Save the Grade Center!

If you are using the Blackboard Grade Center, you really should consider exporting a copy every time you make changes. You can also work in the Grade Center offline once it has been exported as an Excel file

1. In your course, click Grade Center > Full Grade Center
2. Click the "Work Offline" button > Download
3. Leave the defaults as they are and click the "Submit" button
4. Click the Download button.  This will tell your browser to download the file
5. Note where you are saving the file on your computer, and click the Save button

Using Smart Views in the Grade Center

You can easily see only selected columns or Groups  in the Grade Center which makes viewing the Grade Center display more manageable. This video tutorial will show you how to create and use
Smart Views in the Grade Center.

Clearing a Student's Attempt on a Test

Students may get "kicked  out" of a test for several reasons, such as loss of the Internet connection or accidentally closing Blackboard. If the test is set to "Force Complete" the student will not be able to access the test to finish and submit the attempt. . When this happens, it is up to the instructors to re-set the attempt so that a student can retake the test from the beginning.

1. From the Grade Center on your Control Panel click the Smart View for Tests.
   
   

   
   
2. An “In Progress” icon will appear in the test cell to the right of the student’s name. 
   
   
3. Click the chevron and select the Attempt Date to view the attempt details.
   
   

   
   
4. Click the Test Information link near the top of the screen.
   
   

   
   
5. Click the Clear Attempt button.
   
   

   
   
6. A confirmation window will pop open.  Click OK.

Please note: once a student’s attempt has been cleared, all data affiliated with that attempt will be permanently deleted.

Minimizing Issues with Tests and Quizzes in Blackboard

There are many reasons - ranging from network to browser to Blackboard itself - that students may have issues taking assessments in Blackboard. Depending on circumstances, students can be disconnected from Blackboard while they are taking a quiz. This is not unique to Blackboard as other learning management systems have similar problems.

There are best practices instructors should follow to minimize the risk of something going wrong during and assessment.

1. Set the exam to be given one question at a time. This ensures that the user's session is continuously updated, and the likelihood of the user getting kicked out due to inactivity is reduced.
2. Do not select the "force complete" option. Without this option selected, users are able to re-enter the exam from the last point that they saved an answer if they should get kicked out.
3. Advise students to not "double click" when they hit the Submit button.
4. Firefox is the recommended browser.

Have students read the Instructions for Taking Online Exams found on the Blackboard website in the Student area.

Quickly Find Items That Need Grading

Instructors can now access assignment, test and SafeAssignment attempts that need grading from a new Needs Grading page accessed in the Grade Center section of the Control Panel. On the Needs Grading page, instructors can view how many attempts are ready for grading and sort and filter the items. Attempts are placed in a queue for easy navigation among items when grading or reviewing. Once an attempt is graded, it no longer appears on the Needs Grading page.

Cleaning Up Your Course List

Every semester, Blackboard courses are created and populated automatically with instructors and students. As an instructor, your course sites will appear in Course List on your My Blackboard page with the notation (unavailable) after their names, which means that they're unavailable to students, but are still available for instructors to work on. Depending on the number of courses you are teaching, you may have accumulated a long list. You can avoid a long list of course sites by hiding them from your view.

1. Click on the "gear" icon located in the upper right corner of the Course List.

2. "Uncheck" the attributes of the courses that you do not want appearing on your Course List.


3. Click Submit.

Hiding and Collapsing the Course Menu

Blackboard offers users the option to hide the Course Menu so that the area of the course you are viewing takes up the entire screen. While this is a helpful feature, it may cause confusion due to the fact that if you "accidentally" hide the Course Menu, by clicking on the arrow directly to the left of the main page, you will not be able to see your Course Menu. Users also have the ability to totally collapse the Course Menu by clicking on the arrows directly to the left of the course name at the top of the Course Menu.

To Hide the Course Menu

1. Click the < icon on the left side of the main screen.
2. When you are ready to view the Course Menu again click the > icon on the left side of the main screen.

Collapse and Expand the Course Menu

1. To collapse the Course Menu, click the two "upper arrows" directly to the left of the course name at the top of the Course Menu.
2. When you are ready to expand the Course Menu, click the same arrows, which are now pointing down.

This short screencast demonstrates how to hide and collapse the Course Menu and how to un-hide and expand the area.