Courses and rosters¶
Open the roster¶
Open the course-name menu in the top bar and select Roster. The page contains the student table, bulk-selection toolbar, Import roster, Add Student, and Sections panels. Search, page length, page, and sorting are saved in the current browser.
Use the small edit control beside the course heading to change course name, term, institution, or LMS format. With no LMS configured, the Gradebook can export a general Gradebird CSV. Choose Canvas or D2L Brightspace for an LMS-ready export.
Supported roster imports¶
Select a CSV file in Import roster, then choose Upload CSV. You can drag the CSV onto the upload area or click it to browse. The i control beside the panel heading opens instructions for the configured LMS, or both Canvas and D2L when LMS autodetection is available. Review the preview of additions, updates, unchanged rows, proposed deactivations, sections, warnings, and errors before applying it. Dismiss a preview to leave the roster unchanged.
When the course LMS is blank, a successful supported preview can set it to Canvas or D2L Brightspace. An unsuccessful preview leaves the LMS unchanged.
Canvas¶
The Canvas setting accepts:
- Course Analytics → Reports → Class Roster → Run Report CSV. This is recommended because it commonly includes email. It enriches available name, Canvas/SIS identifiers, nonblank email, and sections without clearing omitted values, changing existing active state, removing sections, or proposing deactivation.
- A traditional Canvas Gradebook CSV. It synchronizes roster-managed identity, active state, and sections. Institutional export settings determine which contact fields exist.
- Extracted Canvas Students CSV layouts accepted by the preview.
Use the preview to confirm how Gradebird interpreted the uploaded columns.
D2L Brightspace¶
In D2L, choose Grades → Enter Grades → Export. Include OrgDefinedId, first name, and last name; email is strongly recommended for report and survey delivery. The CSV can also include D2L username and sections.
Student identity and uniqueness¶
Each student row contains a name, optional email, the appropriate LMS identity, active state, roster source, and zero or more sections. Nonblank email addresses and external student IDs must be unique within the course.
Roster-managed students are updated by later compatible imports. A manually added student must have the required LMS identity before that row can be included in an LMS export. Names alone are not stable export identifiers.
Add or edit a student¶
Use Add Student for an individual record. Enter first name, last name, optional email, the displayed LMS identifier, sections, and active state. Use the edit action in a student row for corrections.
Deactivate a student to exclude the student from active-roster counts and current workflows. Reactivation restores the row. Permanent deletion is available only when the student has no exam or packet history.
The table-header checkbox selects or clears the currently visible page, retaining selections on other pages. Use the row checkboxes, Select page, Select all or Select filtered, and the bulk action selector to update or delete multiple rows.
Sections¶
Expand Sections to create or edit course-scoped section names. A student may belong to multiple sections. Section membership supports roster organization and named-packet selection; it does not create a separate course or separate exam version.
Deleting a section removes that grouping, not the student records. Imported section behavior depends on the accepted source type: Canvas Course Analytics enriches without removing existing sections, while roster-synchronizing formats can apply their previewed section changes.
Gradebook relationship¶
Open the course-name menu and select Gradebook. It uses each exam's canonical published version and current approved grading state. A completed grade can appear before its student report is released; release controls student access and report email, not whether the gradebook can calculate the score.
For Canvas, export uses Canvas Gradebook-style identity columns and includes a Points Possible row. For D2L, grade columns end in Points Grade. Both export adjusted earned points when exam score adjustments are saved. Canvas uses the adjusted denominator in its Points Possible row. D2L does not carry an updated maximum; check the destination grade item when changing points possible. To update an existing D2L grade item, the exam name in Gradebird must exactly match the grade item name in D2L. Rename the exam in Gradebird before exporting if needed. Gradebird adds the Points Grade suffix in the CSV automatically.
With no LMS selected, select eligible student rows and choose Export N Rows (where N is your selection count). The general CSV includes student name, email, LMS student ID, sections, and one raw-points column per canonical exam. Blank identifiers are allowed. Incomplete exam grades remain blank, and the file is not formatted for direct Canvas or D2L import.
Course copies and demo copies¶
Courses containing existing-PDF template exams cannot currently be copied, including demo copies. Create a new course and upload the original blank PDFs instead. Gradebird rejects an unsupported copy before creating a destination.
Only an organization administrator can create a course copy. Ask your administrator if you need one. The administrator who requests the copy becomes its sole owner; collaborators and grader assignments do not transfer. Course settings, roster, sections, exams, published versions, assets, rubrics, and ordinary-exam printing, scans, completed grading, and released reports are copied independently. Practice exams retain their preparation assets but exclude personal links, previews, submissions, feedback, and practice AI analyses. Exam-version AI instructions and score-adjustment settings also transfer independently. Active work must finish before copying. Course surveys and their answers, and saved experimental student analyses, are excluded; generate new analyses in the copied course when needed.
The Create demo copy with historical names option replaces roster identities with historical figures, clears emails and roster metadata, and replaces external student IDs with demo IDs. It also rebuilds print/report snapshots, masks known name areas and footers in copied scans, and rebuilds response images. Demo copies always remove student emails even if Remove all student email addresses from the copy is unchecked. The suggested title changes from (Copy) to (Demo) unless a custom title has been entered. A Demo copy indicator remains visible in the copied course.
Review answers and other course content for personal information before presenting a demo: name replacement and masking known scan regions do not guarantee that all identifying content has been removed. If a scan cannot be redacted reliably, the copy fails and its status provides Review source scan when available. The original course and files are preserved. An ordinary copy can instead retain student emails if the administrator turns off their removal; otherwise removal is enabled by default.
After a successful copy, use Open copied course from its status. Queued copies can be cancelled; running copies cannot be cancelled or dismissed. Dismissing a completed or failed job hides its status entry and does not delete a successful copy.
Course exams¶
The course exam page lists the exam workspaces for the selected course. From here an instructor can create an exam, open an existing draft or administration version, edit its instructor-facing label, reorder exams, or begin an allowed deletion. Downstream Print, Scan, Rubric, Grade, and Reports state is summarized through each exam’s workflow.
Roster¶
The roster page manages students, sections, and roster imports for the selected course. It contains search and sorting controls, bulk student actions, manual student creation, CSV import review, and section management. Import changes are staged until applied, and destructive or deactivating actions remain explicit.
Students with practice-exam invitations or submissions have history and cannot be deleted through bulk roster deletion. Use Deactivate to retain their work. Deactivation does not revoke a personal practice link; use Release → Revoke links if access must end. This protection also applies when your account does not display experimental features. Whole-course deletion in Access → show delete form waits for active practice submissions, including instructor previews, then removes their records with the course. A blocked deletion keeps the confirmation form open and explains what must finish first.
Course section¶
The section page shows one course section and its current students. Instructors can rename the section, review membership, or delete it when the displayed constraints allow. Changing section organization does not itself change student exam work or grades.