Grade Center Tutorial
Blackboard Version 9.1 Training
Dr. Wm. E. Stuermann
NGU
1/11 – 12/11
How to View This Training
This training is best viewed in the ‘normal’ view of PowerPoint
which permits you to read the notes at the bottom of the screen
while viewing the screen shots. This view is selected by clicking
the far left PPT view icon at the bottom of the PPT screen. The
best procedure is to also open your Bb account and work
through the instructions rather than simply reading about them
here. You can toggle back and forth between this PPT
presentation and Bb. If you are viewing this screen in the PPT
side show mode right now, right click on this screen and choose
‘End Show’. With the slide highlighted on the left, you can use
the page down button or the arrow down button on your
computer to move down through the slides. The notes begin
with the first screen shot.
Tricks of the Trade
If you do not see the notes area at the bottom of the screen,
point the cursor at the bottom until it changes into a double
headed arrow cut by two parallel lines. Click and drag the top of
the notes area up.
You can move the screen shot up or down using either the scroll
controls or the roller on your mouse. Roll far enough and the
next side appears.
You may have to adjust the height of the notes area if the notes
are extensive. In fact, you should scroll down in the Notes area
using the scroll bar on the far right to make sure that you have
seen all of the notes on each slide. Of course, if there is no scroll
bar, you have seen all of the note.
Introduction
Welcome to the Blackboard Version 9.1 (Bb V
9.1) undergraduate Faculty tutorial on the Grade
Center. The purpose of this tutorial is to provide
basic training in Bb V. 9.1 to the undergraduate
faculty of North Greenville University. Graduate
faculty are also welcome to use it. In this
PowerPoint (PPT) presentation you will learn the
basics of manipulating and using the Grade
Center, also called the grade book.
One of the most important guidelines in
teaching online and in using Bb is consistency.
You will see repeatedly that V. 9.1 works in a
very similar manner throughout the system.
This is a characteristics that you should emulate
when you design and teach your courses.
To learn how to operate or manipulate
Blackboard you need to do three things.
1. Study materials, like this PPT
presentation.
2. Practice and play with the system
while expecting that not all will work
like you expect it to at first.
3. Seek help when necessary. The Help
link and Google are very good.
New users of Bb are urged to start simple and increase
the complexity of their courses as they become more
familiar with Bb.
The ‘Submit’ button at the top and bottom right of the
pages is used to save your actions and to move back up
one level in the course. ‘Ok’ moves the user back up
the course one level without saving.
Bb gives feedback on the success or failure of actions
taken in your course. Either a success or failure notice
or receipt will appear at the top of the page after you
click Submit. You will be given a short explanation of
the failure when the action is not successful.
The Grade Center is an important tool
in any Bb course. It can be used in a
very simple manner or its use can be
very sophisticated. There is another
tutorial devoted solely to the Grade
Center. Please consult it.
The next step is to allow students to submit their assignments to
the Bb course. This technique has the advantage of establishing
a single location for the submission of (perhaps a myriad of)
assignments. You no longer have to search through one or more
email accounts or to dig through a mass of papers on a desk. All
the assignments are in the website waiting to be graded.
Students can no longer claim they turned in assignments which
are some how ‘lost’ now. V. 9.1 does not have or use a digital
drop box. Any assessment created via the Create Assignment
link will appear in the Needs Grading area of the Grade Center.
Here is how to create the assignment which is linked to the
Grade Center. The assumption is that you already know how to
create an Item under the Build Content button in a course
content area. If you do not know how to accomplish this task,
please return to the basic Bb tutorial.
Now that you have created assignments which the students will
submit online you now need to grade them. Two options are
available: either scrolling manually through the Grade Center
and grading assignments or using the Needs Grading function.
The Needs Grading function approach is strongly recommended
because the former is definitely a laborious task which should be
used only in isolated situations. But, the manual method is first
described below because you will use it sometimes.
Displaying on Selected Columns
The problem with the Grade Center is that when you add
columns they are appended at the end of the Grade Center. If
you add many columns on an as needed basis finding a particular
column can be a slow and irritating process. The difficulty is
compounded when you need to find multiple columns. You will
sometimes desire to display only selected columns, for instance
just all columns for a particular unit or for a discussion board,
and none others. If you use the Smart View technique you do
not need to bother to reorganize your columns because
regardless of where the columns are located in your Grade
Center you can always call them up. There are three steps: 1.
Create a category. 2. Assign the columns to the category. 3.
Create a Smart View.
That concludes this basic overview of the Grade Center, its
function, and how to manipulate it. Good luck.
The End
I would greatly appreciate any comments you
have about this presentation, particularly how
to improve it. Never hesitate to contact me at
x2091 or at bill.stuermann@ngu.edu about
any questions or concerns you have regarding
Blackboard.
Thank you for your attention.
Bill