Archive for category Instructors
Export grades from Blackboard to SIS (registrars system)
Posted by admin in Blackboard, FAQ, General Blackboard, Instructors on December 15th, 2010
The procedure is as follows. Note: only Lead instructor (as listed by theRegistrar), will be able to complete this procedure.
1) There is a column in your grade book for each class called “Final” we need to get your final letter grades in that column (A+ , A, … F). You can enter them manually, or upload them from a spreadsheet if you wish. You need to make sure you only have letter grades expected by the system, and that they are all upper case etc. For some of you this may mean you need to change the column type of the final column to “alphanumeric” (if it is a calculated column). You can do this from the “grade book Options” > “Column Settings” page.
2) There is a drop down menu at the bottom of your grade book called “export to SIS”, you need to select “Final” for that and press the green arrow button to the right on this dropdown menu to start the procedure.
3) Pretty much just follow the instructions, they will have you confirm the grades and guide you through the process.
4) If there are any errors during the process give the CRDC a call (1856) and we can work through fixing them.
IT: Classroom Technology Training: Computer
Posted by craig.brouwer in 21st Century Teaching and Learning, CRDC, FAQ, Instructors, Teaching and Learning, Technology and Teaching, video on October 7th, 2010
This video provides instruction on how to start up the classroom computer, log in, and access your files.
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Exporting assessments to another class in Blackboard
Posted by admin in Assessments, Blackboard, FAQ, Instructors on March 8th, 2010
An assessment can be exported from one class to another to avoid having to build the exam from scratch.
In order to do this, the exam must first be exported.
Exporting
Choose the build tab to ensure you have a builders role. Choose Assessments from the Course Tools menu. Choose the drop down menu beside the assessment you wish to export, and choose Export from the menu items. Choose Class Files in the browsing window and navigate to the course you which to export the assessment to. Once you have chosen the destination of the assessment, type in a file name in the Save as: field. Then click OK.
The exam has now been exported to the course of your choice. However, the process is not complete. The exam must then be imported via the course you just exported to.
Importing
Choose the build tab to ensure you have a builders role. Choose Manage Course from the Designers Tools menu on the left of the screen. Choose Import. A dialogue box appears, similar to the export dialogue box. Navigate to the assessment in the list of files. It is listed alphabetically; however, you can list the files by type by clicking Type at the top of the file list. The assessment will be listed according to the name you gave it and will be a ZIP file.
Once you have located the file, click the radio button beside it and click okay. A report will be generated on screen letting you know if the import was successful. Upon successful import you should click Return. To view the imported data click on Assessments and Go to Question Database. The imported assessment actually imports as individual questions to the question database. They will be in the category named the same as the ZIP file you exported.
To add these questions to an assessment follow these instructions.
http://www.uleth.ca/crdc/?p=1086
My files are not actually uploading when I choose “Add File” in the Course Content area.
Posted by admin in Blackboard, Content Management, FAQ, Instructors on March 8th, 2010
If you are trying to upload files for your course and they appear to be loading, but upon navigating to your course content area they are missing, follow the troubleshooting techniques below.
1. Are you uploading more than one file?
If you are uploading more than one file, keep in mind that you have a limit of ten files even though you can upload more than one. To resolve this, try adding the file again. When the dialogue window with the My Computer icon pops up, click on my computer. Notice a browsing window pops up that allows you to search for files. Close this window, and instead choose to upload files individually. This choice is a blue text link beside the My Computer icon. You will have to choose each file individually and upload in this manner. Often times this problem arises with Macintosh users due to a browser or Java compatibility issue, but can also arise on Windows as well.
2. I am uploading one file but it still won’t upload.
Try also using the instructions above.
Can I add other content besides plain text to a discussion board thread within Blackboard?
Posted by admin in Blackboard, Discussion Boards, FAQ, Instructors on February 25th, 2010
Yes you can. You can add attachments to the post using the add attachments button. If you would like formatted text to appear in the post itself, only HTML can be used to format the posts.
Can I grade participation on Blackboard Discussion Boards?
Posted by admin in Blackboard, Discussion Boards, FAQ, Instructors on February 25th, 2010
Yes you can. You can set up the grading options in the properties of the discussion post.
When topics are gradeable, anonymous posts cannot be enabled.
I have a discussion board in Blackboard, how do I use it?
Posted by admin in Blackboard, Discussion Boards, FAQ, Instructors on February 25th, 2010
By default, the discussion boards use a threaded topic format. Users post and reply to messages. Replies that are associated with the same post are grouped together, creating message threads that can be expanded and collapsed.
However, if you adjust the settings, you can also format the discussion board using a Blog Topic or a Journal Topic.
Blog topics create a collaborative blog (weblog) space by allowing participants to post a chronological series of entries on a particular topic. Participants can then add comments to any blog entry.
Journal Topics give Students a place for their own writing. The journals can be kept private between the Student and the Section Instructor or shared with the class.
By default only threaded discussions are available. To make the Blog and Journal topics available, select the Build tab >> Manage Course >> Settings.
Within the settings module, there are a ton of choices to look at. We want to look in the Tools column and click on the link called Discussions.
The Discussion tools settings panel opens and provides you with a number of options to toggle on and off. You will need to toggle Enable Blog and Journal type topic creation to True.
Now when you go to create a discussion topic, you will be given a choice of threaded, blog or journal.
How do I setup a discussion board within Blackboard?
Posted by admin in Blackboard, Discussion Boards, FAQ, Instructors on February 25th, 2010
First make sure that you have discussions enabled within your course. You will know if you do, because you will see Discussions in the Course Tools menu.
Make sure you have builder status by selecting the build tab at the top of the screen.
Once you have builder status click on Discussions from the Course Toolsmenu.
Once in the Discussion module you can choose to Create a new topic or a New category. You can have multiple topics under one category. How you set up your topics and categories depends on your course objectives and student learning outcomes. Creating a category is very similar to creating a folder and can be thought of as such.
When you create a topic, you will be asked for a title, description and if the item is shown or hidden. Also you are able to associate the topic with a grade in the gradebook. Once the topic is created, you and your students can create messages and reply to messages within the discussion topic.
Using the Question Database
Posted by admin in Assessments, Blackboard, FAQ, Instructors on February 25th, 2010
The question database is a great tool that can be use to create assessment questions as you write them, and it is also a great way to create a pool of questions to add randomness to question selection within an assessment. You do not have to have an assessment created to add questions to your courses question database.
Choose Assessment from the Course Tools menu and then select Go to Question Database to continue.
Upon entering the Question Database, you will notice that you are provided with three options at the top of the screen. Create Questions, Create Category and Manage Columns.
Create Questions: allows you to choose a question type and create a question that can be added to any category or left uncategorized.
Create Category: allows you to create folders within the question database so you can organize your content. If you have created questions that are uncategorized, but would like to move those questions to specific categories, check the box beside the questions you wish to move. Then at the bottom of the screen use the Move Questions to Category dropdown menu to move select the category of your choice. Press the green arrow to the right of the category drop down to initialize the move.
Manage Columns: This section allows you to rearrange how the questions are displayed in the question database. This tool also allows you to create columns that allow you to further categorize or organize your content.
Notice also that you can view the questions in the database by category or by question. To toggle which view you use, locate the view by question and view by category buttons located on the right of the screen.
How do I Test my Students using Blackboard?
Posted by admin in Assessments, Blackboard, FAQ, Instructors on February 25th, 2010
Once you have created an assessment there are a few ways in which you can deploy your exam.
- Use the Testing Centre: The testing centre is located on campus and is opertated by proctors who confirm student identity and invigilate exams. They enter secure passwords for students to access exams etc. If you would like to use the testing centre for you exam, please contact John Kometz. Remember to provide reasonable notice to have your exam accessed via the testing centre.
- Self invigilation: You can monitor your own exams from a computer lab and provide an online exam in a face to face setting. Some faculty do this because the online exams often reduce marking load. If you wish to consult one of the CRDC staff on the aspects of this type of testing please contact the CRDC for more information.
- Open Online Testing: You can have open book, open resource, exams that allow students to access an exam from anywhere(home computer, computer labs on campus, etc.) in which student can write there exam from anywhere. This type of testing is considered open because from a distance there is no way to confirm absolute student identity nor is there anyway to limit there resources. Although this type of exam is open, it can be very effective.
All of the assessment methods previously described can be subject to the following assessment properties.
- IP address restriction
- Time limit restriction
- Date restrictions
- Student ID restrictions
- Password Authentication.
These properties can be accessed via the arrow like drop down menu beside the assessment title. Choose Edit Properties.