Teachers can tell their students that they need to 'Keep Working' on certain programming levels in CS Discoveries, CS Principles, and CSA courses if students have moved on from a level without finishing it.
This feature is available to all verified teachers on the 'Feedback' or 'Rubric' tab, near the Instruction pane:
How does this feature work?
When teachers check the 'Keep Working' check-box, the student's level bubble will gain a small, red notification dot and the level will revert to the 'In Progress' state instead of displaying as 'Completed.' You can also leave a helpful note to the student by typing in the text box below the Keep Working checkbox and then hit 'Save and share' to send your feedback to the student.
Level marked as 'Keep Working'
Level marked as 'Completed'
Students will see the new level state wherever they see that level, and receive a notification when they sign in that tells them they need to keep working on that level.
If the student sees the Keep Working notification; works on the level further; and then hits 'Finish,' the level bubble will return to the solid green, 'Completed' state: however, the red Keep Working dot will remain on the level until you've had a chance to review the student's updated work and either clear the dot or re-mark the level as 'Keep Working.'
Level is awaiting teacher review
You will be able to see the Keep Working status of your students' levels in the Progress View on the Teacher dashboard, indicated by the circular arrow.
How do I find this feature?
This feature is available on most programming levels in CS Discoveries and CS Principles courses. To use this feature, you must be a verified teacher.
To find this feature:
- Go to the level you want to review and use the blue teacher panel on the left-hand side of the screen to select the Classroom Section and student you want to review the level for
- Go to the tab labeled 'Feedback' or 'Rubric' near the level instructions at the top of the screen
- The Keep Working checkbox will be located next to the Teacher Feedback header on that tab
Keep Working checkbox on the 'Feedback' tab
Keep Working checkbox on the 'Rubric tab
Reminder - make sure you hit 'Save and share' to send your feedback and Keep Working status to the student!
How should I use this feature with my students?
The Keep Working feature is intended to give your students a reminder nudge to finish all required parts of a programming activity and give you a way to visually keep track of where students need to spend more time within the course materials. We recommend selecting one or two activities to review per lesson (look for the purple checkmark denoting recommended assessment opportunities!) and then use the Keep Working feature to encourage students who haven't finished their work yet to do so.
As students iterate on and complete the activity, you can remove the Keep Working dot to indicate that they've finished the level and, if the level has a rubric, use that rubric to evaluate the student's work. Learn more about rubrics.
How does a student know I want them to keep working on a level?
When you mark a level as "Keep Working," the student will receive a few different indicators on Code.org:
- When they sign in to Code.org, students will see a notification banner on their homepage (studio.code.org/home) or on the curriculum overview page of the course they're currently working on (example: studio.code.org/s/csd3-2022).
- If students look at their lesson summary on the curriculum overview page, they will also see the level bubble marked as 'In progress' with the red notification dot.
Students can always see all of the feedback that you've left them on the All Feedback page which is accessible from their homepage, directly below the section that displays the courses they're working on.
Will I be notified when the student works on the level again?
When a student works on a level that was marked as 'Keep Working' and hits 'Finish' again, the level will return to its solid green, 'Completed' state, but it will keep the red "Keep Working" notification dot.
Level is waiting for teacher review
That dot will not be cleared from the level until you have a chance to review the student's work again. In your Progress View, assessment levels that are 'solid green' (completed) with a purple triangle at the top right are ready for your review.
Non-assessment levels will not have a purple triangle, but if they have new student work on them, they will show up as solid green.
How do I remove the "Keep Working" notification dot from a student's level?
You can remove the Keep Working dot from a student's level at any time by going to that level; opening the Teacher Feedback tab; unchecking the Keep Working box; and then hitting 'Save and share.'
If a student has done additional work on the level since you asked them to keep working, the Keep Working box will be in an indeterminate, waiting for review state. You can choose to uncheck the box which will remove the red Keep Working dot and mark the level as reviewed
Can I export a summary of all the feedback I've left for my students?
Yes! To learn how to do this, check out this support article.
What activities and courses have the "Keep Working" feature?
Currently, teachers can find the Keep Working feature on most App Lab, Game Lab, Java Lab, and Web Lab programming levels in CSD/P/A courses. Note: if you are not seeing the feature in one of these courses, please make sure you are a verified teacher.
This feature is not currently available on multi-question assessments; free response questions; multiple choice questions; or predict levels. It is also not currently available in CS Fundamentals courses, Courses 1-4, or Hour of Code activities.
Want to learn more about tracking progress and evaluating student work?
Check out these resources: