Encouraging Student Homework Submissions on The Rookies

Andrew McDonald

Jul 25, 2023 • 3 min read

As teachers, you play a pivotal role in guiding students towards platforms that foster growth and community engagement. The Rookies offers an environment where the pursuit of creativity is celebrated, and each submission becomes a step towards a brighter creative future. Sharing homework assignments on The Rookies is not just about completing a task – it's about building connections, showcasing progress, and embracing a community that celebrates creativity in all its forms.

In this article, we'll guide you through the process of encouraging your students to start submitting and sharing their homework assignments on The Rookies, helping them gain exposure and allow you to seamlessly review and track homework assignments.

Sharing homework assignments on The Rookies goes beyond mere submission. It's a pathway to a more engaged and connected learning experience, yielding several significant benefits:

1. Encourages Active Community Participation

By sharing assignments within The Rookies' platform, students actively engage with a community of fellow creatives. This interaction promotes collaboration, peer learning, and a sense of belonging.

2. Showcases Your School's Creative Identity

Submitting homework assignments provides an insight into the type of work your students are creating. This showcases your school's creative identity, giving the community and visitors a glimpse of the skills and creativity your students possess.

3. Centralised Progress Tracking

Using The Rookies' platform to share assignments offers a centralised location for tracking and viewing students' progress. It allows teachers, peers, and industry professionals to witness the evolution of projects from start to finish.

4. Encourages Peer Interaction

Homework submissions open the door for peer-to-peer reviews and encouragement. Students can provide constructive feedback, fostering an environment of support and growth.

5. Builds a Strong Presence on The Rookies

Frequent homework submissions contribute to a robust presence for your school on The Rookies' platform. This strengthens your school's profile, leading to higher rankings and making it easier for others to discover your institution and talented students.

Strategic Tagging

Encourage students to tag their assignments using relevant keywords, like "uvmap-assignment-01". This makes it easier to search and track specific assignments, providing a streamlined way to monitor progress.

Leveraging "Work in Progress" Projects

Introduce students to the "Work in Progress" project format. This dynamic feature allows them to share their design journey in stages, creating an engaging narrative that invites feedback and collaboration.

What is a Work in Progress Project?

A Work in Progress project is like an evolving forum post, capturing the design journey in stages. Each update adds a new section to the project page, complete with a date stamp. This format allows for focused discussions on the latest developments, creating an engaging narrative. Here are some simple steps to create a Work in Progress Project:

1. Start a New Project: Click "+ New Project".

2. Choose "Work in Progress": Select the "Work in Progress" checkbox.

3. Upload Media: Begin by uploading the relevant media for your assignment.

4. Complete Project Setup: Proceed through the remaining steps as you would for a standard project.

5. Publish Your Project: Once ready, hit "Publish" to share your Work in Progress project with the community.

6. When you view the project page, you will see a "+ Add Update" button located top-right of your project page. When you have some more progress to share on your project, simply click the add Update button located top-right of your page.

This will load the normal project builder interface. Upload your media and text and proceed through the steps. When you hit publish a new update will be added to your Play by Play page similar to how a forum or chat server works.