Teacher Guide
Once your institution has connected PrepareBuddy to your LMS, adding a language test, quiz or assessment to a course takes about a minute, and the gradebook fills itself in.
Add it to your course
If your LMS uses LTI 1.3 (most do)
- Create a graded assignment/activity and choose External Tool → PrepareBuddy (Canvas: Submission Type: External Tool → Find; Moodle: Add an activity → PrepareBuddy → Select content; Brightspace: Existing Activities → PrepareBuddy).
- The PrepareBuddy list opens inside the LMS, grouped into language tests, quizzes and assessments. Search, choose one, click Add to course.
- The LMS creates the assignment and its gradebook column with the right maximum (e.g. 9 for IELTS, 100 for a quiz, the rubric total for an assessment). Save and publish.
If your LMS uses LTI 1.1
- Get the link URL — from your PrepareBuddy administrator's LMS integration page, or by opening PrepareBuddy from your course navigation. It looks like
https://www.preparebuddy.com/lti/test/123/,…/lti/quiz/45/or…/lti/assessment/6/. - Create a graded assignment with External Tool and paste the link URL.
- Set points possible to the number shown next to it, so the gradebook shows the exact score.
Tip: choose "open in a new tab / new window" if your LMS offers it. The work then opens directly; otherwise students see a card with an Open PrepareBuddy button.
What your students see
- They click the assignment. PrepareBuddy opens in a new tab, signed in, on that test, quiz or assessment.
- They complete it exactly as they would inside PrepareBuddy (same timer, saving and submission).
- Their score goes to your gradebook when it is final.
Opening the assignment again takes them back to the same piece of work — to continue it, or to see their result.
When the score is sent
| Work | Sent when |
|---|---|
| Language test | the student finishes; if your institution reviews results first, when you release it |
| Quiz | the student submits |
| Assessment | you release the feedback to the student (as you do today in PrepareBuddy) |
If a result is re-marked later (for example a language-test speaking answer finishes grading, or you release revised assessment feedback), the new score replaces the old one automatically. An unchanged score is not re-sent.
See your results
Open the assignment yourself from the LMS (as the teacher). PrepareBuddy shows every student who opened it:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Status | Not started · In progress · Completed · Awaiting review / Awaiting marking |
| Score | e.g. 7.5 / 9, 75 / 100, 14 / 20 |
| Gradebook | In gradebook (the LMS accepted it) · Sending… (queued or retrying) · Failed (hover for the LMS's reason) |
| Resend | sends that student's score to the gradebook again |
Opening PrepareBuddy from the course navigation (if your administrator enabled it) lists every PrepareBuddy link in the course.
If a grade does not appear
- Open the assignment as teacher and look at the Gradebook column.
- Sending… — the LMS was unreachable; PrepareBuddy retries automatically (1, 2, 4 … up to 60 minutes apart, 8 tries).
- Failed — hover to read the LMS's reply (often: the student is no longer enrolled, or the assignment isn't graded). Fix it, then click Resend.
- No row for the student — they have not opened the link yet.
More in Troubleshooting.