Advanced Blackboard: Gradebook

1
Advanced BlackboardGradebook

• JQ JohnsonDirector, Center for Educational
  Technologies
• University of Oregonjqj_at_darkwing.uoregon.edu
• 13 Jan 2006

2
Basic gradebook instructor view

• Edit gradebook through Gradebook table (Control
  Panel-gtGradebook)
• Can enter grades and notes
• Other parts of blackboard that create gradebook
  columns
• Creating an online assignment
• Creating an online quiz
• Can upload and download grades to excel

3
Gradebook student view

• Student sees his/her own grades only Course
  Tools-gt View Grades
• Also viewable on My UO-gtView Grades

4
Add Gradebook items (Assessments)

• Click Add Item
• Type Item Name
• Select Category (no appropriate category? Create
  your own in Gradebook Settings-gtManage Gradebook
  Categories)
• Enter nominal Points Possible
• Select Display As for grades (Score is often
  best)
• Set available, include in calculation as
  appropriate
• Click Submit, then OK

5
Assessment columns

• All columns have attributes
• How displayed (if at all)
• Included in calculation of totals?
• Points possible (nominal max possible not 0)
• Weight (if weighted)
• Detailed statistics
• Access column attributes via column header in
  gradebook

• All cells store either a number (score) or a
  string. Display As
• Score
• Complete/incomplete
• Percentage
• Letter grade
• Text
• etc.
• Display As controls both input and output

6
Entering grades

• Access cells
• By clicking on them individually
• Via column header
• Click the name of item on the top of the column
• Click 'Item Grade List
• Type each students score into corresponding box
  (Use Tab key to move from cell to cell)
• Enter scores
• As numbers (raw scores)
• As percentages (of pts possible) if output set to
  percentage
• As letters (translated to score using pts
  possible)

7
Notes columns

• Columns can also hold text. Useful for
• Notes to instructor and GTFs(set column to
  invisible)
• Notes to student
• Setup
• Include in score calculations No
• Display as Text
• Make item available to users No
• Beware is B a letter grade or a text note
  (with score of 0)? It all depends.

8
Online quizzes

• Quizzes consist of
• A set of questions
• A link to the questions in a content area
• A gradebook column that holds all answers and
  computes overall score
• Create link (and maybe questions) with Add Test
• Many options for question type and mode of
  presentation
• When student takes quiz, multiple choice
  questions are automatically scored and grades
  entered
• Surveys are similar, but record only aggregate
  data and whether student completed it

9
Assignments

• Create a homework assignment in a content area
  using Add Assignment (pulldown list)
• Student accesses this link and uploads Word
  document (or whatever) as attachment
• Instructor views uploaded document in gradebook,
  assigns grade, maybe adds comments
• Student sees comments in View Grades or by
  returning to the assignment link
• N.B. use this tool instead of digital dropbox

10
Grading rubrics

• Simplest is to sum raw scores into Total
• All columns have a score, e.g. percent converted
  back to score complete/incomplete unchecked if
  score is blank
• Only include in calculation columns are
  included
• Points Possible also summed
• Weighted columns
• By item
• By category
• Use Points Possible to indicate full credit for
  assessment.
• Assign percentage weight for item or category in
  total
• Special challenges
• drop the lowest score
• Extra credit

11
Example rubric and gradebook 1

• SyllabusYour grade will be computed by combining
  scores in the following overall categories for a
  total of 200 points

• Gradebook
• 4 columns in gradebook, all included in totals
• No weighting
• Points possible set to 60, 20, 120, 0
• Hide Weighted Total column
• Set display of columns to score. Maybe set
  Total to letter or add a separate Final Grade
  column not included in calculation

12
Example rubric and gradebook 2

• SyllabusAll grades will be given as letters
  (A-F). Your final grade will be based on the
  following

• Gradebook
• 3 columns in gradebook, all included in totals
• Points possible for each set to 100
• Weight by item, with weights set to 30, 20, 50
• Hide Total column
• Set display of columns to letter
• Enter grades as letters
• Extra credit, if any, as part of participation

13
Grading gotchas

• Instead of displaying as percentage, consider
  points possible 100 then display as score
• Enter letters only in columns set to display as
  letter (new version of Bb enforces this)
• Always set a non-zero points possible if
• Using weighting
• Entering or displaying grades as anything except
  score
• Beware rounding. Score of 89.5 displays as
  89.5, 90, or B

14
More gotchas weighted grades

• Once you enable weighted grades, you cant
  disable
• Weights must always sum to 100
• No obvious way to do extra credit
• If weighting by category, then all items in a
  category have same weight the specified weight
  is for category as a whole

15
More gotchas management

• No way to freeze the first column, so confusing
  if you have many columns
• If you accidentally click the triangle at top of
  a column gradebook will be sorted by that
• Be especially careful if multiple people (GTFs)
  will be entering grades

16
Uploading and downloading gradebooks

• Download from blackboard to .csv file
• View result using Excel
• Useful for
• Complex grade manipulations
• Backup
• Upload of final grades to Banner

• Upload from Excel file (saved as .csv)
• Must use blackboard format edited copy of
  downloaded file!
• Blackboard prompts for which column and rows to
  import, and where to put them in gradebook