Question: I'd like to provide a student with some feedback on an assignment that they've submitted. Is it possible to do so within Quercus?

Answer: Yes, feedback can be communicated to your students via Quercus. You can use the comments area within the New Gradebook, or you can send feedback via Speedgrader. The method of delivery ultimately depends on the type of feedback that you'd like to provide. 

The New Gradebook method is typically used to communicate shorter passages of text to your students. For a guide on the process of leaving a New Gradebook comment, please see "How do I leave comments for students in the New Gradebook?".

Speedgrader is helpful if you're looking to post more detailed feedback to your students. For example, Speedgrader's DocViewer will allow you go through an assignment and annotate where you see fit, providing your students with a detailed account of the strengths and weaknesses of their submission. See "How do I add annotated comments in student submissions using DocViewer in SpeedGrader?" to learn more.

Question:  How can I input my midterm exam grades within the New Gradebook if the test was administered outside of Quercus?

Answer: To be able to input your exam grades, you must first add a new Assignment. Once your new Assignment is created and named, change its submission type to "on paper". With this property being selected, your Assignment (i.e., the midterm) will show up in the grade column of your New Grade Book and you can enter the midterm grades accordingly. 

Please see "How do I create an assignment?" which depitcs the proces of adding an assignment. To learn more about changing the submission type, please see "How do I add or edit details in an assignment?". Lastly, visit "How do I enter and edit grades in the New Gradebook?" to learn more about inputting grades. 

Note: Understandably, the label of "Assignment" can be a bit confusing within this context as we are actually working with an exam and not an assignment. To avoid confusion, think of the Assignment label as representing a broad range of items that can be assesed, not just assignments.