Tip #84: Entering Grades

Tip: You can enter grades with or without feedback.

This feature allows movement from one student to the next within the options to submit grades with or without feedback.

How to enter grades without feedback:

1. From the Control Panel, access the Grade Center.
2. Click on Edit Rows Displayed in the lower-right hand corner, underneath all student names. Here you can adjust how many students you can see at once.
   Note: The more students displayed, the longer it takes Grade Center to load.
3. Underneath the desired assignment column, click on the cell of the first student.
   
4. Type in grade and hit enter.
5. The next cell will automatically enter edit mode where you can type in the grade.

How to enter grades with feedback:

1. From the Control Panel, access the Grade Center.
2. Locate the desired assignment column and click cell of the first student.
3. Click the down arrows on the right side of this cell and select View Grade Details.
4. Select Edit Grade, which is located on the right-hand side underneath Actions.
5. Type in the number grade under Current Grade Value and insert comments in the text box underneath Feedback to User.
6. Click Save.
7. Above the Current Grade box, click on the forward arrow next to the current user name to view grade details for next student.

Tip #83: Bulk Downloading Assignments in the Grade Center

Tip: You can download all submissions for an assignment as one .zip file.

This feature is available when the assignment feature is used to issue an assignment. Blackboard automatically creates a column in the grade center. The grade center column will collect the assignments.

How to bulk download assignments:

1. Access the Grade Center from the Control Panel.


2. Locate the assignment column to download and click the down arrow next to the name of the assignment


3. Select Assignment File Download


4. Select the student(s), click Submit


5. Click the link provided to download the assignment files titled Download assignments now.


6. The file will download as a .zip file.

For information on creating assignments in Blackboard, see Creating Assignments.

Tip #82: Backing up the Grade Center

Tip: You can back up your Grade Center by downloading a copy of it in spreadsheet format.

Here’s how to back up your Grade Center:

1. Log into your course and ensure Edit Mode is ON.


2. Click on the Grade Center area of the Control Panel then select Full Grade Center in the expanded menu.


3. On the Grade Center page, click on the Work Offline button and select Download.


4. On the Download Grades page under Data, select Full Grade Center.


5. On the Download Grades page under Options, select Tab as the Delimiter Type.


6. Click Submit. A file containing the Grade Center data will be created.


7. Click on the DOWNLOAD button and choose where to save the file.
   NOTE: The file will be downloaded with an *.xls extension which will open in Excel.

Tip #81: Grade Center Text Columns

Tip: You can use text columns in the Grade Center to remember non-grade information such as a student’s preferred name or which class section they’re in.

Here’s how to create a Grade Center text column:

1. Log into your course and ensure Edit Mode is ON.


2. Click on the Grade Center area of the Control Panel then select Full Grade Center in the expanded menu.


3. On the Grade Center page, click on the Create Column button.


4. Type a Column Name, Grade Center Display Name (optional), and Description (optional).
   • NOTE: The Grade Center Display Name will only be displayed in the Grade Center.


5. Select Text for the Primary Display.


6. Enter zero for the number of Points Possible.


7. Select No for Include this Column in Grade Center Calculations as well as Show Statistics.
   • NOTE: If you do not wish students to see the information in this column, select No for Show this Column to Students as well.


8. Click Submit.


9. Enter the students’ new non-grade information in the new Grade Center column.

Tip #80: Known Issues

Tip: As with most new software, Blackboard 9 has a few bugs. In order to track these and help faculty be aware of potential problem areas, we have created a known issues list.

The complete known issues list can be found at http://www.twu.edu/blackboard/13251.asp

The following known issues are pervasive issues across campus which many users have experienced.

Blogs, Journals, and Wikis

Some users receive error messages and experience intermittent access when attempting to connect to blogs, journals, and wikis. Blackboard has applied a patch which has resolved the issue. If you continue to receive an error message, this issue can be resolved by clearing your browser cache.

To do so:
Close all browser instances then launch a single instance.

For IE8: Tools >> Internet Options >> Browsing History… >> Delete >> check Temporary Internet files, Cookies, and History >> uncheck Preserve Favorites website data >> Delete

For Firefox 3.5 or greater: Tools >> Clear Recent History >> set Time range to Everything >> check Cookies and Cache >> Clear Now

For IE7: Tools >> Internet Options >> Browsing History… >> Delete >> Delete files… >> Delete cookies… >> Delete history…

Safari: Tools >> Reset Safari >> check Empty the cache and Remove all cookies >> Reset

Exit and then re-launch the browser.

For other browser directions, see: http://www.bnl.gov/itd/webapps/browserCache.asp

If, after following these steps, the 404 error continues to occur, send an email to blackboard@twu.edu to let us know.

Discussion Board Attachments

Students are unable to view files that instructors have attached, and instructors are unable to view files that students have attached using the Visual Text Box Editor.

• Instructors should use the "Attach File" icon on the Visual Text Box Editor toolbar.
  
  
• Students should use the "Browse My Computer" button in the Attachments section below the Visual Text Box Editor.

HTML

Inserting HTML in areas of the course where HTML is not expected can cause parts of the course to be inaccessible or to not function. We suggest that HTML only be incorporated in text areas that have a related Visual Text Box Editor available.

Announcement, Assessment, Assignment, Discussion Board

If an item is setup with a start date but no end date or with an end date but no start date, the item cannot be modified.

For this reason, it is important to either set both a start date and an end date (even if the end date is dated far in the future) or set neither. Also, do not use both availability dates and adaptive release.

Know of other issues?
If you know of an issue that is not currently on the complete known issues list, please let us know at blackboard@twu.edu.

Tip #78: Naming Files for Blackboard

Tip: You can reduce the number of error messages you and students receive when opening files by appropriately naming files uploaded to Blackboard.

How to do it:

There are several file name characters that may lead to error messages when instructors or students upload or download files. To reduce the occurrence of those errors, follow these naming conventions:

• Use only letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens in file names
• Use hyphens or underscores in place of spaces in file names
• Do not use periods in a file name, except before the file extension (e.g. “Name_test1.doc”)
• Do not use spaces, commas, pound signs (#), question marks, equal signs, ampersands (&), asterisks (*), or any other special characters in file names
• Keep file names under 60 characters in length

NOTE: You may recommend to students that they follow these same naming conventions. Suggest that they make their filenames as short, descriptive, and unique as possible. Having them use their last name along with the assignment name is a useful strategy. This is helpful when you are downloading multiple students’ files at once (e.g. downloading students’ completed assignments).

Tip #79: Freezing Grade Center Columns

Tip: In Blackboard 9’s Grade Center, you can freeze the leftmost columns in place so they do not move while horizontally scrolling through the Grade Center. For example, the columns containing the students’ first and last names are frozen by default.

Here’s how to Freeze Columns:

1. Log into your course and ensure Edit Mode is ON.


2. Click on the Grade Center area of the Control Panel then select Full Grade Center in the expanded menu.


3. On the Grade Center page, click on the Manage button and then select Column Organization from the dropdown menu.


4. Drag the row related to the column you would like to freeze above the dark grey bar that states “Everything above this bar is a frozen column”.


5. Click Submit.

Here’s how to Unfreeze Columns:

1. Log into your course and ensure Edit Mode is ON.


2. Drag the row related to the column you would like to unfreeze below the dark grey bar that states “Everything above this bar is a frozen column”.


3. Click Submit.