General Information
Several assignment/assessment tools have been eliminated in Blackboard 9.1, a number of new tools have been introduced, and most existing tools have been improved with some exciting enhancements. All of the assessment tools in Blackboard 9.1 also include the option of associating a Grading Rubric with the assessment where faculty can clearly outline the criteria to be used in assessing student work and then quickly apply that rubric when grading. As instructors looks for ways to assess student learning, they will find a wide assortment of tools available to them.
- The Digital Drop Box has been eliminated in Blackboard 9.1. Those who have used that tool in the past will need to use one of the following alternatives.
- The Turnitin building block will remain in Blackboard 9.1 A Turnitin assignment is another option for collecting written assignments with the added functionality of being able to check for proper citation (Originality Reports), spelling and grammar (e-Rater), as well as to electronically mark up and grade papers (GradeMark) and/or share papers among students for peer review (PeerMark). A column is automatically created in the Grade Center when a Turnitin assignment is created.
- The Assignment tool remains in Blackboard 9.1 with several noteworthy enhancements.
- Instructors may allow single, unlimited, or a set number of attempts for an Assignment.
- Assignments can be assigned to Groups in Blackboard.
- One student submits the assignment on behalf of all students within a Group.
- The instructor can automatically award the same grade on the Assignment to all students within the Group while still maintaining the ability to override any given student’s grade.
When instructors add an Assignment, a link is provided within the course for students to electronically submit their assignment, and a column is automatically created in the Grade Center where the assignments are accessed for grading.
- Discussion Boards will remain in Blackboard 9.1. When the Discussion Board is set up grading, a column is automatically created in the Grade Center. When grading Discussion Boards, faculty will find that they can now add comments and feedback as well as a grade.
- The new Journals, Blogs, and Wikis in Blackboard 9.1 will provide another method for collecting and assessing written student work. It is expected that Journals or Blogs will provide a more robust alternative to Student Homepages, which have been eliminated in Blackboard 9.1.
- Tests will remain in Blackboard 9.1 with a number of noteworthy enhancements
- Tests can automatically be set to be saved and submitted when time expires in a timed test.
- New Question Sets provide greater granularity than is available with Random Blocks to define a specific set of questions in existing tests or pools from which Blackboard will pull a defined number of questions into the test canvas.
- Batch deletion of test questions and/or updating of point values in an existing test is available within the test canvas.
- A new Link to Questions feature allows instructors to change a question once and have it update across all instances where the question is linked.
- A new Question Finder allows users to dynamically search across tests, surveys, and pools for specific questions with further filtering by type, category, topic or difficulty.
- Tests, Surveys and Pools can be copied directly from the List page.
