Grade Center in Blackboard 9.1
Contents The Grade Center... 3 Create a Column... 5 Calculated Columns... 6 Creating an Average Column... 6 Creating a Weighted Column... 7 Creating an Total Column... 8 Exporting Your Grades... 9 Importing Your Grades... 9 2
THE GRADE CENTER The Grade Center in Blackboard allows you to keep all or your grades in one location that your students and you can both easily access (student access is controlled by the instructor). Assignments and assessments both automatically create columns in the grade center, but you can also add columns for class participation and other assignments/assessments that are not in Blackboard. Create Column Use Create Column to add a column to your grade center. These columns can be added for any graded item you have in your course (i.e. participation, in class presentation). Remember assessments and assignments in Blackboard will have column automatically created in the grade center. Create Calculated Column Calculated Columns allow you to create columns that are calculated different ways such as: averaging other columns, totaling other columns, displaying the max/min of other columns, or weighting the column. 3
Manage The tools located under the Manage menu will allow you to define multiple options associated with your grade center. Grade Center Management Tool Grading Periods Grading Schemas Grading Color Codes Categories Smart Views Column Organization Row Visibility Send Email Description Grading Periods are used to sort Grade Center Columns into sections based on due date. These sections help manage the Grade Center by associating Grade Columns together so that viewing and reporting can be done based on a Grading Period instead of the entire Grade Center. Grading schemas take the actual points scored from a graded item and compare it to the total points possible for that item to derive a percentage. This percentage is mapped to a range of scores to display a grade. The Grade Center includes a copy of a default grading schema. Grading Color Codes apply background and text color to items in the Grade Center that meet specified criteria. Colors can be defined for items based on Grade status or based on the score. A Grade Center Category is a classification of Grade Center Columns. Categories are used to organize and view Grade Center data and can be used when creating Calculated Columns to perform operations on all Grade Columns in a Category. The Grade Center has nine default Categories: Assignment, Blog, Discussion, Journal, SafeAssignment, Self and Peer, Survey, and Test that cannot be removed or edited. Smart Views are focused views of the Grade Center. Any number of Smart Views can be created based on a variety of criteria, including Grading Periods, Categories, and Performance. The Column Organization page is divided into various tables that control how different Grade Center views are displayed. Rows in these tables represent Columns in the Grade Center views. Rows can be manipulated to customize the different views of the Grade Center. Rows can be hidden from the Grade Center View to reduce the number of rows in the grid. Hidden Rows are not removed from the Grade Center, and can be shown at any time. Rows that are hidden will appear grayed out on the Hide and Show Rows page and will not appear in the Grade Center View. Rows that are shown will appear in black text on the Hide and Show Rows page and will appear in the Grade Center View. Send an email through Blackboard to another user, Student or instructor. 4
Exporting and Importing Grades The Blackboard Grade Center allows you to export your grades to an Excel friendly.csv file which you can use as an archive or to edit and upload back into the Grade Center. CREATE A COLUMN Grade columns are added to the Grade Center automatically for work done inside Blackboard such as Discussion Board Posts, Blog Entries, Assignments and Tests. Work that is done outside of Blackboard can be added to the Grade Center by adding a column. A. Access the Blackboard course which contains the grade center where you would like add a claculated column. B. Click on Grade Center in the Control Panel and select Full Grade Center. C. Click on the Create Column button. D. On the next page, enter the information for the column. 1. Column Information Enter a name, display name, description and display type for the column inthis section. 2. Dates This section shows the date the column was created. 3. Options Select the options for the column: include in Grade Center calculations, visibility to students, and show statisctics for columns to students. E. Click on the Submit button. 5
CALCULATED COLUMNS Calculated columns will average, total, and weight other specified Grade Center columns. CREATING AN AVERAGE COLUMN An average column will average the grades in specified other columns in your grade center. F. Access the Blackboard course which contains the grade center where you would like add a calculated column. G. Click on Grade Center in the Control Panel and select Full Grade Center. H. Click on Create Calculated Column and select Average Column. I. On the next page, enter the information for the average column. 1. Column Information Enter a name, display name, description and display type for the column in this section. 2. Dates This section shows the date the column was created. 3. Select Columns Select which columns should be included in the average and decide if the calculation should be a running total. (A running total only includes items that have grades or attempts. Selecting No includes all items in the calculations, using a value of 0 for an item if there is no grade.) 4. Options Select the options for the column: include in Grade Center calculations, visibility to students, and show statistics for columns to students. J. Click on the Submit button. 6
CREATING A WEIGHTED COLUMN A weighted column will allow you to assign weights grades in specified columns in your grade center and return the weighted grade. A. Access the Blackboard course which contains the grade center where you would like add a calculated column. B. Click on Grade Center in the Control Panel and select Full Grade Center. C. Click on Create Calculated Column and select Average Column. D. On the next page, enter the information for the average column. 1. Column Information Enter a name, display name, description and display type for the column in this section. 2. Dates This section shows the date the column was created. 3. Select Columns Select which columns/categories should be included in the weighted column and assign them weight percentages. Decide if the calculation should be a running total. (A running total only includes items that have grades or attempts. Selecting No includes all items in the calculations, using a value of 0 for an item if there is no grade.) 7
4. Options Select the options for the column: include in Grade Center calculations, visibility to students, and show statisctics for columns to students. E. Click on the Submit button. CREATING AN TOTAL COLUMN A total column will total the grades in specified other columns in your grade center. A. Access the Blackboard course which contains the Grade Center where you would like add a calculated column. B. Click on Grade Center in the Control Panel and select Full Grade Center. C. Click on Create Calculated Column and select Weighted Column. D. On the next page, enter the information for the average column. 1. Column Information Enter a name, display name, description and display type for the column in this section. 2. Dates This section shows the date the column was created. 3. Select Columns Select which columns should be included in the total and decide if the calculation should be a running total. (A running total only includes items that have grades or attempts. Selecting No includes all items in the calculations, using a value of 0 for an item if there is no grade.) 4. Options Select the options for the column: include in Grade Center calculations, visibility to students, and show statistics for columns to students. E. Click on the Submit button. 8
EXPORTING YOUR GRADES A. Access the Blackboard course which contains the grade center you would like to export. B. Click on Grade Center in the Control Panel and select Full Grade Center. C. On the right side fo the Grade Center screen, click on Work Offline and select Download from the dropdown menu. D. Select the Data option you want: Full Grade Center, Selected Column, or User Information only. E. Next, select the options for your file. The Delimiter Type needs be Comma and the hidden information should be No. F. Select your download location. In most cases, this will be the My Computer option. G. Click the Submit button. IMPORTING YOUR GRADES Once you have exported your grades & modified the file in Excel, you can import the grade information back into Blackboard. Excel formulas and functions do not translate into Blackboard. Excel should just be used as a quick/offline way to enter grades for assignments/assessments outside of Blackboard. A. Access the Blackboard course which contains the grade center where you would like to import your grades. 9
B. Click on Grade Center in the Control Panel and select Full Grade Center. C. On the right side fo the Grade Center screen, click on Work Offline and select Upload from the drop-down menu. D. On the Upload Grades page, click the Browse button adjacent to the Attach local file field and browse your computer for the grade book file you edited (this should be a.csv file). E. Click the Submit button. 10