Blackboard training – green belt

Creating lesson folders Folders give you a way to group items in a course. Take some time to plan out your folders BEFORE creating them. Make it easy for your students (and yourself) to find course documents. When creating folders, think about the items students will need during a particular period of time. In one week, they’ll most likely need to access everything related to a particular subject or chapter, so you might want to name your folders Week 1, Week 2 or Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and so on, rather than Quizzes, Lecture Notes, etc. 1.Within the course, make sure Edit Mode is switched to ON then click Course Content. 2.Roll over Build Content then click Content Folder. 3.On the next page, type in a name for your folder (e.g. Unit 1, Week 1, etc.) a)If you don’t want anyone to be able to enter the folder, click No beside Permit Users to View this Content. b)Click Yes beside Track Number of Views if desired. 4.Scroll all the way to the top or the bottom of the page and click Submit. The folder will appear as a link on the next page. 5.Create as many folders as you want, following the steps above.

Adding items and files Any type of file—PDF, image, PowerPoint, Word document—can be uploaded to Blackboard. The instructions below apply to all types of files. 1.Within the course, make sure Edit Mode is switched to ON then click Course Content. 2.Click the folder to which you want to upload the file (e.g. Unit 1). 3.On the next page, roll over Build Content then click Item. 4.Type in a name for your item, e.g. Skeletal System Notes. 5.Beside, Find File, click Browse My Computer. 6.Locate and select your file. The name of the file should appear in the box. 7.Type in a name for your link. “Click to read this file” is one option. 8.Click Submit. Students can now access the file by clicking the link. To upload a syllabus, follow the same steps except click Course Syllabus > Build Content > Item. NOTE: If you’re uploading a Word document, it’s best to save it as an .rtf (Rich Text Format) file because it can be opened using any word processing program. To save a file as an .rtf, open the file in Word, select File > Save As. At the bottom of the Save As box, click the drop-down

Setting up assignments Assignment instructions can be set up within Blackboard so students can read them and upload the assignments directly to the course. You can create a document on which they can type their answers. You can also ask them to save their assignment in .rtf (or PPT, or whatever is appropriate) format. 1.Within the course, make sure Edit Mode is switched to ON then click Course Content from the menu on the left. 2.Click the folder in which you want to upload the file (e.g. Unit 1). 3.Roll over Create Assessment then click Assignment. 4.Type in a name for the assignment (e.g. Chapter 1 Workbook Questions). 5.Enter Points Possible. 6.You can either: a)Type detailed instructions in the Instructions box OR b)Type brief instructions in the Instructions box and upload an attachment containing more information. 7.To upload an attachment, click Browse My Computer beside Attach File. 8.Locate and select your file. The name of the file should appear in the box. 9.Type in a name for your link. Click to read this file is one option. 10.Click Submit. 11.Students will now be able to view the instructions and submit their assignments online. The assignment will also be placed in the Results Center

Retrieving and grading assignments In addition to quizzes and discussions, students complete “assignments” in their Blackboard courses. These are posted (and should be submitted) as .rtf files. 1.Within the course under Control Panel, click the big blue double chevron next to Grade Center. 2.If a student has submitted the assignment, you will see a yellow exclamation point in the cell for the assignment. 3.Place your cursor over that cell and click the double arrow. 4.Click Attempt. 5.In the Review Current Attempt area, you will see a link (file name) to the right of Attached Files. Click the link to open the file. 6.Enter the points earned by the student in the Grade box under Grade Current Attempt. Whether the student did well or poorly, type constructive comments in the Feedback to User box. 7.You can also put comments directly on the file. If you do this, make sure to save it with your changes and then upload it by clicking Browse My Computer next to Attach File. In the Comments box, type “See attachment for feedback.” 8.Use the Instructor Notes section to write comments to yourself. 9.Scroll to the top or bottom and click Save and Exit or Save and Next.

Setting up the Grade Center There are 3 steps to setting up a grade book with weighted grades. Step 1: Create Categories 1.Under the Control Panel , click the big blue double chevron next to Grade Center. 2.Roll over Manage and then click Categories. A few categories are included by default. 3.To create a new category, click Create Category. 4.On the next screen, type in a name for your new category, such as Lab Skills. 5.Click Submit. 6.Repeat these steps until you have created all the categories you need for this course. Step 2A: Create a Column (assignments) 1.From the Categories page, click the Grade Center breadcrumb link at the top of the page. 2.Click Create Column. 3.On the next page: Type in a Column Name (name of the assignment). Select the primary display (score, percentage, etc.). NOTE: If the primary display is set to percentage, you will enter the percentage (not points) earned for each assignment. Select the category using the drop-down arrow. Enter the number of points possible. Always enter points even if the display will be a letter or percentage. 4.Click Yes for Include this Column in Grade Center Calculations. 5.Click Yes for Show this Column to Students. 6.Click Submit. 7.Repeat these steps until you have created a column

Setting up the Grade Center - continued Step 2B: Modify a Column 1.In the Grade Center, locate the grade column for the assignment you wish to modify. 2.Click the drop-down arrow beside the column title and click Edit Column Information. 3.You can edit anything on the next page. Column name Points possible Category 4.Once you’ve made your changes, click Submit. Step 3: Set Weighting 1.In the Grade Center, click the drop-down arrow beside the column titled Weighted Total then click Edit Column Information. The information under Column Information will already be filled in, but you can modify it if you want (change column name, display, etc.) 2.Under Select Columns, choose either categories or columns (individual assignments) to assign weight. In the Categories to select box, click on a category name (e.g. Test). Click the arrow to the right of the box. Another box will appear where you can type in the percentage weighting for this category. You can also choose to weight assignments in this category equally or proportionally. Repeat the two steps above until all categories have been selected. The total percentages must add up to 100. Select Yes or No for Calculate as running total. 3.Click Yes for Include this Column in Grade Center Calculations. 4.Click Yes for Show

Setting up the Grade Center - continued Step 4 (optional): Create an Extra Credit Column Points entered in an extra credit column will be added to the gradebook. You must set Points Possible to 0 so that students who do not earn these points will not be penalized. 1.In the Grade Center, click Create Column. 2.Type in a name for your column (e.g. Extra Credit). For Points Possible, enter 0. 3.Scroll down and click Submit. NOTE: If a student earns all possible points on every assignment AND extra credit, his or her total will be over 100% (e.g. 310 points out of 300). If a student earns more than 100% for the course, any column set up to display letter grades (rather than points or percentage) will display numbers.

Importing exam test banks Test banks created in Examview can be imported into Blackboard. Everything you create in Examview – formatting, images, correct answers—is carried over, saving you time and effort in writing tests. Part 1: Export the Test Bank from Examview 1.Open the test bank. While viewing the test bank in Examview, click File > Export > Blackboard X.X. Choose the most recent version of Blackboard in the list. 2.The Export Question Bank box will pop up. Type in a name for your bank. Making sure it’s something easily recognizable (e.g. Psychology_Lesson4_quiz), and click Save. 3.In the Export to Blackboard box, type in the name of the test and a name for the image directory. Again, use a name you can easily recognize. Click the OK button. Part 2: Import the Test Bank into Blackboard 1.Next, go into Blackboard to the course into which you want to import the test. 2.Under the Control Panel, click Course Tools then click Tests, Surveys, and Pools. 3.On the next page, click Pools. 4.On the next page, click Import Pool. 5.On the next page, click Browse My Computer and double-click the zip file to select it for your test bank. Click Submit. 6.The next page will show a confirmation message. Click OK. 7.On the next page, you will see the imported pool in a list of pools (that is sorted alphabetically). NOTE: Examview BANKS (.bnk) can be imported in as pools, but TESTS (.tst) must be imported as tests.

Creating Question Pools Question pools used for tests can be built directly in Blackboard. It’s best to build a very large pool of questions so you have more than you need for a test. For example, if you want to give students a 15-question quiz, write at least 25 questions for the pool so it’s unlikely two students will get exactly the same set of questions. 1.Go into the course and click Course Tools in the Control Panel, then click Tests, Surveys, and Pools. 2.Click Pools. 3.Click Build Pool. 4.Type in a name for your pool (e.g. Skeletal System Pool) and click Submit. 5.On the next page, roll over Create Question, and click on the question type you want to create (e.g. Multiple Choice). 6.Type the question text into the first text box at the top of the page. Type answer choices into the boxes below. Make sure you select the radio button beside the correct answer. You can also type feedback into the Feedback boxes. Click Submit. 7.Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you have created all your questions. The questions in this pool can now be used to create tests within the course. A pool can be used on more than one test, such as on a chapter test and a final exam.

Building and deploying tests in courses Once you’ve imported a test bank into Blackboard’s Pool Manager, or created a pool by entering questions manually, the next step is to use that pool to generate a test. Create a Test 1.Under the Control Panel, click Course Tools then click Tests, Surveys, and Pools. 2.On the next page, click Tests. 3.On the toolbar at the top left of the page, click Build Test. 4.On the next page, type in a name, brief description and instructions for the test and click Submit. 5.On the next page (Test Canvas), roll over Reuse Question and from the drop-down menu, select either Random Block or Find Questions. a)Random Block allows you to set a number of questions students will receive from the bank. This ensures that students don’t all get the exact same questions. b)Find Questions allows you to select specific questions. 6.A new window will open. Select your pool from the list, and choose the question types you’d like to use. Click Submit. 7.On the next page, set point values for questions. Deploy the Test 1.Go back to the Control Panel. 2.Click Course Content and then click the folder in which you want the test. 3.Roll over Assessments then click Test. 4.On the next page, click on the test in the list and click Submit. 5.You’ll receive a confirmation on the next page. Click OK. 6.On the next page, click Modify the Test Options. 7.Set desired options, including access dates, whether the test is timed, and number of attempts allows, and then click Submit. 8.The test should now be visible within the course and automatically added to the Results Center grade book.

Resetting tests Sometimes you may need to reset a student’s test so they can take it again. 1.Within the course, go to the Course Management section of the blue menu. To expand the Control Panel, click the double chevron to the left of Control Panel. 2.Next, click the double chevron to the right of Grade Center. 3.On the next page, find the student’s test (or quiz) that needs to be reset. Click the drop-down arrow to expand the menu then click View Grade Details. 4.On the next page, click Clear Attempt toward the right of the screen. 5.A window will pop up. Click OK to confirm.

Setting course availability Within Blackboard, you can limit access to folders or items to set the pace for the course. This prevents students from working too far ahead. 1.From the blue menu on the left, click Course Content. 2.To set lesson/folder availability, click the drop-down arrow next to the desired folder and click Edit. 3.Under Options, you can either: Click No beside Permit Users to View this Content. Check the box beside Display After and select a date. Click the check box beside Display Until and select dates. The students will only be able to see the assignment in Course Content between the Display After date and the Display Until date. If you do not select date and time restrictions, the item will be available permanently. 4.Click Submit. Students will see the assignment in their grade book, but won’t be able to access until the designated time. You can do the same for individual items within a folder such as assignments, discussion boards, and quizzes. To set access

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