Blackboard 8 New Features (Grade Center) Faculty Edition

1. Blackboard 8 New Features (Grade Center) Faculty Edition Roberta Sibulkin, Staff Associate Training & Technical Support IT Helpdesk,LRC-310 http://it.worcester.edu508.929.8856

2. New Features - Overview Grade Center Blackboard Content System TM Enhancements

3. Grade Center • Redesigned Action (Tool Bar) • Works Like a Spreadsheet (Similar to MS Excel) • Grade Calculations • Average, Minimum/Maximum, Weighted, and Total Points • Reports • Print for students Continued Next Slide

4. Grade Center • Smart Views • Categorize students • Groupings based on criteria • View Groupings in Grade Center • Grading Schemas • Mapping a grade percentage range to specific grade (93-100 = A) Continued Next Slide

5. Grade Center • Email Users through Grade Center

6. Login and Accessthe Grade Center Open the Internet Explorer or Firefox browser and go to https://community.worcester.edu.The Worcester State College Community System Login page displays. Continued on Next Slide

7. Login and Accessthe Grade Center Under Login Here, type your WSC Network Username and Password. Then, click the Login button. The Blackboard Community System screen opens displaying the FacStaff Central screen. Modules have Blue Title bars… Click the pencil to edit a module that allows editing. Continued on Next Slide

8. Log in and Accessthe Grade Center Under the My Courses module, click the link for the Blackboard course shell (container for course materials) you wish to view or modify.

9. Log in and Accessthe Grade Center • The course shell opens displaying the Course Menu (renamed from Navigation bar)and a Control Panel link on the left and Tabs at the top. Note: Course menu content areas vary. New content areas can be added. Existing areas can be made unavailable or removed. Tabs Course Menu Control Panel • Buttons, Graphics, and tabs make navigation easy and intuitive. Detail or Quick View link

10. Login and Accessthe Grade Center Open the Control Panel for a Course. Under Tools, in the Course Menu area, click the Control Panel link. The Control Panel displays.View on Next Slide Students use the Course Menu to move to various areas within a course shell (container for course materials). Only Instructors, Teaching Assistants, Graders, or System Administrators have access to the Control Panel.

11. Login and Accessthe Grade Center Control Panel

12. Log in and Accessthe Grade Center • Under the Control Panel’s Assessment heading, click Grade Center. - The Grade Center displays. Click Option arrows to view Column information or to modify settings. Action Bar Name columns remain fixed when scrolling. Links to tutorials on last slide.

13. Grading Schemas • The default Grading Scale or Schema can be modified to meet your needs. • On the Grade Center Action bar click the Manage Option button , and choose Grading Schema.Defined grading schemas display. • To the right of Letter, click Modify. Continued Next Slide

14. Grading Schemas • View the defined grading schema and modify the grading scale (mapping) to your needs.

15. Weight Grades • Weights can be assigned to Grade Center items. • Items can be weighted/grouped by Category (All items in Category given percentage) or Item (Individual items given percentage) of total • For Example: Assignments can count 20% of the final grade, participation 5%, tests 30%, the midterm 20%, and the Final Exam 25%.Total percentage = 100

16. Weight GradesBy Categories • If Weighting Grades by Category, create the categories first. • On the Grade Center Action bar, click Manage and select Categories. • Click the Add Category button, type a category Name and Description, and click Submit. • Continue until all desired categories are created.

17. Enter Student GradesAdd New Column Assignments, Assessments, Surveys, and Discussion Board items generated using the Blackboard Test Manager get added to the Grade Center automatically. Additional items should be entered manually.From the Control Panel Assessment module (blue bar), click Grade Center. On the Action Bar, click Add Grade Column. Type a Column name, Grade Center display name, and description. Continued on Next Slide

18. Enter Student GradesAdd New Column • Use the Primary display drop-down menu to choose a format (score, text, letter, percentage, complete/incomplete) in which you want Grade Center and My Grades items to display. • Use the Secondary Display drop-down menu, if desired, to select how Grade Center Grades display (percentage, letter, complete/incomplete). • Use Category to select the category in which you want your Grade Center and My Grades items to display For Example: Tests • Good when weighted grades desired • - Categories must be created before Items. • Continued on Next Slide

19. Enter Student GradesAdd New Column Beside *Points Possible, enter maximum points for item (If nothing entered, 0 assigned) Under #2 Dates, select due date to display for specific duration. Otherwise, leave set to None. Under #3 Options, select “Yes” or “No” for each - Include this column in Grade Center calculations - Show this column in My Grades    Show Statistics (average and median) for this column in My Grades  Click Submit followed by OK.Column displays

20. Assign Weights • Once Grade Center items have been identified with Categories, Possible Points, and Display Options, Weighted Totals can be assigned. • In the Action bar, click the Options arrows on the Weighted Totals column. If you don’t have a Weighted Totals column, create one (Click Add Calculated Column/Weighted). • Select Modify Column. • Check to see that the Column Name, Description, Primary and Secondary displays are correct. Continued on Next Slide

21. Assign Weights • Under 3 Select Columns, scroll below Categories to Select. Continued on Next Slide

22. Assign Weights • Click to select one of your desired categories and press the black arrow (See previous slide)to move it beneath Selected Columns. • In each * % Category box, enter the percent of 100 that you want to assign to the category. • Complete the remaining fields. • Press SubmitYou will be returned to the Grade Center. Continued on Next Slide

23. TipWeight Grades • A “null value” is represented by a – (dash). • Enter a grade manually by clicking the dash. • If you decide to keep a “Running Weighted Total” column rather than creating a new and separate “Weighted” column, please make certain not to leave a “null” ( - ) value for an item thatwas graded and received a “0” or was not completed. • The Grade Center will exempt the null grade rather than including the “0” in the running total calculation.

24. Drop Lowest Score • To drop lowest score automatically, Weighting must be used. • On Weighted Total Option (down arrows) button, click Modify Column • Under #3 Selected Columns, enter number of grades to drop (1) in Drop lowest grades box for desired Category (or more than 1)

25. Drop Lowest ScoreWhen Weighting Not Used • When Weighting is not used, Grades can be Exempted. • Click Option menu for desired item. • Select Exempt Grade.

26. Email From Grade Center • Email can be sent from the Grade Center. • This works well for notifying students about desired meetings (advising, missed work, etc.). • On the Action bar, click Email. • Click inside boxes (check) to the left of desired Student Names. Continued on Next Slide

27. Email From Grade Center • Under Email Information, type a Subject and Message. • Click Submit.

28. Reports • Reports including desired Grade Center information can be generated for all or selected students. • In the Action bar, click the Reports button. • Under Header information, make certain to add a check (click in each box) beside each item you would like included in your report.For Example: Report Name. • Type a Report Name. Continued on Next Slide

29. Reports • If Custom Text was selected, type the text you would like included in the report header. • Under 2 Users, select the users you would like to receive the report. • Include the remaining information you would like on the report. Then, click Preview to view the report and make changes or Submit to finalize the report. • Click the Print button to print a copy of the report.

30. User Management List Users enrolled in course. Under User Management in the Control Panel, click List/Modify Users. Click the List All tab. Click the List All button. Click OK. Student “Home Pages” are new in Blackboard. They are Created by students in the Communication area and can be viewed by clicking the student’s name on a roster or from List All.

31. Class Roster View Class Roster. On the Course Menu, click Communication Click Roster On the Search tab type the last name or username of a specific person you wish to locate. Click Search Or… In Control Panel, under User Management, click List/ModifyUsers, List All tab followed by the List Allbutton to display all students and instructors associated with course.

32. Smart Views • Grade Center “Views” based on selected criteria are called Smart Views. • When students are enrolled in either dual listed (Women’s studies/Global Studies) or cross-listed courses (Day/Evening) courses, enrollments for more than one course or section may be combined into the same Blackboard shell. • A Smart View query can be created to list students from each section or group.

33. Smart ViewsCross-Listed Courses • Smart Views can be based on groups, performance, individual students (focus), or from a list of attributes. • Groups must be created before they can be used in a Smart View. Continued Next Slide

34. Smart Views • Create a column in which to add each student’s course section (or number to differentiate groups/sections). • On the Grade Center Action bar, click Add Grade Column. • Beneath #1 Column Information, type a Column Name, Grade Center Display Name, and Description. Continued on Next Slide

35. Smart Views • Beside Primary Display, select Text from the drop-down menu. • Leave Secondary display set to None and Category set to No Category. • Beside Possible Points, type 0 • Leave Dates Due Date set to None. Continued on Next Slide

36. Smart Views • Set the three options to No. • Include this column in Grade Center calculations • Show this column in My Grades • Show Statistics (average and median) for this column in My Grades  •  Click Submit.

37. Smart ViewsOrganize Grade Center • Move the new column to your preferred location in the Grade Center by selecting Organize Grade Center from the Action bar’s Manage Options button. • On the Grade Center Action bar, click the Manage Options button. Then, choose Organize Grade Center. • View Next Slide

38. Smart ViewsOrganize Grade Center Grayed Area Continued Next Slide

39. Smart ViewsOrganize Grade Center • Under Shown in Selected Views only, click the Grayed area of the column you wish to move and drag it to the new position. • A horizontal bar that displays as you drag indicates where the row will be placed. • The column should appear in the new location in the Grade Center. Continued on Next Slide

40. Smart ViewEnter Section ID • Enter the course/section ID for each student in the new Grade Center column. • Click in the Section column of the Grade Center to type each student’s section ID. • You can create your own ID system to differentiate groups if you wish. For example: E or EN for English majors and C or CM for Communication majors. • For this example, I will add the course ID# Continued on Next Slide

41. Smart ViewEnter Section ID • Type the Section ID (or other desired identifier) for each student enrolled in this course and press <Enter>.- The data should get saved.

42. Create a Smart View • Smart Views provide the ability to categorize students into groupings based on criteria. • Decide on descriptive Smart View names for each of the groups (dual or other). • From the Grade Center, click Manage and select Smart Views. The Final Grade View and Preview of My Grades default views display. Continued on Next Slide

43. Create a Smart View • Click the Add Smart View button. • Beside *Name, type an appropriate name and Description for the first group you wish to create. For Example: CM Students. • Beneath Selection Criteria, Type of View, click the radio button (circle) next to Investigate (View on next slide).

44. Create a Smart View • Beneath Select Criteria, use the User Criteria drop-down menu to choose criteria on which to filter. • Click Submit. • Repeat for all desired Smart Views.

45. Use A Smart View • Use a Smart View to Query for students in one of the Sections (groups) you created(For Example CM101 or EN101). • Beside Current View: Click the Full Grade Center Options button and select the Smart View on which you would like to query. The desired results should display.

46. Blackboard Academic Suite Release 8.0 Tutorials The following tutorials have been provided by Blackboard. Right click the following link and select Open Hyperlink to view and select available Blackboard 8 tutorials. Or…Enter the web addresses into your Internet Explorer or Firefox browser. http://www.blackboard.com/quicktutorials/quicktutorials.htm

47. Helpful Information Online Manual in Control Panel Contains Wealth of Information Open the Control Panel Under Help, click Manual. Help Guides Go to the IT Web Site http://it.worcester.edu Click the desired link beside the Blackboard heading. Click ADDITIONAL Blackboard Guides to view all available Blackboard guides.

48. Total Column No Assigned Weights • Grade determined by dividing points attained by points possible • Points possible assigned to each item • Not Necessary to Equal 100 Example: Test 1- Points Possible 100 Test 2 - Points Possible 75 Participation - Points Possible 40 Final - Points Possible 100