Thursday, May 22, 2008

Tip #18: Downloading/uploading your Gradebook

Tip: You can download your Gradebook into Microsoft Excel and upload your Gradebook into Blackboard from Excel.

Here’s how to do it:
To download your Blackboard Gradebook to Excel, navigate to your course Gradebook. Click the Download Grades button. Select the Tab filter type and click Submit. Right-click the Download button and select Save Target As…


Name the file and select the location on your computer to which you want to save the file. Click the Save button. Locate the file you saved, double-click the file, and it will open in Microsoft Excel.

NOTE: We recommend that instructors periodically download their Gradebooks to an external drive for record-keeping purposes.

Upload your Gradebook from Excel into Blackboard:
Navigate to your Gradebook and click the Upload Grades button. Click the Browse button to locate the Excel file on your computer hard drive. Click Submit. Select the Excel column you want to import. Select the column to which you will import the Excel information or select the option to create a new Gradebook column. NOTE: You can import only one column at a time. Click Submit.

On the next page, select which students’ grades you want to upload or click the Select All button to upload all students’ grades. Click Submit.

Want more information?
Step-by-step tutorials are available at:
http://www.twu.edu/blackboard/Bb72Tutorials.asp
Visit our website: http://www.twu.edu/blackboard,
or call: (940) 898-3706

Tip #17: Beginning of semester checklist

Tip: Beginning of semester tasks

Beginning of semester tasks:
1. Enhance course design and menu options.
2. Combine multiple course sections into one shell (if applicable).
3. Make the course available.

Completing the beginning of semester tasks:
Enhancing the course design and menu options
1) Access your course
2) Click the Control Panel link
3) Click Course Design
In the Course Design area, you can choose a course menu design, manage how the menu is displayed, manage the tool panel, and add/change the course banner.
4) Return to the Control Panel and click Manage Course Menu
5) To re-arrange the order of menu items, click the number next to an item and select a new number order for the item
6) To modify or remove a menu item, click the Modify or Remove button next to an item
7) To add a content area, link to a course tool, a link to a course area, or an external link to the course menu, click the appropriate button at the top of the page

8) Click OK

Combining multiple course sections into one shell (if applicable)
1) Access the course from which you want to move users
2) Click the Control Panel link
3) Under the Course Options category, click Course Copy
4) Click Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course
5) Type or Search for the Destination Course ID (the Destination Course is the course to which to enrollments will be copied)
6) Place a checkmark next to Tasks and next to Enrollments
7) Click Submit; you will receive an email notification when the enrollments copy is complete


Making the course available
1) Access the course you want to make available
2) Click the Control Panel link
3) Under the Course Options category, click Settings
4) Click Course Availability
5) Select Yes
6) Click Submit

Want more information?
Step-by-step tutorials are available at:
http://www.twu.edu/blackboard/Bb72Tutorials.asp
Visit our website: http://www.twu.edu/blackboard,
or call: (940) 898-3706

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Tip #16: End of Semester Checklist

Tip: End of Semester Checklist

End-of-semester checklist:
1. Export the final course gradebook.
2. Archive your Blackboard course.
3. Make the course unavailable.

Completing the end-of-semester tasks:
Exporting the Blackboard Gradebook

1) Access the course that contains the Gradebook you want to export
2) Click the Control Panel link
3) Click Gradebook
4) Click the Download Grades button
5) Select Comma or Tab as the Delimiter Type (both file types can be opened in MS Excel)
6) Click the Submit button and then click the Download button
7) Save the file to your Desktop (or anywhere on your computer that is appropriate)
8) Click OK


Archiving a Blackboard Course
1) Access the course you want to archive
2) Click the Control Panel link
3) Under the Course Options category, click Archive Course
4) Click the Archive button
5) Click Submit
6) After you receive the archive completion email, navigate to the Archive Course page again. Right-click the zipped course file and click Save Target As… to save the file to your computer
7) Click OK

Making a Course Unavailable
1) Access the course you want to make unavailable
2) Click the Control Panel link
3) Under the Course Options category, click Settings
4) Click Course Availability
5) Select No
6) Click Submit

Want more information?
Step-by-step tutorials are available at:
http://www.twu.edu/blackboard/Bb72Tutorials.asp
Visit our website: http://www.twu.edu/blackboard,
or call: (940) 898-3706

Tip #15: Filtering and sorting the Gradebook

Tip: You can sort and filter items in your Gradebook.

Here’s how to do it:
Navigate to your course Gradebook. You can sort Gradebook items by Position, Category, Date Added, Date, Points Possible, Title, and Weight. Select your sort criteria and click the Go button. Sorting is useful to locate specific columns in the Gradebook and to minimize scrolling to find these columns.

Filtering your Gradebook allows you to view only the items you specify. You can filter your Gradebook by Category or by users’ last names.

Filtering Items by Category:
Categories are created automatically for all Gradebook items. To manually categorize items or change categories in the Gradebook, click the Manage Items button and click the Modify button next to an item for which you would like to change the category. Select a category from the drop-down list and click Submit.
After categorizing the Gradebook items, select the category by which you would like to filter the items and click the Go button. To view all Gradebook items again, select All as the filter category and click the Go button.

Want more information?
Step-by-step tutorials are available at:
http://www.twu.edu/blackboard/Bb72Tutorials.asp
Visit our website: http://www.twu.edu/blackboard,
or call: (940) 898-3706