Once you have a valid sync configuration prepared for a class, you'll be able to see the "sync" button on the GradeSheet tab. Clicking on the "sync" button will initiate a sync with Google Classroom.
After a few moments, the grade sheet will automatically refresh and all synced assignments will appear. You'll also see the small "check mark" icon next to the "sync" button briefly turn green; this indicates that the sync is complete.
It's important to note that not all assignments will be synced to Gradelink, and not all assignment data will be carried over from Google Classroom. This is a result of several important differences between Gradelink and Google Classroom that affect which assignments will or won't be synced and how they'll appear in Gradelink, so let's go over some of them one at a time in order to better understand how the sync process works.
The most important difference between Gradelink and Google Classroom is that Google Classroom doesn't have Terms. For more information on Terms in Gradelink, please click here.
Many schools divide their school year into several smaller terms such as Quarters or Trimesters. As a result, when they set up classes in Gradelink, there are often multiple instances of the same class, one for each term in each school year. For example, a typical school might have "Math Quarter 1", "Math Quarter 2", and so on. Google Classroom, however, does not have terms and classes don't even need to have a specific start and end date.
This is relevant to Gradelink's integration with Google Classroom for two reasons:
- First, because in Gradelink "Due Date" is a mandatory field; this means that if an assignment does not have a due date in Google Classroom, it will not be included in the sync.
- Second, because when you initiate a sync in Gradelink, only assignments that have a due date that falls between the Start Date and End Date of the active term will be synced. Teachers can quickly and easily see what the Start and End Date for the active term is by hovering over the icon that appears next to the "From Google Class" column header on the Sync Settings page:
Even if an assignment has a due date and that due date falls within the corresponding term, not all assignment data will be synced into Gradelink.
While most fields in Gradelink have a corresponding field in Google Classroom, this isn't always the case; additionally, not every field in Google Classroom has a corresponding field in Gradelink. The table below describes different assignment attributes in Gradelink and in Google Classroom as well as whether or not they are included in the sync process. It also indicates instances where there is an attribute that only appears in Gradelink or only appears in Google Classroom.
| Gradelink Attribute | Google Classroom Attribute | Included in sync? |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment Title | Title | Yes |
| Description | Instructions | Yes |
| No equivalent | For* | Yes |
| Date Assigned | No equivalent | Yes** |
| Date Due | Due | Yes |
| Assignment Type | Grade Category | No*** |
| Nongraded Assignment | Ungraded | Yes |
| Grading Style - Percentage | No equivalent | - |
| Grading Style - Letter | No equivalent | - |
| Grading Style - Points | Points | Yes |
| [individual student grades] | [individual student grades] | Yes |
| Comments | Private Comment | No |
| Excused | Excused | No**** |
Note 1: While you can leave the grade for a particular student blank, in Gradelink there is not currently a way to only assign an assignment to specific students.
Note 2: While Google Classroom does not have a "Date Assigned" field, Google does store the date the assignment was created.
Note 3: While "Grade Categories" are similar to Gradelink's "Assignment Types", they are not included in the current version of the Google Classroom integration.
Assignments that are synced into Gradelink from Google Classroom behave slightly differently from assignments that were created in Gradelink.
For example, assignments synced from Google Classroom appear with a light green background on the GradeSheet, making it easier for you to identify which assignments were and were not part of the sync.
Additionally, the Google Classroom logo will appear on the Assignment Information page as another visual reminder.
Additionally, on the Assignment Types page, you'll see an indicator for the default assignment type specified in the Google Classroom sync configuration.
Why are student grades different in Google Classroom and the Gradesheet? A number factors are at play when calculating overall grades, including weighting method. To ensure consistency between platforms: 1. Ensure the class Assignment Types / Percentages configured in Gradelink match that in Google Classroom. 2. Ensure Every assignment in Google Classroom is not only associated to a Category, but has the assignment type specified in [brackets] in the Instructions (not needed for Default Assignment type ). Any assignment that does not have the bracketed Assignment Type title will be automatically added to the Default Assignment Type. 3. Understand that the addition of Ungraded or Excused assignments in an Assignment Type can alter the overall grade because the relative weight of other Graded assignments in that Type gets reduced. Google Classroom only adjust relative weight once an assignment is graded for a student. 4. In Gradelink's Assignment Types, "Weight each assignment based on their points" should be turned ON as this is the ONLY way Google Classroom calculates when "Weighted by category" is selected. If left OFF, every assignment in that Type is considered equally weighted, regardless of points possible. 5. Gradelink's Assignment Types, "Automatically weight assignment types by points" is equivalent to Google Classroom's method "Grade Calculation by Total Points". Naturally, any assignments added in Gradelink directly that don't exist in Google Classroom can also alter the student's overall class grade. |