Tip #87: End of the 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

Make the course unavailable

1. Go to the Control Panel and click Customization.
2. Click Properties.
3. Underneath Set Availability, check the box next to No.
4. Click Submit.

Backup the final course Gradebook:

1. Access the Grade Center from the Control Panel.
2. Click Work Offline on the right side and select Download.
3. On the Download Grades page:
• Data, select Full Grade Center
• Options, select the Delimiter Type as Tab
• Save Location, select Download Location as My Computer
4. Click Submit.
5. Click link to download grade center backup.

Archive your Blackboard course:

1. Go to the Control Panel and click Packages and Utilities.
2. Click Export/Archive Course.
3. Click Archive.
4. On the Archive Course page:Select Copy Options, check Include Grade Center History
5. Click Submit.
6. An email will be sent when the archive has been completed.Note: Refresh the screen to view the zip file. The course archive may take up to 15 minutes to generate.
7. Click the Archive File of the course to save to computer.

Tip # 86: Sending Email from Grade Center

Tip: Emails can be sent to students directly from the Grade Center.
This feature imports student emails into an email form directly from the grade center.

How to send emails from Grade Center:

1. Access the Grade Center from the Control Panel.
2. Check the boxes next to the name or names to send emails to.
3. On the bottom of the grade center below student names, click the drop-down menu Email.
4. Click Email Selected Users.
5. A Send Email screen will open, importing all selected user emails and providing text boxes to insert the subject, message, and any attachments.
6. Complete information in the Subject and Message boxes and click Submit.
   Note: A copy of the email will be sent to the instructor.

Tip #85: Copy and Paste from Word

Tip: Some formatting of text can be preserved by changing the options in visual text box editor.

Pasting copied text from Word into Blackboard can sometimes cause formatting problems. Changes made to the visual text box editor can preserve spacing from Word.

How to copy and paste from Word:

1. In Blackboard, create a new item (i.e. Discussion Board, Announcement, or Course Module), or reply to a discussion board thread.
2. On the right side of the visual text box editor is a button that says Visual Editor: On. Click On to change the selection to Off.
3. When the Visual Editor button says Off, the text editing tools are removed. Instead, three options on the bottom will appear. The Smart Text option should be selected.
4. Copy and paste text.
Note: Only spacing and bullets will be kept in Blackboard, not bold, underline, or italics.
5. Click Preview (on the bottom right of the text box) to see how the post will look before submitting it.
Note: Do not turn on the text editor before submitting text, or all text will be removed.
6. Once finished, click Submit.
7. Bold, underline, and italics may be added by using the text editing toolbar after a post has been submitted. Click to Edit post. [If the visual editor is still off, click to return to on mode and text from Word will be retained.]

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.