Tip #57: End of Semester Checklist

Tip: At the end of each semester, you should

1. Export the final course Gradebook
2. Archive your Blackboard course
3. Make the course unavailable

Export the final course Gradebook:

1. Access the course that contains the Gradebook you want to export
2. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Gradebook
3. Click the Download Grades button
4. Select Comma or Tab as the Delimiter Type (both file types can be opened in MS Excel)
5. Click the Submit button then click the Download button
6. Save the file to your Desktop (or anywhere on your computer that is appropriate)
7. Click OK

Archive your Blackboard course:

1. Access the course you want to archive
2. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Archive Course (located in the Course Options category)
3. Click the Archive button
4. Click Submit
5. After you receive the archive completion email, navigate to the Archive Course page again.
6. Right-click the zipped course file and click Save Target As… to save the file to your computer
   
• NOTE: If you are using Firefox, you will use the Save Link As… option instead
7. Click OK

Make the course unavailable:

1. Access the course you want to make unavailable
2. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Settings (located in the Course Options category)
3. Click Course Availability
4. Select No, and click Submit
   

Tip #56: Creating an Anonymous Survey

Tip: You can create an anonymous survey in Blackboard.

Here’s how to create the survey:

1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Survey Manager


2. Click the + Add Survey button


3. Type a name for the survey as well as any description or instructions you want to provide then click Submit


4. Add questions to the survey
   
   
   
   1. Click on the drop-down menu next to the words Add Calculated Formula
   
   
   2. Select the type of question you would like to add then click the Go button
      
      • For open-ended questions, select the Short Answer or Essay question types
        

Here’s how to launch the survey in your course:

1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on the Content Area where you would like to place the survey


2. Click the Edit View link at the upper right corner of the page


3. Click the drop-down menu next to the words + Select: Learning Unit


4. Select the Survey option then click the Go button


5. Select the survey you created then click Submit
   
   • To change the survey availability and settings, click the Modify the Survey options link on the following page

Survey anonymity in Blackboard:
Surveys in Blackboard are anonymous, so you will not be able to discern individuals’ survey answers. To view the full survey results,

1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Gradebook


2. Locate the survey Gradebook item, and click on the name of the survey


3. Click the Download Results link, and select your download options
   
   • NOTE: Microsoft Excel will open a .csv file or a tab-delimited file

Tip #55: Weight Gradebook Items by Category or by Item

Tip: You can weight Gradebook items by category or by item.

NOTE: After you assign weight to Gradebook items or categories, you cannot remove the weighting option from the Gradebook. Therefore, add weighting to the Gradebook only if you are certain that you will continue to use weighting the entire semester.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Gradebook


2. Click the Weight Grades button


3. Select the option to Weight by Category* or to Weight by Item


4. Assign weight percentages to the desired categories or items
   
• Percentages must add up to 100%


5. Click Submit to save the new settings

*Weight by Category:
Weighting by category allows you to assign a weight percentage to a particular type of Gradebook item rather than to each Gradebook item. For example, you can weight all course quizzes at 30% of the students’ total grades. Each time you add a quiz, the weight percentage for each quiz will adjust so that their sum total can only affect up to 30% of the students’ grades. Remember, the total percentages across all categories must add up to 100%.

To use this feature correctly, it is important that you assign Gradebook items to appropriate categories. Here’s how to change a Gradebook item’s category:

1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Gradebook


2. Click the Manage Items button


3. Click the Modify button next to the Gradebook item you want to change


4. Select a new category for the item, and click Submit

Tip #54: Add/Remove users to the Instructor role

You can add users to the instructor role in your course as well as remove users from the instructor role from your course.

Here’s how to add users to the instructor role:
1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Enroll User
2. Search for the instructor’s username by typing their last name and clicking on the Search button
3. Place a checkmark next to the appropriate username then click Submit
4. Return to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on List/Modify Users
5. Click the Search button then click the Properties button next to the appropriate username
6. Under Role and Availability, select the Instructor role then click Submit

Here’s how to remove users from the instructor role:
1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on List/Modify Users
2. Click the Search button then click the Properties button next to the appropriate username
3. Under Role and Availability, select the Student role then click Submit
4. Return to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Remove Users from Course
5. Search for the instructor’s username by typing their last name and clicking on the Search button
6. Place a checkmark next to the appropriate username
7. Type Yes in the confirmation box then click Submit

• NOTE: You must type Yes, with a capital

Using the Add Users by Role feature: If you know the Blackboard username of the instructor you want to add, you can use the Add Users by Role feature.
1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Add Users by Role
2. Select the appropriate user role from the drop-down box
3. Type the Blackboard username(s) in the username box

• NOTE: You can add multiple users at once by separating each username with a comma

4. Click Submit to add the user(s)

Tip #53: Grading Discussion Board forums or threads

You can grade Discussion Board forums or threads.

Here’s how to enable grading:
1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Discussion Board
2. Choose the specific Discussion Board containing the Forum you would like to grade
3. Click the Modify button for the Forum you would like to grade
4. Under Forum Settings, select Grade Forum or Grade Threads
· Grade Forum will allow you to assign grades for students’ posts to that forum
· Grade Threads will allow you to assign grades for students’ replies to each thread in a forum

Here’s how to grade:
1. Click the Grade icon next to the forum or thread you would like to grade
2. Click the Grade button next to a student’s name
· The student’s posts to the forum or thread will display
· You can filter, sort, and print the student’s posts
3. Type a grade in the Grade box and click the Submit button

Discussion grading and the gradebook:
It is important to note that when you enable grading for a forum or thread, columns for those forums or threads are automatically generated in the gradebook.
· When you enable grading by forum, a column for that forum is created in the gradebook
· When you enable grading by thread, a column for each thread in a forum is created in the gradebook
Keep this in mind when choosing whether to grade by forum or thread. Gradebook management can become cumbersome if you choose to grade a large number of threads.

Tip #52: Embedding YouTube videos

You can embed YouTube videos in your Blackboard course.

Recommended use:
Due to copyright terms and YouTube’s Terms of Service requirements, we strongly recommend you only embed videos that you have created and uploaded to YouTube.

Here’s how to do it:
1. Open the YouTube page containing the video you would like to use, and copy the Embed code

• This is located in the video information to the right of the video
• If you click in the Embed field, it will highlight all of the code for you to copy

2. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on the Content Area where you would like to place the video

3. Click the Add Item button

4. Click the Toggle HTML Source Mode button on the WYSIWIG text editor

5. Paste the Embed code into the Blackboard text editor

• If you toggle your view back to normal mode, the content area will appear to be blank but the video will appear when you look at it in the Content Area

6. Fill in any other information as you normally would then click on Submit

Tip #51: Copy/Paste content without including MS tags and formatting

You can copy and paste content from Microsoft Word documents into Blackboard without accidentally including Microsoft tags and formatting.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open your Microsoft Word source document as well as the editing location in Blackboard where you plan to paste it
2. Open a new blank Notepad document in Windows
   • Press the Windows Start button and then go to Programs > Accessories > Notepad
3. In Microsoft Word, highlight the text you want to paste and copy as you normally would
4. Paste the highlighted text into the blank Notepad document
5. In Notepad, use Ctrl-A and then Ctrl-C to copy the now formatting-free version of your text
6. Paste this text into the Blackboard editor as you normally would

Tip #50: Setting Partial Credit on Assessments

When creating a test, you can set some questions to allow for partial credit by following a two-step process that includes first enabling the option on a test level, and then setting the option on a question level.

Question types:
While all manually-graded questions can be assigned partial credit, only the following automatically-graded questions allow it:
· Calculated Formula
· Fill in Multiple Blanks
· Jumbled Sentence
· Matching
· Multiple Answer
· Multiple Choice
· Opinion Scale/Likert
· Ordering
· Quiz Bowl

Here’s how to do it:
Enable the option on the test level:

1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Test Manager.
2. Click on the Modify button to the right of the test containing the questions you plan to make partial credit. This will take you to the Test Canvas page.
3. Click on the Creation Settings link.
4. Scroll down to the Scoring subsection, and check the box correlating to “Specify partial credit options for answers”.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click Submit and then OK.

Set the option on the question level:

1. Click on the Modify button to the right of the question you plan to make partial credit.
2. Scroll down to the Options subsection, and check the box correlating to “Allow Partial Credit”.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click either Submit or Next until you are able to click Submit.

Please note:
· Partial credit scoring for automatically graded questions must be set up before students have taken the test.
· If you choose to disable partial credit scoring, you must first disable the option on the question level before doing so on the test level.

Tip #49: Student self-assessments tool

You can use Blackboard’s Test tool to create student self-assessments with grades that only the student may see. This capability is useful when you want students to be able to assess their current knowledge and skill level while setting aside any fears they might have that this score will be used towards their grade.

Best practices:
· Use the test’s description to assure students that you will never have the capability to view their score for this particular self-assessment.
· Because only the student is able to view their grade and answers, use only question types that do not require manual grading. Otherwise, those questions will be left ungraded.

Here’s how to do it:
1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel and click on the Content Area where the assessment is located.
2. Click on the Modify button to the right of the assessment. This will take you to the Modify Test page.
3. Click on the Modify the Test options link.
4. Scroll down to the Self-assessment Options subsection, and check the box correlating to “Hide the score of this test from the Gradebook”.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click Submit.

Please note:
· Once the “Hide the score of this test from the Gradebook” option is enabled for a test, only the student will be able to see their results for that particular assessment. Disabling the option afterwards will only result in the complete loss of their scores and answers.

· If the “Hide the score of this test from the Gradebook” option is accidentally enabled for a test, please contact us at blackboard@twu.edu before doing anything else.

Tip #48: Best Practices for Student Test Taking

A Blackboard Tip of the Week:  Best Practices for Student Test Taking

Tip:  You can help students reduce the chances of technological mishaps while taking exams by encouraging them to follow a few best practices.

Best Practices for Students Preparing to Take a Test:

• Students should view Blackboard using Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 3.5
• Students who have already updated to Internet Explorer 8 should enable Compatibility View by clicking on the Compatibility View button located to the right of the Address Bar
• Students should run a System Check at least 30 minutes before an exam
• On the TWU Blackboard system front page under the Getting Started Guide, they should click on System Check 
• Students should disable pop-up blocking in their browsers
• In Firefox, they should: 
• Go to Tools > Options > Content
• Uncheck Block pop-up windows
• Click OK
• In Internet Explorer, they should:
• Go to Tools > Pop-up Blocker
• Click on Turn Off Pop-up Blocker
• Students should close all other applications and browsers before starting their test, and not open any others for the duration of their exam session
• Students should check for possible firewall issues before choosing their test taking location—especially if they plan on taking an exam at their places of employment
• Students can make sure their test submission will not be blocked by a corporate or home firewall by submitting the Sample Exam in the Blackboard Sample Course
  1. Go to http://online.twu.edu and log in with “online” as the username and password
  2. Click on TWU Sample Course and click on Exams
  3. Take the Sample Exam (choose to “take the assessment again” if given the option)
• If, after agreeing to submit the exam, the student receives “Assessment successfully submitted” message, then there should not be a test taking firewall problem on that location’s connection

Best Practices for Students While Taking a Test:

• Students should not open any other browser window or application for the duration of their exam session
• Students should not click outside of the test—including the navigation on the left side panel in Blackboard
• Students should not click on any browser navigation such as the Back, Forward, or Home buttons
• Students should not use the scroll wheel on their mouse as this will sometimes inadvertently change answers
• Students should click the Save button every five questions to save their answers unless questions are being delivered one at a time—in which case, they will need to press save on every question
• When ready to submit, students should click the Submitbutton just once

Tip #47: Alter Assessment Settings

You can alter assessment settings even after you’ve initially released an assessment. This ability allows you to release results, answers, and feedback only after all students have completed the assessment.

Here’s how to do it:
1.Go to the Blackboard Control Panel and click on the Content Area where the assessment is located.

2.Click on the Modify button to the right of the assessment. This will take you to the Modify Test page.

3.Click on the Modify the Test options link.

4.Scroll down to the Test Feedback subsection, and check boxes correlating to the kind(s) of test feedback you want to make accessible.
•Score
•Submitted answers
•Correct Answers
•Feedback

5.Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click Submit.

Archiving your course in Blackboard 7

Archive your Blackboard course:

1. Access the course you want to archive
2. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Archive Course (located in the Course Options category)
3. Click the Archive button
4. Click Submit
5. After you receive the archive completion email, navigate to the Archive Course page again.
6. Right-click the zipped course file and click Save Target As… to save the file to your computer
   
• NOTE: If you are using Firefox, you will use the Save Link As… option instead
7. Click OK

Tip # 46: Limit dropped student access to the course

When students drop a class and are not automatically removed from Blackboard, you can limit their access to the course.

Limiting access to students who drop the course mid-semester
Students who have dropped a course mid-semester will not be removed from your Blackboard course roster. This is designed to allow instructors to keep records of all students in the course. Removing a student from the Blackboard course will delete all information, including grades for that student.

Here’s how to limit access and retain student information:
Navigate to your Control Panel and click the List/Modify Users link. Type the student’s last name, or click search to list the whole class roster. Select properties next to a student’s name. Scroll down to Section 4: Role and Availability. Under Available (this course only) select No. Click Submit.

NOTE: Limiting access to students will not remove them from your grade book. However, the student will no longer be able to log into the course.

Removing Students from a Course
If a student was never enrolled in the course per your WebAdvisor roster, removal of the student may be appropriate. Keep in mind that all student data will be removed including grades, assignment submissions and course statistics.

NOTE: Blackboard roster updates occur several times a day through the twelfth class day. It is possible that during these first days of the semester, students removed from a course will be added back into the course when the roster updates occur. Removing students after the twelfth class day will be permanent.

How to permanently remove a student from the course
Navigate to your Control Panel and click the Remove Users from Course link. Type the student’s last name, or click search to list the whole class roster. Place a checkmark next to the student’s name. Type the word Yes in the box and click Submit.

NOTE: Official student rosters can be obtained from WebAdvisor and compared with Blackboard. Students who are not listed in Blackboard but listed in WebAdvisor should call the Help Desk at 940-898-3791 for assistance.


Want more information?
Step-by-step tutorials are available at: http://www.twu.edu/blackboard/faculty-support.asp
Visit our website: http://www.twu.edu/blackboard, or call: (940) 898-3706.