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Category: Blackboard Bits, Bytes, and Nibbles

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #88: Test/Survey Design and Deployment Enhancements

The Blackboard Learn SP13 upgrade gave us a number of exciting new features, including enhancements to Test and Surveys. The Test and Surveys enhancement gives you more control over the design and gives you flexibility over the delivery of assessments.

Grade Center Color Coding

The enhancements to Test and Surveys are:

  • Adding questions to a test/survey – When creating/editing a test/survey you can add new questions exactly where you want them on the canvas by clicking the plus sign before or after another question and then choose a question type.
  • Test/survey availability exceptions – New settings have been added to Test and Survey Options pages to allow you to select one or more groups of students and make a number of exceptions to the already established availability settings. For example if you have a student with a disability that needs additional time to take a test, you can set an exception to give that student extra time to complete the test. You can change these settings at any time, even after the test/survey has been attempted by some students.
  • Due date and late submissions – This new enhancement allows instructors to decide whether to allow students to take a test/survey after the due date has passed.
  • Test/survey results and feedback – After students complete a test/survey, results and feedback are available to them. By setting up rules, you can set the release of progressive feedback to keep test results secure and prevent cheating.

Important: When setting an availability end date for a test, instructors should be aware that students will not be able to view their exam results and feedback in the content area where the test was deployed because after the availability end date, the exam is no longer available to them in that content area. After the availability end date, students can view their test results and feedback using the "My Grades" Tool.

Want more information?

View short video: Test/Survey Enhancements [2:07]

Help for Students:

  • View test results/feedback when availability end date has past [pdf].
  • View Respondus LockDown Browser (RLDB) test results/feedback when availability end date has past [pdf].

What’s new in Bb Learn SP13?
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 #87: Grade Center – Color Coding

You can create rules to apply color to the cells in the Grade Center. Creating color rules in the Grade Center provides visual indicators to help you interpret information quickly. For example, you can use yellow to highlight graded items with failing scores so students and columns that require attention are prominent. Also, you can assign colors to the following grading statuses: In Progress, Needs Grading, or Exempt.

By default, color coding is not enabled in the Grade Center, and to use color coding you need to enable it. After you define and save the color rules, the color coding applies to all Grade Center views.

Follow these steps to do it.

To add color coding to the Grade Center:

  1. Go to the [Control Panel] of the course you want to add color coding to. Click on the [Grade Center] link to expand it.
  2. Click on [Full Grade Center].
  3. On the action bar, point to [Manage] menu, and then select [Grading Color Codes].
  4. On the Grading Color Codes page, select the check box for Enable Grading Color Codes.
  5. In the Color Coding Options section: For each Grading Status, click the down pointing arrows icon in the Background Color column to access the Swatch Color box.
  6. In the Swatch Color box, select a color and click [Apply] to save it.
  7. In the Grade Ranges section: Click [Add Criteria] to create a color rule.
  8. In the Criteria drop-down, select Between, More Than, or Less Than.
  9. Type a percentage in the box or boxes.
  10. For Background Color and Text, click the down pointing arrows icon to access the Swatch Color box. Select a color and click [Apply] to save it.
  11. Click [Add Criteria] to create an additional Grade Ranges field.
  12. Click [Submit] when done.

Want more information?

Step-by-step instructions are available [Video] [web page].
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 4 Comments on Bb Tip #86: Grade Center – Calculated Column

In the Grade Center, an Instructor can calculate grades by combining multiple Grade Center columns to get performance results. Calculated columns can be used to:

  • Calculate total points
  • Calculate grade based on weight
  • Calculate an average grade
  • Calculate a minimum or maximum grade
  • Set criteria when creating Adaptive Release and Retention Center rules
A+ Grade

You can include a calculated column when creating another calculated column. For example, if you created a calculated column that weighs quiz grades, you can include the column when creating a final grade column.

A Total and Weighted Total column are automatically created in the Grade Center when new courses are created. You can rename, change the settings, determine which columns are included, or delete these default columns.

Follow these steps to do it.

To add a calculated column:

  1. Go to the [Control Panel] of the course you want to add a calculated column. Click on the [Grade Center] link to expand it.
  2. Click on [Full Grade Center].
  3. Roll your mouse over [Create Calculated Column] and click on the type of calculated column you want to create.
  4. Enter a name for the Calculated Column and then choose the appropriate options for the calculated column.
  5. Click [Submit] when done.

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.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #85: Course Files

Creating and maintaining a repository of materials is an important part of developing Blackboard courses. With Course Files, instructors have access to their files from a central location inside their course. They can view, organize, and manage those files to suit their needs.

Files are uploaded into the Course Files storage area in one of two ways:

  • Upload files when creating content in the course. The files are automatically saved in Course Files.
  • Upload files directly into Course Files. When you create content in your course, you can link to the files.
Course Files
Course Files

Large amounts of content can be moved quickly from a local drive to the Course Files storage area in your course. Once content is in the Course Files storage area, it can be organized using folders and sub-folders. The organization of content in Course Files is separate from the organization of content presented in a course.

Course files are not shared across courses taught by the same instructor. However, content in the Course Files storage area can be used in multiple places within the same course just by linking to it. Students do not have access to store or share files in the Course Files storage area. Students will have access to files once the instructor provides a link to them.

Content linked in a course from Course Files is not deleted when the link in the course is deleted. The file remains in Course Files and can be used again. Links to course content are not broken when files are modified or moved to another Course Files folder. You can permanently remove a file from a course by deleting it in the Course Files storage area.

Want more information?

Tour the Course Files feature [Video].
Working with Course Files [Webpage].
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 #84: Global Navigation Menu

The Global Navigation Menu is a new feature in Blackboard Learn SP 12. The Global Navigation Menu is the entry point to My Blackboard and also provides one-click access to your courses, organizations, settings and help. You no longer have to navigate to the Xavier University home page or courses tab to access your courses and organizations. Additionally, you will see an alert next to your name on the Global Navigation Menu when there are changes, notifications, or updates to your courses or organizations since your last login.

Global Navigation Menu
Global Navigation Menu

Follow these steps to do it.

To expand the Global Navigation Panel, click the arrow on the right of your name. A drop-down window will appear showing the My Blackboard Menu on the left and the User Menu on the right.

Want more information?

Step-by-step instructions are available [pdf] [video].
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 #83: Beginning of Semester Tasks

As you prepare for the start of the semester, it is a good time to get started setting up your Blackboard courses. Blackboard courses are automatically created using the course information in Banner a few weeks before the start of the semester. You can post your syllabus, course documents, and announcements to your Blackboard courses. You can also customize your course menu and/or add a course banner.

If you teach a course that is cross listed you will have a Blackboard course for each cross listing. You can combine the cross listed courses into one Blackboard course so that you can post course materials and grades to one combined Blackboard course. Combining courses may also work for you if you are teaching different sections of the same course and would like to have the different sections combined into one Blackboard course so that you can post course documents and grades in the one combined course. The beginning of the semester is the best time to combine your Blackboard courses before you add course material or grades to the courses.

Follow these steps to do it.

Listed below are links with instructions for

  • Merging courses [Web page]
  • Hiding old courses from view [Web page]
  • Getting started with the course environment [PDF] [Video]
  • Course structures and course themes [Web page] [Video]
  • Changing the display name for your course [Web page]
  • Adding a course banner [Web page]
  • Adding items to the course menu [PDF]
  • Posting announcements [Web page]
  • Copying content into another course [Web page]
  • Using date management to update dates after course copy [Web page]

Want more information?

Attend a drop-in session to get one-on-one help.
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 #82: 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.

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 3 Comments on Bb Tip #81: Video Everywhere

"Video Everywhere" is a new feature in the content editor that allows you and your students to:

  • Record short YouTube videos on the fly using a webcam and seamlessly embed the video into your course materials, interactions, and feedback.
  • Reuse previously recorded YouTube videos by choosing from your own "library" of videos.

Videos are uploaded, processed and stored in YouTube. The videos are uploaded to YouTube as "unlisted" videos. An unlisted video is publicly visible, but not indexed in any search engines. Only people with a link to the video can view it. Videos uploaded through the content editor using "Video Everywhere" will have a link that users in your Blackboard course have access to.

Video Everywhere
Record from webcam

"Video Everywhere" is available in Blackboard wherever the content editor is available. A Google account and YouTube channel are required to use "Video Everywhere."

Follow these steps to do it.

Google/YouTube

Start by ensuring your Google/YouTube accounts are setup correctly:

  1. Create a Google account.
  2. Sign in to YouTube using your Google account credentials.
  3. Click arrow next to your icon (avatar).
  4. Click on [My Channel].
  5. Click [OK] to confirm new YouTube channel.

Note: Setting up your Google account and YouTube channel is something you will do one-time only. You do not have to repeat this process.

Video Everywhere

To record or use a previously recorded video:

  1. Click on the [Record from Webcam] button in the content editor.
  2. Click the [Sign in to YouTube] button. Sign into Google using your credentials.
  3. Click the [Grant access] button.
  4. Click the [Record from webcam] button. Optionally, you can click on the "Browse" tab to select a previously recorded video and then follow the prompts.
  5. In the Adobe Flash Player Settings window, select the "Allow" box to allow access to your webcam.
  6. Click on the microphone and camera tabs to verify the settings are correct.
  7. After verifying the microphone and camera settings, click the [Close] button to close the Adobe Flash Player Settings window.
  8. You may get a message asking to allow access to video camera. If so, click [Allow] and then click [Ok] to the YouTube message.
  9. You should see yourself in the Webcam Recorder window. Click the [Start Recording] button to record your message.
  10. When you are done recording click the [Stop Recording] button.
  11. Click the play button to review the video recording. If necessary, click the [Start over] button to record another video.
  12. Click the [Upload] button to upload the video to your YouTube channel.
  13. Choose your playback options and then click on the [Insert] button to insert the video into the content editor.
  14. You should see a placeholder (frame) for the video in the content editor. You will see the actual video player (or a thumbnail) once you click Submit to save the information. If you don’t see the video, click on the refresh button to refresh the Blackboard page.

Want more information?

Getting Started with Video Everywhere [pdf] [video].
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.

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Published on 4 Comments on Bb Tip #80: Date Management

Due dates, availability dates, and adaptive release dates are usually entered when you create assignments, assessments, discussion boards, blogs, wikis, journals, etc. You can use due dates to help keep students on track. Students see the due dates when they go to My Grades to view their grades and when they look at entries in their course Calendars. With the new updated Calendar students can see the due dates for items in their courses. Assignments, assessments, discussion boards, blogs, wikis, journals, etc. with due dates automatically populate into the Calendar.

The new Date Management tool allows you to easily change due dates, availability dates, and adaptive release dates at one time (all on one page). If you have to modify dates for two or more items you should consider using the Date Management tool to adjust the dates. The Date Management tool will save you some time as you will not have to edit each individual item to adjust the dates.

The Date Management tool can be very useful when you use the Course Copy feature. For example, if you created a master copy of a course and copied the content from the master course into a blank course, you can use the Date Management tool to easily adjust dates after the course copy.

Note: You cannot use the Date Management tool to adjust dates of Collaborate sessions, Bb partner integrations or publisher content items (e.g. Turnitin, McGraw Hill, etc.)

Follow these steps to do it.

To adjust content and/or tool due dates, availability dates, and adaptive release dates you should:

  1. Goto the [Control Panel] for the course and click on the [Course Tools] link to expand it. Click on [Date Management].
  2. Choose whether you want the system to automatically adjust dates to new dates or if you want to "List All Dates for Review". The "List All Dates for Review" option allows you to review all dates and manually adjust dates yourself.
  3. Click Refresh to ensure the page is up-to-date.
  4. Review all dates and adjust accordingly. You can filter your review by item type (e.g., assignments, blogs, journals, discussion boards) and date types (e.g., due dates, availability dates, adaptive release dates).
  5. You can adjust dates individually, two or more at one time, or automatically. Use the pencil icon to modify dates for individual items.
  6. Click [Run Date Management Again] to automatically adjust dates.

Note: If you do not see Date Management in your Course Tools, you should verify the Date Management tool is available in your course. To verify, go to the [Control Panel] click on [Customization] to expand it and click on [Tool Availability]. Make sure there is a check mark in the available box for the Date Management tool. Click [Submit] to save the changes.

Want more information?

Step-by-step instructions are available [webpage] [video].
Copy Course Contents into another Course [webpage].
Master Copies of Courses [webpage].
Blackboard Calendar [video].
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 #79: You Can Personalize Blackboard

The "@X@user.full_name@X@" template variable allows you to personalize messages for your students inside Blackboard. Use this template variable to create a more personalized learning environment. For example, you can personalize a welcome message and/or honor pledge by including the student’s name.

Follow these steps to do it.

1) Enter "@X@user.full_name@X@" (without the quote marks) in the content editor wherever you want to substitute the student’s name.

1st example – In a welcome message enter:

Hi @X@user.full_name@X@, welcome to the...

Welcome Message Example
Welcome message example

2nd example – For an acknowledgement in an honor pledge enter:

I, @X@user.full_name@X@, acknowledge that...

Honor Pledge Example
Honor pledge example

2) You will see the substitution once you click [Submit] to save the item.

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 email or call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.