Dropbox: Basic

Follow these steps to set up and use a basic Dropbox in Carmen. For best results, work through these steps in order. For a general overview of Dropbox features, see Dropbox: Overview.

To begin, log in to Carmen and go to a Course Home page.

Step 1: Create a Folder

Set up Dropbox folders for each assignment you will be collecting online. Individual Folders provide a secure place for each student to submit assignments and receive feedback. Group Folders allow all members of a group to submit files or read feedback.

1. Click Dropbox in the NavBar.

2. Click New Folder.

3. Type a Folder Name. (Typically, this will be the name of the assignment, such as Response Paper #1 or Mid-term Essay Exam).

Note that Dropbox will not accept file names that include certain characters, such as ' (apostrophe), " (quotes), * (asterisk), | (vertical bar), \ (back slash), / (slash), ? (question mark), : (colon), < or > (greater than or less than), ' (back tic), & (ampersand), ; (semicolon), and # (pound sign). Please alert your students to this; if they submit a file that has one of these characters in the name, it will show up as submitted, but you will not be able to read it.

4. If desired, select a Dropbox Category, which helps to organize your folders. (Click Add Dropbox Category to add a new category.)

5. If desired, select a Grade Item to link the Dropbox to – the Grade Items you've previously created will be in the drop-down list. (We encourage users to create all Grade Items within the Gradebook before linking them to a Dropbox folder. For more information on creating Grade Items, see Create Grade Categories and Items.)

Note that Dropboxes can only be associated with numeric grade items.

6. If desired, type Custom Instructions or add an Attached File for students to see before submitting assignments.

7. If desired, click on the Restrictions tab to manage when students can upload files to the folder. You can also set Special Access rules for specific students who need to submit assignments early or late.

After saving a Dropbox, you can choose to apply Release Conditions, which allow you to specify requirements that students must satisfy before they can access a specific Dropbox folder. See Release Conditions for more information.

8. Click Save.

Step 2: Manage Submissions

Once students have submitted their assignments, you can view them online or download them for evaluation.

1. Click Dropbox in the NavBar.

2. Click on a folder name to view and download submissions.

For each file, you can see the name, file type, and size. You can also see any comments your students made when submitting the file.

To Email a student, click the student's name (either by their submission or in the unsubmitted list). Click Email Unsubmitted Students (at the top of the screen) to send an email to all students who haven't submitted a file to the folder.

3. Filter submissions by selecting an option from the drop-down menu (Show Everyone, Show Submitted, Show Unsubmitted, Show Read, Show Unread, Show With Feedback, and Show Without Feedback).

4. You can open files one by one to read them online. Use the View By, Search for, and Paging options to customize your view of the submissions. You can see which submissions you have downloaded by noting the icons that appear beside the file.

5. You an download files to read as a group. If you want to make comments within the documents, you will need to download them.

Check the boxes next to submissions you want to download. To select all the submissions for download at once, check the box in the header.
Downloaded assignments are combined into a single zip file. Student names are added to each file name for easy identification.
Click the Download icon.
Save the zip file on your computer, then locate and open the files.

Use the action buttons in the header and footer to manage your submissions. Select relevant submissions, and then click Delete to remove them, click Mark Read to mark them as Downloaded, and click Flag to flag them for later attention. (Select flagged items and click Flag again to unflag them).

Step 3: Grade and Leave Feedback

Once you have read and evaluated assignments, you can provide feedback to students.

1. Click on Dropbox in the NavBar.

2. Click on a folder name to leave feedback or to enter a grade if the dropbox has been associated with a grade item in your Gradebook.

3. Next to a student's name, click Leave Feedback or Leave Feedback/Grade. (You can only choose Leave Feedback/Grade if the folder is associated with a grade item in your Gradebook.)

4. Enter Feedback and a Score (if available) for the student.

When you leave feedback, the student's Dropbox folder indicates there is new feedback. When a student reads the feedback, a note appears to indicate the date and time the feedback was read. If you add additional feedback, the student gets another notification of new feedback.

5. You can also Add and Attachment to upload an attachment for the student (such as a copy of the student's paper with your comments).

6. Click Save.

Step 4: Edit, Delete, or Re-Order Folders

Edit a Folder

To edit a Dropbox folder:

1. Click Dropbox in the NavBar.

2. Click Edit beside the appropriate folder name.

3. Update folder properties (see Create a Folder for a review of folder properties).

4. Click Save.

Delete a Folder

To delete a Dropbox folder:

1. Click Dropbox in the NavBar.

2. Click Delete in the upper menu.

3. Click the box to selecte the folder you wish to delete. Click Delete Selected.

4. Confirm that you want to delete the folder.

Re-order Folders
To re-order folders:

1. Click Dropbox in the NavBar.

2. Click Re-Order in the upper menu.

2. Change the numbers in the Sort Order column to show the desired order. (Smaller numbers appear closer to the top.)

3. Click Save.