four rubric templates. Select a template by clicking on **Use this template** below the template you would like to use for the forum.

A rubric preview screen showing three criteria with scoring levels, followed by rubric options and a green arrow pointing to the Use this template link at the bottom.

Select **Continue**.

A confirmation dialog asking whether to use an existing grading form as a template, with a green arrow pointing to the Continue button.

To edit the rubric template, click **Edit the current form definition**.

A grading‑form options screen with a green arrow pointing to the Edit the current form definition button.

Click on each of the four areas to change text and points. Click **Add level** to add a column to the right. Also, to delete a row, click on the **X**. Click **Add criterion** more rows

A rubric editing screen showing the Presentation Delivery criterion highlighted with a green arrow and another green arrow pointing to the Add criterion button below the list.

Add a title and needed description to the **Name** and **Description** spaces. Click Save. The **Rubric** will be added to the **Forum** for grading.

A rubric setup screen showing the Name field filled with Rubric – Class Presentations and an empty Description text box, each marked with a green arrow.

Setting up a Rubric after the Forum Has Been Created

If a **Forum** has been set up using **Whole forum grading** but does not have an assigned **Rubric**, the instructor will receive the following error message: “The advanced grading method is not correctly set. Please check the whole forum grading options in the forum settings.”

A Moodle error message stating that advanced grading is unavailable and that the grading method is not correctly set.

To set up a **Rubric** after a **Forum** has been created, select **Advanced Grading** on the navigation bar

A Moodle navigation bar with a green arrow pointing to the Advanced grading tab.

Then follow the previous steps for **Defining new grading form from scratch** or **Create new grading form from template**.

A grading‑form setup screen with a green arrow pointing to the Define new grading form from scratch option.

For additional information about CLT resources and training, watch the [Setting Up a Rubric for Whole Forum Grading](https://hml.occc.edu/Player/42j8FJ79) video. Please email us at [clt@occc.edu](mailto:clt@occc.edu) or call 405.682.7838 if you have questions or need assistance