Fall 2009 --Blackboard 8 Support

1. Location of Fall 2009 Blackboard Courses

2. Course Copy issues and solution

3. Resources on using Blackboard's new Grade Center

4. How Students Can View Grademark Papers in Blackboard Version 8

5. Options are missing from the dropdown menu on the toolbar

Fall 2009 Blackboard courses are located on a different server from Spring/Summer 09 and earlier semesters. Click the Green button located at the top of the Blackboard portal page to access your Fall 09 courses and Blackboard Communities. Click the orange button to access Spring and Summer 09 courses and the blue button (located at the bottom of the page) to access courses from Intersession 09, Fall 08 or earlier semesters.

Back to Top

Export Course

The Export Course feature creates a package of the course content that can later be imported and used to teach another course with the same content. It is important to note that, unlike the Archive Course feature, Export Course does not include any user interactions with the course- it only includes the content and the tools .

Export packages are downloaded as compressed .ZIP files and are imported in the same format. Do not unzip an Export package or remove files from the package, otherwise the package will not be imported correctly.

Steps for exporting and downloading a course

1. Click Export Course in the Course Options section of the Control Panel to open the Export/Archive Manager page. Note: If this is the first time you are using this feature, the page will say "No packages exist for this course."

2. On the Export/Archive Manager page, click the Export button located at the top of the page.

3. In the page that displays, select the checkboxes for the items you wish to export. Click Submit. Note: For detailed information on the expected outcome of selecting specific course materials and settings, click here.

4. The following message will display on the Export Course page: This action has been successfully queued. An email will be sent when the process is complete. Click OK. Your browser will return to the Export/Archive Manager page where you began.

5. To locate the file. Click the Control Panel link located at the top of the page. Click the Export Course link located in the Course Options section of the Control Panel. These steps will refresh the page and a zip file should appear. If your zip file is not listed, recheck this page after you receive an email stating the Export operation has completed.

6. Download the file to your computer desktop (or desired location) by right-clicking the zip file and selecting either Save Target As (Internet Explorer) or Save Link As (Firefox) from the pop-up menu.[Note to Mac Users: To view the pop-up menu, place your mouse over the zip file and hold the Control key down as you single-click the file.]

Note: The date and time are included in the file name. If you have exported the course multiple times use the type of operation (export or archive), course id, date and time to identify the most recent file.

Import Package

Instructors may use the Import Package page to upload course materials from another course. For example, if they have exported a course they may import the whole course package, or selected parts of the course through Import Package.

WARNING: Never upload an Exported Course package that has been modified since it was created and downloaded. Opening the .ZIP file and changing any of the files in the Exported Course package will result in unstable and unpredictable behavior when the course is imported.

Importing a Course

1. Click Import Package in the Course Options section of the Control Panel to open the Import Package page.

2. On the Import Package page, go to section 2 and browse for the zip file you wish to import. This will typically be the zip file you saved during the Export Course operation.

3. Select the checkboxes for the items you wish to import. Click Submit.

4. The following message will display on the Import Package page: This action has been successfully queued. An email will be sent when the process is complete. Click OK. Your browser will return to the Control Panel.

5. You will receive an email when the Import Package operation is complete.

Note: For additonal details on importing packages including available options, expected results, and course menu outcome, click here.

Back to Top

As of January 2009 Grade Center has replaced Gradebook in Blackboard 8. For information on the new Grade Center, attend a Blackboard Grade Center workshop or view the online resources listed below.

Both basic and advanced Grade Center workshops are offered. See the FDC workshop catalog and schedule for workshop descriptions and dates.

Online resources on Grade Center:

• Getting Started with the Grade Center PDF - This useful Blackboard document provides an excellent overview of the Grade Center, instructions on basic tasks, and a description of the many new advanced features available.
  
  
• Blackboard 8 Grade Center Flash Video Mini-tutorials - This site provides excellent resources on introductory and intermediate Grade Center skills.
  
  
• Blackboard Manual accessed via the Control Panel (lower-right corner)
  
  
• Blackboard Quick Tutorials accessed via the Control Panel (lower-right corner)
  
  
• Have a Blackboard-related question including Grade Center questions, Ask Dr. C? - This is a very useful discussion forum moderated by your peers.

NOTE on a COMMON MISPERCEPTION: Hiding a column in your Grade Center only hides it from the instructor spreadsheet. It does NOT hide the column from your students. To hide a column from the students, select Modify Column and change the setting for Show this Column in My Grades to NO.

Extra Credit in Blackboard 8: When adding a new "Extra Credit" column assign it 0 possible points to avoid increasing the Total points for the course. When entering points for the individual students you can still assign as many points as you wish.

Be aware, however, that columns worth 0 possible points are NOT included in the Total unless you change the default setting. To include the extra credit points, modify the Total column by clicking Modify Column. Then in Section 3 select the radio button for "Selected Grade Columns, Calculated Columns, and Categories", then select the specific columns (including the extra credit one) that you want to be included in the total. It is best to do this AFTER all your grade columns for the course have been entered in the Grade Center. If you do it earlier, remember to go back and modify the Total column after any other new columns are added to include them in the Total.

Please note if you choose to weight grades, additional steps must be taken when using Extra Credit to achieve an accurate Weighted Total.

Spot check grades: We recommend that you manually calculate grades for several of your students to confirm that your result matches the Blackboard score displayed. This is an important precaution when relying on any software program to calculate grades (e.g. Excel or Blackboard).

Letter Grades: If the column is set to display as a Letter grade Blackboard will automatically convert any letter you enter into a numerical score. If you do not want the letter grade to be converted to a score, then change the Display As setting (Modify Column) to Text, then your letter grades will stay just as you entered them.

NOTE: Are your Grade Center columns or data disappearing? Use these instructions to update your Internet Explorer 7 browser.

Back to Top

How Students Can View Grademark Papers in Blackboard Version 8

To view a Grademark paper with your comments, the student must return to the original Turnitin assignment in the Content Area (where they originally submitted the assignment). Next click the View/Complete link. In the page that displays click the apple icon  to view the Grademarked paper.

Please recall that the Grademark paper will not be visible to students until the post date --entered when you created the Turnitin assignment.  To change the post date, go back to the Turnitin Assignment, and click Modify, then reset the date.  The post date must be on or after the due date.

Only the grade (not a grade hyperlink) will appear in the student’s gradebook accessed via Tools > My Grades.  You may wish to add a comment in the Grade Center to direct the student to the location of the Grademark paper.

Back to Top

If options are missing from the drop-down menu, for example, Assignment, you can add them.

1. Go to the Control Panel.
2. Click Manage Tools.
3. Click Content Type Availability.
4. Check the boxes of the tools you want to add to the drop-down menu.
5. Click Submit.

Back to Top