Teacher Workflow Guide

Overview

With PrepareBuddy's LTI integration, creating and managing assignments is simple and automatic. This guide shows you how to create assignments, understand what your students experience, and manage automatic grade synchronization.

Prerequisites

Before you can create PrepareBuddy assignments: - Your institution's administrator has set up the LTI integration - PrepareBuddy is available as an external tool in your course - You have instructor permissions in your LMS

Creating PrepareBuddy Assignments

Step 1: Create Assignment in Your LMS

Canvas

1. Navigate to your course and click Assignments
2. Click + Assignment
3. Assignment Name: Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "IELTS Practice Test")
4. Points: Set the maximum points (e.g., 100)
5. Submission Type: Select "External Tool"
6. External Tool: Select "PrepareBuddy" from the dropdown
7. Load This Tool In A New Tab: Optional (recommended for full-screen experience)
8. Save Assignment

Blackboard

1. Navigate to your course and click Assessments
2. Select Assignment
3. Name: Enter assignment name
4. Points Possible: Set maximum points
5. Web Link Options: Select "Link to Tool Provider"
6. Tool Provider: Select "PrepareBuddy"
7. Enable Evaluation: Yes (for grade passback)
8. Submit

Moodle

1. Turn editing on in your course
2. Add an activity or resource → External Tool
3. Activity name: Enter assignment name
4. Preconfigured tool: Select "PrepareBuddy"
5. Maximum grade: Set maximum points
6. Save and display

D2L Brightspace

1. Navigate to Course Tools → External Learning Tools
2. Click New Link
3. Title: Enter assignment name
4. Tool: Select "PrepareBuddy"
5. Grade Items: Create grade item with maximum points
6. Save

Step 2: Configure Assignment Settings

Recommended Settings

• Due Date: Set appropriate deadline
• Availability: Configure when students can access
• Attempts: Usually set to unlimited (students can practice)
• Grade Passback: Ensure this is enabled
• Points: Set to match your grading scale

Optional Settings

• Description: Add instructions about what students should complete
• Submission Comments: Enable if you want to provide feedback
• Group Assignment: Configure if this is a group activity

What Students Experience

Student Workflow

1. Access Assignment: Student clicks assignment link in LMS
2. Automatic Login: Redirected to PrepareBuddy with automatic login
3. Account Recognition: Sees their existing PrepareBuddy account and progress
4. Full platform Access: Can use all PrepareBuddy features and content
5. Complete Activities: Takes quizzes, tests, or other assessments
6. Automatic Grading: Score automatically appears in LMS gradebook

Student Benefits

• No Additional Passwords: Uses LMS credentials
• Real Account: Maintains progress and history
• Seamless Experience: Feels like part of the LMS
• Immediate Feedback: Gets results immediately on PrepareBuddy
• Automatic Grades: Scores sync to LMS gradebook automatically

Grade Management

Automatic Grade Sync

PrepareBuddy automatically sends grades to your LMS when students complete activities:

• Real-time Sync: Grades appear within 10 seconds of completion
• Accurate Scoring: Exact scores from PrepareBuddy assessments
• Proper Scaling: Automatically scales to your assignment's point value
• Multiple Attempts: Can handle multiple attempts (latest score typically used)

Supported Activities

Grades sync automatically for: - Quiz Completion: Traditional multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank quizzes - Language Tests: IELTS, TOEFL, GMAT, GRE, SAT, PTE practice tests - Assessment Activities: Writing assessments and other evaluation tools - Custom Exams: Teacher-created exams and assessments

Grade Display in LMS

• Numeric Scores: Shows actual points earned (e.g., 85/100)
• Percentage: Automatically calculated by your LMS
• Timestamp: Shows when student completed the activity
• Submission Status: Marked as submitted when grade is received

Managing Student Access

Common Student Questions

"I can't access the assignment" - Verify assignment is published and available - Check that student is properly enrolled - Ensure PrepareBuddy tool is properly configured

"I see a different account than my usual PrepareBuddy account" - This usually means email addresses don't match - Contact your administrator to verify email mapping - Student may need to use the same email in both systems

"My grade didn't sync" - Grade sync happens automatically within 10 seconds - Verify assignment has grade passback enabled - Check if student actually completed an assessment (not just browsed)

Monitoring Student Progress

In Your LMS

• Gradebook: Shows all automatically synced scores
• Assignment Analytics: View completion rates and average scores
• Student Activity: See when students accessed assignments

In PrepareBuddy (Optional)

• Teacher Dashboard: Access your PrepareBuddy account for detailed analytics
• Student Progress: See detailed performance on individual assessments
• Usage Reports: Monitor which features students use most

Best Practices

Assignment Creation

• Clear Names: Use descriptive assignment names that indicate the activity type
• Appropriate Points: Set point values that match your course grading scale
• Due Dates: Set realistic deadlines allowing adequate time for completion
• Instructions: Provide clear guidance on what students should complete

Course Organization

• Logical Sequence: Order assignments to match your curriculum progression
• Practice vs. Graded: Clearly distinguish between practice and graded activities
• Grouping: Use assignment groups or categories to organize different types of assessments

Student Communication

• Introduction: Explain how LTI integration works in your course syllabus
• Expectations: Clarify what students need to complete for full credit
• Support: Provide contact information for technical issues

Grade Management

• Regular Monitoring: Check gradebook regularly for any missing syncs
• Grade Policies: Establish clear policies for multiple attempts
• Late Work: Configure how late submissions are handled

Advanced Features

Multiple Attempts

• LMS Configuration: Set attempts to unlimited for practice
• Grade Recording: Choose whether to record highest, latest, or average score
• Student Feedback: Students can see improvement over multiple attempts

Integration with Course Content

• Module Integration: Embed assignments within course modules
• Prerequisites: Set up prerequisite requirements
• Conditional Release: Release subsequent content based on performance

Custom Grading Scales

• Point Values: Adjust assignment point values to match your grading scale
• Letter Grades: Your LMS can convert numeric scores to letter grades
• Weighted Categories: Place assignments in appropriate grade categories

Troubleshooting

Assignment Not Working

1. Verify Tool Installation: Ensure PrepareBuddy is available as external tool
2. Check Configuration: Confirm assignment uses correct external tool
3. Test Yourself: Try accessing the assignment as a student would

Grades Not Syncing

1. Verify Grade Passback: Ensure assignment has grade passback enabled
2. Check Point Values: Verify assignment has points set (not just pass/fail)
3. Student Completion: Confirm student actually completed an assessment

Student Access Issues

1. Enrollment Verification: Ensure student is properly enrolled
2. Email Matching: Verify student email matches between systems
3. Browser Issues: Try different browser or clear cache

Getting Help

For Technical Issues

• Institution Support: Contact your LMS administrator first
• PrepareBuddy Support: Email support@preparebuddy.com
• Phone Support: 1-800-PREPARE for urgent issues

For Pedagogical Support

• Teaching Resources: Access our library of best practices
• Training Materials: Request teacher training sessions
• Community Forums: Connect with other educators using PrepareBuddy

Documentation Resources

• Student Guide: Share our Student Experience Guide with students
• Troubleshooting: Reference our Troubleshooting Guide
• Feature Documentation: Explore PrepareBuddy Features

Success Stories

"Creating assignments takes seconds now, and grades sync perfectly. My students love the seamless experience."
- Prof. Maria Rodriguez, Miami-Dade College

"The integration eliminated all the login issues we used to have. Students focus on learning instead of technical problems."
- Dr. James Kim, Arizona State University

"Grade passback is instant and accurate. It's exactly what we needed for our language testing program."
- Sarah Johnson, Portland Community College

Next Steps

Once you're comfortable with basic assignment creation:

1. Explore Advanced Features: Learn about custom exam creation and adaptive testing
2. Analyze Student Data: Use PrepareBuddy's analytics to improve instruction
3. Share Best Practices: Connect with other teachers in your institution
4. Provide Feedback: Help us improve by sharing your experience

The LTI integration is designed to make your teaching more effective by removing technical barriers and providing seamless grade management. Focus on what you do best - teaching - while the technology handles the rest.