Making the Best of Blackboard Tools Grade Book, Assignments, and Turnitin

Turnitin Get an account Go to Account number = Password = csuhayward2

Deterrent Value Announce your intentions to use Turnitin in the class Include Turnitin info in your syllabus Explain how it works Print out and show examples of how Turnitin works

Turnitin (continued) Two ways to submit documents Students submit documents Revision feature allows revision without plagiarism check Instructors submit documents One at a time Batch upload multiple files

Turnitin Searches the Internet, old copies of the Internet, journals, newspapers, Proquest database, and its own database Sensitivity is 6 – 8 characters in a row Creates a digital fingerprint of the submitted document and compares it to all others on the web

Proquest Today, as a result of agreements with more than 9,000 publishers worldwide, ProQuest Information and Learning provides access to information from periodicals, newspapers, out-of-print books, dissertations, and scholarly collections in various formats. Our archive includes more than 5.5 billion pages of information, spanning 500 years of scholarship, in formats that range from print to microform to digital. From:

Bernie, You’re supposed to do the demo part now. Sincerely, Bernie

Turnitin Hints Create revision assignments so a student’s paper will not be flagged as plagiarized Use as a deterrent Provide an alternative

Gradebook Control Panel > Gradebook Students automatically populate the spreadsheet Spreadsheet is downloadable as an Excel file

Setting up Click “Add Item” to create a column Auto – generated columns: Assignments Assessments Pay attention to settings Letter = A, B, C, D, and F with + or – only Text = all letters Score = number Complete/Incomplete = I or C Inconsistencies in display settings and entries may result in an “F” displaying to students

Gradebook: Display As: Ensure that “Points Possible” and “Display As” options are matched

GB Display Options

Weighting Grades Number of points scored Number of points possible = X % times the weight of the item = y % Sum of the y% of each item = weighted total

The “F” Grade List Input Display as “Text” Gradebook (and Student) Display Display as “Letter”

Gradebook Hints ensure the grades/score you enter in an item match the display options (setup) ensure that for a grade only display, points possible are 0 when weighting grades, that the weights equal 100% being aware of the display options download spreadsheet after it is set up (you can work offline) and do not alter its structure

Assignments Integrated with the Gradebook More elegant than the Digital Drop Box

Assignments Provide clear and concise directions of your expectations as well as of the process (download assignment - complete assignment - upload assignment)

Assignments Hints Create a naming protocol Avoids duplicate filenames and over-writing of files Ex. “lastname_hw1.doc” for the first homework assignment Provide clear instructions