Guide to Blackboard Assessment Tools
Developed by:
Academic Technology Services & User Support
Cornell Information Technologies
www.blackboard.cornell.edu
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................1
COLLECTING STUDENT WORK ELECTRONICALLY .......................1
GIVING AN ASSIGNMENT..................................................................................................................... 1
VIEWING AND DOWNLOADING SUBMITTED FILES ................................................................................ 3
ONLINE QUIZZES .........................................................................................6
DEVELOPING A QUIZ ........................................................................................................................... 6
GIVING A QUIZ ................................................................................................................................... 9
USING QUESTION POOLS ................................................................................................................... 10
USING THE GRADEBOOK ........................................................................15
SETTING UP YOUR GRADEBOOK ....................................................................................................... 15
ENTERING GRADES AND OTHER DATA .............................................................................................. 16
WORKING OFFLINE ........................................................................................................................... 16
OTHER TOOLS ............................................................................................19
USING THE DISCUSSION GRADER ...................................................................................................... 19
MORE INFORMATION AND SUPPORT .................................................20
© 2006 by Cornell Information Technologies, Cornell University
Copying, abstracting, or modifying without fee is permitted provided
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INTRODUCTION
One of the advantages of using Blackboard for your course web site is the
ability to conduct a variety of online assessments.
The assignment feature gives instructors the opportunity to collect student
work, such as essays and lab write-ups, electronically, while the quiz feature
allows instructors to give pre-class warm up quizzes and other low-stake
assessments. (Please note that the quiz tool in Blackboard is not appropriate
for prelims or other high-stakes testing.)
Both quizzes and assignments are linked to the gradebook, making it easy to
track student submissions, give feedback, and calculate scores.
What you see…
…isn’t always what
you get! The pictures,
or “screen shots” in
this document were
taken using Windows
XP and IE 6.0.
Depending
on
the
operating system and
browser you’re using,
your screen may look
slightly different.
COLLECTING STUDENT WORK ELECTRONICALLY
There are two Blackboard tools that can be used to collect student
work: the Digital Drop Box and the Assignments feature. In this
document, we’ll focus on the Assignments feature because it offers
instructors several advantages such as quick download and cleanup of
student files, as well as its connection to the gradebook.
Giving an Assignment
With the Assignments feature, instructors create assignments by typing
instructions, specifying a point value, and attaching files if necessary.
Students submit their work for each assignment by attaching files and
adding comments. Then, from the gradebook, instructors can view
submitted work and send individual feedback to students.
Creating an Assignment
Assignments can be created in any of your content areas.
To create an assignment:
1. Click the Control Panel button.
2. In the Control Panel, under Content Areas, click on the name of
the content area where you’d like to place the assignment and
navigate to the appropriate folder.
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3. From the drop-down menu on the right, choose Assignment and
click the Go button. The Add Assignment page will appear.
4. In the Name box, type a name for the assignment.
5. In the Points Possible box, type a point value for the assignment
(if applicable). This point value will be used in gradebook
calculations.
6. In the Instructions box, type any specific instructions or
requirements for the assignment, such as recommended length,
due date, etc.
7. Make any necessary adjustments to the Availability Options, or
keep the default settings.
8. Upload any files that accompany the assignment (optional). This
could be journal article for which students must write a reflection
or a picture of artwork that students must critique.
9. Click the Submit button to create the assignment. The assignment
will appear in the appropriate content area.
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Submitting an Assignment (the student perspective)
10. To view any files you’ve attached, and to submit their work for
the assignment, students will need to click on the “View/Complete
Assignment…” link.
11. On the Upload Assignment page, students can type notes to the
instructor in the Comments field and upload as many files as
necessary.
12. By clicking the Save button, students can come back to finish the
assignment later; when the student clicks the Submit button, their
comments and files will be sent to the Instructor.
If a student clicks the Submit button prematurely, you will need to
clear the attempt in order to let the student try again. You can do
this by viewing the individual assignment details
Viewing and Downloading Submitted files
When you create an assignment, Blackboard automatically creates an
item in the gradebook to track that assignment. As students submit
their work, you can view and download their submissions from inside
the gradebook.
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Viewing Individual Details
13. In the Control Panel, under Assessment, click on the Gradebook
link.
14. Find the appropriate gradebook item by checking the item name –
it will match the name you gave the assignment.
15. Click on any of the entries for that gradebook item, to view the
submission details.
16. The Modify Grade page will display the date/time stamp for the
submission, as well as the student’s comments.
17. Click the View button to open any of the attached files, enter a
grade for the assignment, and type comments or instructor notes.
Downloading Files in a Batch
If you’d like to do your grading off-line, or just want a local copy of
the attached files, you can download all the files for a particular
assignment at once.
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18. In the Gradebook, click on the Assignment name.
19. Click on the Item Download link.
20. Use the check boxes to choose specific students, or click the
Check All link to select all the students who’ve submitted work.
21. Click the Submit button. You’ll see a message confirming that the
files have been exported.
22. Click the “download assignments now…” link.
23. Click the Save button and navigate to the place on your disk or
hard drive where you’d like to save the files.
The files will be saved to your computer as a Zip archive (.zip).
You’ll need to double-click on the zip file to view and open the
individual files. You’ll notice that Blackboard includes the
students’ usernames (most likely their NetIDs) in the filenames,
so they’re easier to identify.
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ONLINE QUIZZES
The quiz tool in Blackboard can facilitate low-stakes quizzing or using
a quiz for pre-class reviews.
The quiz tool in Blackboard is not appropriate for prelims or
other high-stakes testing.
Developing a Quiz
Quizzes are referred to as “Test” in Blackboard.
Creating a Test
Add a Test
1. In the Control Panel, under Assessment, click the Test Manager
link.
).
2. Click the Add Test button (
3. In the Name box, type a name for the test.
4. In the Description box, type a brief description of what the test
covers. This might be a time period, a list of core concepts, etc.
5. In the Instructions box, type instructions for completing the test.
These might include a submission deadline, references to class
readings, or guidelines for using the course textbook.
6. Click the Submit button to create the test.
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You will automatically see the Test Canvas screen, where you can
adjust the creation settings and add questions to the test.
Adjust the Creation Settings
1. In the Control Panel, under Assessment, click on the Test
Manager link. You should see all the tests you’ve created listed on
the Test Manager page.
) next to the appropriate test to
2. Click the Modify button (
view the Test Canvas.
3. In the Test Canvas, click the Creation Settings button.
4. Check the box next to each option you’d like to enable.
5. Click the Submit button to save your changes.
6. Click OK to return to the Test Canvas.
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Add Questions to the Quiz
7. In the Test Canvas, choose the appropriate question type from the
drop-down menu.
8. Click the Go button. The Add Question page will appear, but keep
in mind that this page will look different depending on the type of
question you selected in the previous step.
9. Complete the Question section by entering the question text and
point value.
10. Complete the Answer section.
For multiple choice questions, you’ll need to specify the number
of possible responses, enter each possible response and identify
the correct answer. For essay questions, you may need to type an
example and grading guidelines. These will help TAs and graders,
but will also be visible to students.
11. Complete the Feedback section (if applicable).
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12. Click the Submit button to add the question to the test.
Giving a Quiz
Once you’ve created a test, that test will be stored in the Test Manager.
But in order to give the test to your students, you’ll need to make it
active, or “deploy” it, in one of your content areas.
Deploying a Test
1. Click the Control Panel button.
2. In the Control Panel, under Content Areas, click on the name of
the content area where you’d like to place the test and navigate to
the appropriate folder.
3. Click the Add Test button (
).
4. Choose the test from the list of existing tests.
5. Click the Submit button to add the test to your content area.
By default, the availability option for the test will be set to “No”.
You’ll need to modify the test options to make it visible to students.
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Modifying the Test Options
6. In the Control Panel, under Content Areas, click the on the name
of the content area where you placed the test.
) to the right of the test.
7. Click the Modify button (
8. Click the “Modify the test options” link.
9. Here, you can adjust the availability, feedback, and presentation
settings.
10. Click the Submit button to save your changes.
Using Question Pools
Pools allow instructors to develop and store entire sets of questions,
and then reuse them in multiple tests. When creating a test, you can
pull specific questions from a pool, or random blocks of questions
based on question type or keyword.
Creating a Pool
Add a Pool
11. In the Control Panel, under Assessment, click Pool Manager.
12. Click the Add Pool button (
).
13. In the Name box, type a name for the pool.
14. In the Description box, type a brief description of the kinds of
questions in this pool.
15. Click the Submit button to create the pool.
You will automatically see the Pool Canvas screen, where you can
adjust the creation settings and add questions to the test.
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Adjust the Creation Settings
1. In the Pool Canvas, click the Creation Settings button.
2. Check the box next to each option you’d like to enable.
3. Click the Submit button to save your changes.
4. Click OK to return to the Pool Canvas.
Adding Questions to the Pool
1. In the Pool Canvas, choose the appropriate question type from the
drop-down menu.
2. Click the Go button. The Add Question page will appear, but keep
in mind that this page will look different depending on the type of
question you selected in the previous step.
3. Complete the Question section by entering the question text and
point value.
4. Complete the Answer section.
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For multiple choice questions, you’ll need to specify the number of
possible responses, enter each possible response and identify the
correct answer. For essay questions, you may need to type an example
and grading guidelines. These will help TAs and graders, but will also
be visible to students.
5. Complete the Feedback section (if applicable).
6. Click the Submit button to add the question to the test.
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Using Select Pool Questions in a Test
7. In the Test Canvas, choose “From a Question Pool or
Assessment” from the Add Question menu.
8. Click the Go button.
9. Click the Search tab, and then click the Advanced tab to refresh
the screen (a little bug in Blackboard!).
10. Select the pool(s) that contain the questions you’d like to draw
from.
11. Identify the search criteria (keywords and/or question types).
12. Click the Search button.
13. Select any questions you’d like to add to the test.
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14. Click the Submit button. The selected questions will appear on the
Test Canvas.
Using a Random Block of Pool Questions
15. In the Test Canvas, choose “Random Block” from the Add
Question menu.
16. Click the Go button.
17. Select the pool(s) that contain the questions you’d like to draw
from.
18. Select the desired question type(s).
19. Type the number of questions to include in the random block.
20. Type the point value for the questions (all the questions in a
random block must have the same value).
21. Click the Import button. The random block will appear on the test
canvas.
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USING THE GRADEBOOK
Setting Up Your Gradebook
Adding Items
1. In the Gradebook, click the Add Item button (
).
2. In the Item Name box, type a name for the item.
3. From the Category drop-down menu, choose the appropriate
category.
4. In the Points Possible box, enter the point value for the item (if
applicable).
5. From the Display As drop-down menu, choose the appropriate
option. If the item is descriptive you may want to display the item
as “text”.
6. Under Options, decide whether to make the item visible to
students. If the item is for internal use, you may want to choose
“No”.
7. Decide whether to include the item in gradebook score
calculations.
8. Click the Submit button to add the item.
Managing Items
1. Click the Manage Items button (
).
2. Here, you can:
• Determine the order in which gradebook items will be
displayed;
• Modify item settings (category, point value, etc.); and
• Remove items.
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3. When finished, click OK to return to the gradebook.
Entering Grades and Other Data
Quick Entry
1. In the Gradebook, click on the name of the item for which you’d
like to enter grades.
2. Click the Item Grade List link.
3. In the Grade column, enter the grades or other data for each
student.
4. Click the Submit button when finished.
Working Offline
You can export the Blackboard gradebook for use in a spreadsheet
program like Microsoft Excel.
Downloading Grades
1. Click the Download Grades button (
).
2. Click the Download button to export the Blackboard gradebook in
a comma delimited format.
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3. Click the Save button, and save the gradebook file to your hard
drive or disk.
4. To view and edit the grades, open the file in a spreadsheet
program like Microsoft Excel.
Do not change the column headings, formatting, or
contents of the first column! You may not be able to
upload your changes to Blackboard later on.
5. When finished, save your file.
6. Click Yes if asked whether to keep the workbook in CSV (comma
delimited) format.
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Uploading Grades
1. Click the Upload Grades button (
).
2. Click the Browse button and find the gradebook file,
gb_export.csv, which you saved to your hard drive or disk.
3. Choose the gradebook column that you wish to import (the one
that you changed in Excel).
4. Choose the column that you wish to update in Blackboard.
If you only made changes to the grades for an existing item, the
names should match up. If you added a column in Excel that
doesn’t exist in the Blackboard gradebook, you’ll need to choose
“Create New Gradebook Item”.
5. Click the Submit button.
6. Select the students whose grades you wish to import.
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7. Click the Submit button.
8. Repeat steps #1-7 for each gradebook column that needs to be
updated.
OTHER TOOLS
Using the Discussion Grader
This tool allows you to view and assess students’ participation in
discussion board forums. In order to use the Discussion Grader, you
need to have created the forum you intend to assess.
1. In the Control Panel, under Course Tools, click the Discussion
Grader link.
2. Click on the Discussion Forum you want to assess.
3. Choose the appropriate grade book item, or create a new one.
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4. Click the Submit button. Now, when you click on the forum in the
discussion grader, you’ll be able to view and assess each student’s
participation in the forum.
5. Click the Select button to the left of the student name to view their
discussion board posts and assign a grade.
MORE INFORMATION AND SUPPORT
Many forms of assistance are available to you when you have
questions about using or maintaining your Blackboard site.
Visit http://www.cit.cornell.edu/atc/cst, our Cornell Blackboard web
site, for announcements, tips, and other helpful documents.
If you have any comments or questions, please send an e-mail to the
support staff at atc_support@cornell.edu
You may also search the Blackboard manual, located in the Support
section of the Control panel.
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