Revoking and Giving Extra Points

IN THIS ARTICLE
Who can give extra points or revoke them?
Who can see that points were given or revoked?
Revoking points based on a post or comment
Giving extra points based on a post or comment
Adding or removing points to multiple learners from the Points Report page

Though we champion intellectual freedom at Yellowdig and rarely see a need to censor or moderate content, occasionally a learner will post off-topic content or content that otherwise tries to "game the system" to earn points. On these occasions, learners can report a post, which will automatically notify the Community Owner.

Regardless of whether learners report a post, instructors can easily revoke points from a post or from a learner's overall point total. However, research on social learning has shown that revoking points can reduce social collaboration and idea sharing, so please use this as a last resort rather than a first response. In general, you can promote good content and appropriate point earning by rewarding good posts with reactions, accolades, and your own congratulatory comments, rather than revoking points for material that is lower quality. Not receiving points from reactions, accolades, or comments is punishment enough (and corrective enough) for a learner whose effort has been sub-par.

If a Community Owner or Facilitator does revoke points, we strongly recommend communicating the reason to the learner so they can adjust their behavior.

Who can give extra points or revoke them?

The Community Owner and any Community Facilitator can revoke or give bonus points earned by a Community Member (e.g. learner) for a particular post or comment.

Who can see that points were given or revoked?

Other than the Community Owner and Facilitators, only the learner whose points were revoked would be notified. Since accolades are publicly visible, we generally recommend giving accolades instead of awarding learners extra points. In addition to giving the learner a bonus for producing excellent content, accolades indicate to other learners which posts are exemplary and provide a model for other learners to follow.  Ultimately that helps improve the overall value of the community to your learners.

Revoking points based on a post or comment

1. At the bottom of the post in question, click on the Manage Points button (speedometer icon).
   
   
2. Under "Point Value", enter a negative point value. For example, if comments are worth 20 points, give the learner -20 points to fully revoke points from the post, -10 points to partially revoke points from the post, and so on.
   
   
   • For particularly egregious behavior, you may want deduct more points than what the learner originally earned. Instructors can deduct as many points as they want regardless of how many points the original Post or Comment was worth. However, instructors should only do this in very rare cases. Punitive actions can have a chilling effect on the health of your community.
     
     
3. In the "Message (optional)" field, explain why you are revoking points. We highly recommend that you explain your reasoning, thereby turning the experience into a teachable moment.
   
   
4. Click SUBMIT.

Giving extra points based on a post or comment

In cases where a learner narrowly misses a weekly reset deadline, experiences illness or a family emergency, etc., adding extra points to posts (instead of giving accolades) may be good practice.

1. At the bottom the post in question, click on the Manage Points button (speedometer icon).
   
   
2. Assign a positive point value.
   
   
   • Note: When a Community Owner or Facilitator gives bonus points, the recipient will receive the full number of bonus points even if the learner has already reached the point maximum for the week.
     
     
3. In the "Message (optional)" field, explain why you are giving bonus points.
   
   
4. Click SUBMIT.

Adding or removing points to multiple learners from the Points Report page

1. In the left-hand navigation, go to Data → Points Report.
   
   
2. Select the member whose point total you wish to adjust. It is worth noting that bulk points can be awarded to all learners at once using the multiple learner check-mark selection as in the screenshot below.
   
   
3. Click the +/- Adjust Points button.

• Note: Points can also be awarded/deducted for a particular past date regardless of the current grading period. Points attributed to the past date will be counted in excess of the weekly point max. 

Audience: This help article is for Instructors, Designers, and Administrators. Students or Learners cannot access these settings.