Setup Basic Class

Step 1: Configure Class

For this tutorial we will start out with a blank guest class as shown below. If you are not using a guest class you can skip this step.

From here you can select "Edit Class" which will open a dialog where you can change the class code, name, desired score, and display color. As stated above, for this example I will be using "CMSC131", which at UMD is "Object Orientated Programming I". In this case, "CMSC131" would be the code and "Object Orientated Programming I" would be the name.

As for the desired score and display color, this is completely up to you! I would just like to pass this class so I will set the desired score to 70. And for the display color I will choose blue. This is what the dialog looks like once I've added the information above.

Once I click submit, the class will update. As you can see, the class code and name have been changed to "CMSC131" and "Object Orientated Programming I" respectively. The color of the code and name have changed as well to blue, what I chose as the display color. Finally, the distance from desired score has changed from 100 to 70. This is because the score of the class is currently 0% and since my desired score is now 70% I am 70% away from my desired score.

Step 2: Add Assignment Type(s)

Next up we need to start populating our class. You can do this in various ways with GradeMaster. You can add each piece of the class manually, or import them using either the Import/Export feature or the Scan Syllabus feature. For this example we are gonna keep it simple and do it manually.

So first we can go ahead and create a new assignment type. An assignment type is a group of assignments. An example of this would be quizzes or projects. The reason GradeMaster uses assignment types is so you can keep track of information pertaining to a group of assignments and lock the weights of assignments within a specific assignment type.

To create a new assignment type we can simply select "New Assignment Type" and another dialog for creating a new assignment type will pop up. For this example I will be creating the following assignment types:

• Projects - Various weights
• Quizzes - 20%
• Homework - 10%
• Exams - Various weights

When creating an assignment type you need to pass in the assignment type name, max score, default name, whether or not you want to lock the weights for the assignment type, and if you do, the assignment type weight.

Now the weight locking can be a bit confusing but we will go more in depth into that in the Weight Locking Page. For this tutorial, we will simply explain it as, some assignment types are given a weight and the assignments within that assignment type all have the same weight. For example, quizzes are worth 20% and there will be 6 quizzes. Instead of having to do 20 / 6 manually, you can the quizzes weights and enter 20%. Then when you add the 6 quizzes, GradeMaster will balance the weights for you!

For the default values of max score and default name, these are simply there to make your life easier when you are adding in new assignments. Know the max score for each project will be 75? Set the the max score to 75 and each time you add a new project, it will be out of 75 so you don't have to manually change each one. Same goes for default name. If each Project is "Project-#" where # is the project number, simply set the default name to "Project-" and you only have to add the number at the end of each project. Visit Default Values for more information of default values

Now that we know what each field does, lets create all 4 of our assignment types. We will provide screenshots of each form below, as well as the class once we finished

Projects

Quizzes

Homework

Exams

Result

Step 3: Add Assignments

Now that we have the foundations for our class finished. All that's left is to add and edit our assignments. For this tutorial, we will go over adding the projects and the quizzes. We will also be adding the homeworks and exams but we will not be going over that.

Click the above button to download a JSON file for the Class. This is where you can get the information about the assignments we will be adding, including the ones we don't show.

Projects

First lets start with projects. We will have 3 projects with their weights being 10%, 10%, and 15% and their names being Project-1, Project-2, Project-3 respectively

To add new assignments we first need to open the assignment type dropdown. To do this simply click the assignment type. Afterwards, you can select "New Assignment". This will create a new assignment using the default values we provided when we created the assignment type. For projects, click "New Assignment" 3 times.

Now we need to edit our individual assignments. To edit an edittable field, you simply need to click the field and it will allow you to edit it. Firstly, lets update the names of the assignments. To do so, click the project name "Project-" and from here you can type the correct project name. Name all the projects with their correct number added at the end.

Helpful Tip: To make use of the default name simply press the right arrow key on your keyboard and enter the suffix of your assignment. In this case I will hit the right arrow key and type "1"

One of the greatest features of GradeMaster is its dynamic updates. The information on the page is updated as you edit assignments. This way you can see how your edits will impact your score right away. Let's see this feature in action. Let's update the weights of the projects. To do so, you do the same thing you did for the names. Simply click the weight field for an assignment and enter a number. But, if an assignment type is locked, you will be unable to edit individual assignment weights. Update the weights of all three projects to 10, 10, and 15.

As you update the weights you should see various values change. We go into each of these values in depth in the Dynamic Updates page, but for now we will just look at the progress bar which holds our class score. As you update the weight, the class score is updated. Same goes for the score and max score. Below is an image of what your projects assignment type should look like

Quizzes

Now let's do quizzes. This one will be easier because we have locked the weights for the quizzes. So all we need to do is open the assignment type, and click "New Assignment" however many quizzes we have. In this case we will do 6.

Now that you have all your quizzes, you can do the same thing you did for the projects and add a number or rename them all together. I will simply be adding a number to the end.

Notice how we did not have to set the weights for each quiz manually. If you did it correctly, each quiz should have a weight of 3.33, which is 20 / 6. If your professor gives you a pop quiz so you now have 7 quizzes, you simply need to add another assignment and all the previous quizzes will have their weights updated. Same thing goes if you end up only having 5 quizzes and need to delete one. Below is an image of what your quizzes assignment type should look like.

Homework and Exams

For the last two assignment types, I challenge you to take a look at the JSON file and see if you can figure it out yourself. Below are the images of what they should look like when you finish

Homework

Exams

Step 4: Use However You'd Like!

You have now finished setting up your class. Now you are free to mess around and change your grades to see how each assignment affects your final score!

That's all for this tutorial. Please check out some of the other documentation to see more details about the awesome features that GradeMaster has to offer. Thanks!