Assignments and Homework
Setting homework for an arm, what pupils hand in and how, marking online or on paper, and what families are told.
Where it is, and who can set work
Go to Communication → Assignments. The page is open to staff who may set and grade assignments — the leadership roles and Teachers have this from the start; a role your school made itself needs it granted. Setting, publishing and marking a piece of work is for the teacher of that subject in that arm, as chosen on the Subject Teachers page for the work's year and term, or for a member of staff who may manage every section's assignments, such as the School Administrator. Anyone else is refused in plain words: you can only set and grade work for a subject you currently teach in that section.
1. Set the work
Under "Set new work", choose the "Class" and press "Next", then choose the "Section", the "Subject" and the "Term" — it starts on the current term. Give the work a "Title" and "Instructions", a "Due date" and, if you want one, a "Due time"; left blank, the work is due at the end of that day, in your school's own time. "Out of" is the mark the work is scored out of; leave it empty for work that is read but not scored. Press "Save as draft". Nobody sees a draft until you publish it.
2. Attach files and publish
The work opens on its own page. Under "Files", choose a PDF, PNG or JPEG of up to 10 MB and press "Attach" — up to five files, and "Remove" beside a file takes it off again. Under "Details" you can still change anything and press "Save changes". When it is ready, press "Publish": from then on the pupils in that arm see it in the Student Portal, their families see it in the Parent Portal, and each is told — see below. After publishing, the title, instructions, due date and files can still be changed, but the mark it is out of is fixed. Changing the due date tells nobody, so tell the class yourself. "Delete draft" removes a draft.
What pupils do
A pupil opens Assignments in the Student Portal, where work is grouped under "To do" and "Done". They open a piece of work, read the instructions and any files, type their answer under "Your work" — typed text only, up to 10,000 characters; a pupil cannot attach a file — and press "Save draft" to keep it for later or "Hand in" to submit it. Only the pupil can read a draft. Once handed in, the work cannot be changed unless you return it. A pupil can still hand in after the due date while the work is published; it is then marked "Late" and says it was handed in after the due date. A pupil needs a Student Portal login for all of this — see the Parent Portal guide for the sign-in code.
3. Mark what is handed in
Under "Pupils" on the work's page, every pupil in the arm is listed with their status — "Not started", "In progress", "Handed in", "Late", "Overdue", "Graded" or "Returned for changes" — and their text appears once they hand it in, never while it is a draft. Type the "Score", where the work is out of something, and any "Feedback", and press "Grade"; the button reads "Regrade" afterwards, and a changed mark tells nobody. To send work back, write your note in "Feedback" and press "Return for changes": the pupil can edit it and hand it in again, and work handed in again after the due date is not counted late, because you asked for it.
Work handed in on paper
For a pupil who handed in on paper or did the work in class, open "Record paper work" on their row — it is offered while they have handed nothing in online and have not been graded. Set "Handed in on" (today unless you change it; it cannot be before the work was set, or in the future), the "Score" and any "Feedback", and press "Record and grade". The pupil's row and the family's page then say "Handed in on paper." with the mark.
4. Close it
Press "Close" when no more work is to be accepted: pupils can no longer hand in, a pupil who never handed in keeps it under "To do", and you can still mark what came in. A closed piece of work can no longer be edited.
Who is told, and how
Three things send a message: publishing the work, the first mark on a pupil's work (online or on paper), and returning work for changes. Each pupil is told in their portal inbox and by push notification where they have the app. Each guardian who may see the child's academic records is told by e-mail — a family with no portal account included — and in the app where they use it; the message names the subject and when the work is due. A text goes instead only where your school has switched on "Text families about homework" under School → Text messages, and each text is paid from your SMS units. A regrade, a close, an edit after publishing and the pupil's own saves tell nobody.
Which pupils the work reaches
Work reaches the pupils placed in that arm for the work's academic year, in that subject. If the list under "Pupils" is empty, the page says why: the class has not been promoted or placed for that session, or the right session is not marked current. Put that right under Academic Configuration and the list fills in.
Still stuck?
Email info@tocel.ng and tell us which guide you were following.