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Category: Blackboard Bits, Bytes, and Nibbles

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #98: Test Results and Feedback

A recent update to our Blackboard Assessments Building Block changed the functionality of the Show Test Results and Feedback to Students option. The "Score" option has been replaced with the "Score per Question" option. Choosing the "Score per Question" option will show each test question along with the points earned for the question.

Test Results and Feedback Screenshot

If you only want the students to see their overall test score after they submit their tests, then you must make sure the "Score per Question" box is unchecked. Otherwise students will be able to see all their test questions immediately after they submit the test.

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Bb Learn 9.1 Test/Survey Enhancements Video [2:07]
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call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #97: “Force Completion” Clarified

"Force Completion" is a setting available when selecting test availability options in Blackboard. The idea behind the "Force Completion" setting is to allow for a one-time entry into a test. However, using the "Force Completion" setting may have some unintended consequences. For example, if the student accidentally closes the browser, or loses the connection to the test, the student cannot continue with the exam unless the instructor intervenes and resets the exam (i.e., clears the attempt). For this reason, using the "Force Completion" setting is not recommended. Instead, use the timer AND enable the Auto-Submit test option.

Test Availability Screenshot

Using the timer/auto-submit options allows students to re-enter the exam and continue where they left off as long as there is time remaining. The timer will continue to record the time from when the student initially entered the exam. If there is no more time left the student will not be able to re-enter the exam. Likewise, if the student is able to re-enter the exam he/she will only have the remaining time to complete the exam.

The timer/auto-submit options accomplish the same goal as Force Completion, without students having to contact the instructor because they lost connectivity or abnormally exited the exam. This should lead to less student frustration with the exam and greatly reduce the number of calls to have the instructor clear test attempts.

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Student Guide to Taking Tests in Blackboard
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Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #96: Resources

Two new tabs were created inside Blackboard in an attempt to simplify access to faculty and student resources and to provide consistency for Blackboard users. You should see the new tabs when you login to Blackboard.

image showing Bb tabs with faculty and student resources highlighted

Send email to Karen Nichols with any comments or suggestions about the new tabs.

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Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #95: End of Semester Tasks

As we approach the end of the semester there are a few things you can do in Blackboard to wrap up for the semester.

image showing empty desks with the caption Getting Ready for the End of the Semester

Download your gradebook

Student access to courses is removed two weeks after the end of a semester. During this process all grade book records are deleted. You should download your gradebook to your local computer after you submit your final grades.

Create a master copy of your course

Courses remain on the Blackboard system for three semesters before they are removed. You can request a Master Course Shell that you can use to develop and maintain your course materials. Master Course Shells will not be removed from the Blackboard system.

Hide old courses from view

When you login to Blackboard you will see your courses for previous semesters listed along with the courses you are currently teaching on the Xavier University and Courses tabs. If you do not want to see older courses in the list, you can hide them from view.

Follow these steps to do it.

Instructions are available in previous Bb tips for downloading your grade book, requesting master course shells, and hiding old courses from view.

Want more information?

Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

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Published on 1 Comment on Bb Tip #94: Turnitin – Rubrics

Turnitin recently announced two new rubric features. You can now import rubrics from Excel files. Previously you had to create the entire rubric inside Turnitin. Now you can create a rubric template in Excel and upload the template file into Turnitin. The rubric scoring values are added after you upload the template file.

The second new rubric feature is Grading Forms. Grading Forms are simplified rubrics that allow an instructor to give free-form feedback and scores for students across several criteria. Grading forms are easy to create and can be attached, modified, and shared just like Turnitin rubrics.

Want more information?

Turnitin - Import Rubric from Excel File [web page]
Turnitin - Grading Forms [web page]
Turnitin Instructor User Manual
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call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #93: Tips on Searching Bb Tips

Over the years I have attempted to post just-in-time tips to assist faculty with using Blackboard (Bb). Currently there are over ninety (90) Bb tips posted to the CAT Food blog. Finding a previous Bb tip might take a while if you search the tips going backward through each one. That said, I thought this would be a good time to post a tip about searching for Bb tips.

Just in case you missed it, there is a search box on the CAT Food blog page. Simply type a search term in the search box and click the Search button. For example, if you want to search the CAT Food blog to find out what may have been posted about web tools, enter "web tools" in the search box and click the Search button.

You can combine search operators with your search term in order to narrow your search results. If you are searching for words that appear together you should put the search string in quotes. Additionally, you can refine your search by including a plus sign (+) in front of a search term to indicate the search results must include that search term. Note: You need a space before the plus sign and no space after.

Go ahead, try searching for "web tools" both with and without quotes and compare the search results. Then enter "web tools" +integrate to see what search results are returned to you.

Want more information?

Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #92: Accessibility

Accessible course content may benefit everyone regardless of age, ability, or situation.

Awareness of some of the potential barriers and challenges students face can help you create an online learning environment that accommodates individuals with disabilities, adult learners, novice technology users and others in ways that benefit all users. The Creating Accessible Course Content document identifies some of the challenges students face and how you can use specific Blackboard tools and universal design techniques to help all learners master your course objectives.

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Getting Started with Creating Accessible Course Content
University of Central Florida - Accessibility Tips
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call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #91: Turnitin – Grade Anything

Instructors and students can now submit any file type to Turnitin for checking originality, grading online or distributing work for peer review. Submission file types may include PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, images, html code—whatever file type your students use for their assignments, Turnitin will accept it.

Turnitin - Grade Anything

Traditionally, English instructors have used Turnitin to evaluate papers and essays for plagiarism, grammar/mechanics and other writing skills. Now, with Grade Anything, Turnitin has opened up the door for instructors in other disciplines to provide feedback and evaluate other assignment types--not just papers. This exciting new capability allows Turnitin to be used by a broader range of instructors: those who evaluate presentations or teach in disciplines such as science, math, economics, and visual arts.

No submission? No problem! Instructors can provide students with feedback using Turnitin even if there is no file submitted for the assignment, such as with a musical recital or dance performance.

Instructors in every discipline can now evaluate student learning and give rich, timely feedback regardless of the nature of the assignment.

Want more information?

Turnitin - Grade Anything
Turnitin Instructor User Manual
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
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Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #90: Grade Center – Understanding Weighted Grades

The Grade Center allows you to create weighted grade columns. There are several different ways to calculate weighted totals in the Grade Center.

Weighted Grade Calculation Example

For example, you can calculate a weighted total:

  • by item
  • by category
  • by weighted running total
  • when dropping the lowest score from a category
  • in categories with equally weighted items consisting of different point values
  • in categories with proportionally weighted items consisting of different point values

Want more information?

Understanding weighted grades
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Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
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call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

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Published on 2 Comments on Bb Tip #89: Grade Center – Weighting Grades

A weighted grade column is a calculated column that displays the calculated result of component parts (columns and/or categories); each part is worth some percentage of the total. You can create a weighted grade based on any column and/or category in the Grade Center. For example, you can create a weighted grade column that calculates the final grade for the course. Categories such as Test, Discussion, and Assignment would be given a certain percentage of the final grade along with the percentage for other grade columns (e.g. Mid-term, Final Exam).

Weighted Grade Pie Chart Example

Follow these steps to do it.

To add a weighted column to the Grade Center:

  1. Go to the [Control Panel] of the course you want to add a weighted column. Click on the [Grade Center] link to expand it.
  2. Click on [Full Grade Center].
  3. Move the mouse over the [Add Calculated Column] button and select [Weighted] from the drop down menu.
  4. Enter a name that describes what the weighted grade column is in the Name field. Grade Center display name and description are optional.
  5. Select how you would like the results of the weighted grade to be shown by clicking on the pull down arrow and selecting primary display from the list. Secondary display is optional and will only be shown in the Grade Center.
  6. In the select columns section, choose which grade columns and/or categories will be used in the calculation of the weighted grade by clicking on the grade column or category and then clicking on the respective arrow to move the column/category over to the selected columns area.
  7. Enter the weight percentage to be applied to each column/category you selected. The total weight must equal 100%.
  8. When selecting a category you can choose to weigh columns equally or proportionally and whether to drop grades in the category or to use the highest or lowest grade in the category.
  9. Choose whether to calculate the weighted grade as a running total which would include only the columns that have been graded in the calculation.
  10. In the options section you should indicate whether you want to include this weighted grade column in grade center calculations, show the weighted grade column in My Grades, and show statistics for the weighted grade column in My Grades. My Grades is what is shown to your students when they go into your course.
  11. Click [Submit] when you are finished entering all your information and selecting the options. The weighted grade column will be added as the last column in the Grade Center.

Want more information?

Step-by-step instructions are available [pdf]
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.