A little about myself
Alicia Harkless
~ Originally from Tuskegee, Alabama
~ Learning System’s Technician with the Ed Tech Dept.
~ Have been with Troy University e-Campus almost 2 years
~ Graduated from Troy University in 2007 with dual B.S. degrees in
Political Science and Criminal Justice
~Graduating with a Master’s in Public Administration on May 8th 2009
from Troy University
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the sponsors of this
session
Stick around for the entire session as prizes will be given away
towards the end of the session.
Managing the Grade Center
Grade Center Best Practices
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Adding a Grade/Calculated Column
Removing a Column
Weighted Total
Running Total
Modifying Column
Managing Grade Center
Viewing Test
Test Statistics
Clearing Exams
Managing the Grade Center
Adding Columns
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Click on the Grade Center link in the Assessment section of the
course Control Panel.
To add a new column (ex. assignment) click the Add Grade
Column button.
Under Column Information
A. Provide a brief Description of the item (Optional)
B. Select a Primary and Secondary Display options (what
you’d like the grade to be Displayed As (ex. letter,
percentage, etc…)
C. Select the Category
D. Enter the Points Possible
It is important to select a category when adding columns. If
Instructors use a weighted total column for calculations, they are
able to select the categories that includes the group of selected
assignments, test or documents instead of each individual column.
Grade Center Management Cont’d
• Deploying test and/or quizzes in Blackboard
automatically creates columns within the Grade Center.
• Graded discussion board forums, as well as assigning a
link to Assignments, generates a column in the Grade
Center
• Never add a column for tests, Graded discussion forums
or assignments that are linked using the Assignment tab
under the Learning Unit category.
Removing Columns
• To remove columns within the Grade Center, first click
on the chevron (double down arrows) next to the title of
the column.
• Next, select Remove Column and click OK
• As a safeguard, columns that are attached to Test,
Quizzes, or Assignment that include grades will NOT
have the Remove Column as a selection. This is also
true if the Instructor selects External Grade for a
column.
Weighted Total
• Click the Add Calculated Column tab.
- Selected Weighted Total button
• Under Column Information
- Provide a brief Description of the item
- Select a Primary and Secondary Display options (what
you’d like the grade to be Displayed As (ex. letter, percentage,
etc…)
Weighted Total Cont’d
• Instructors can select documents using two features:
Columns to Select and/or Categories to select
-Columns to select allows the instructors to select
the individual assignment, test, or quiz (ex. Final
Exam as 30%, Senior Project 20%)
• Categories to Select allows the Instructor to choose a
group of documents that contain similar items (ex. All
assignments, all quizzes, all projects in the course)
Weighted Total Cont’d
- Running Totals- select yes or no based on
Instructor needs and preferences
- Select No for including in Grade Center
calculations. Instructors can choose whether to
make the column visible to students.
- Click Submit
Running Total
• Running Total allows the instructor to have Blackboard
calculate the scores of all assignments.
• An Instructor would select Yes for the running total if
he/she wants Blackboard to calculate actual grades.
That means if a student does not submit an assignment
and the instructor does not Manually key in a grade of
zero (0) Blackboard will not calculate the missing
assignments in the final grade. Instead it will ONLY
calculate the scores for columns that have a grade.
Running Total Cont’d
• An Instructor would select NO for the running total if
he/she wants Blackboard to calculate all columns
regardless if a grade has been entered. However, the
grades will be lower as Blackboard is calculating all of
the columns assigning a zero (0) to columns without
grades.
• The better selection of the two is to select No as it will
give the Instructor an accurate final grade, assigning a
zero (0) until a grade is entered. Unless the Instructor
allows students to choose between assignments or
projects then selecting Yes to running total is more
appropriate.
Modifying Column
• Click on the Grade Center link in the Assessment
section of the Course Control Panel.
• From the Grade Center, click on the title of the column
you wish to modify and select Modify Column.
• From the Modify Column page, select any of the item
options you would like to change and modify information
and settings as desired.
• When finished click Submit to save.
Managing Grade Center
• To make changes to the layout, hide/unhide columns or
to freeze columns in place, Instructors should use the
Manage feature.
• Go to the Gradecenter, click on Manage and scroll down
to Organize Grade Center.
• From the Organize tab, Instructors can move columns to
be in sequential order, hide or unhide columns or freeze
IMPORTANT columns.
Viewing Test
• From the Grade Center, under the exam column, click on
the chevron next to the grade, tablet or exclamation point
icon.
– Click on Grade Detail
– Select View Attempt
– Instructors will see the exam that Blackboard has on
file for that student.
Test Statistics
• Instructors using the test feature in Blackboard can
gather statistics on how students answer questions
within quizzes and test.
• From the Grade Center, click on the chevron (double
down arrows) next to the title of the test.
• Scroll down to Attempt Statistics
• From here the Instructor is able to view the collective
data of how students answered each question.
Clearing Exams
• Before Instructors clear exams, he/she should VERIFY
that the student is not in the exam.
• From the Grade Center, under the exam column, click on
the chevron next to the tablet/pencil icon.
• Scroll down to Grade Detail
• Select Clear Attempt
• Click OK
(Branding Logo)