Blackboard: Assignments
Introduction
Using the Assignment tool in Blackboard can save time and trouble of grading by hand or email, and keep all assignments in one place. There are also features to check for plagiarism (via SafeAssign) as well as using the rubric tool in Blackboard to assist with fair and consistent grading. In this knowledgebase article, you will learn how to successfully add an assignment in Blackboard as well as learn how to grade, use Safe Assign and change assignment settings.
Creating an Assignment
Assignments can be created via content areas, learning modules, lesson plans, and folders. The process is the same regardless.
Click the Assessments dropdown menu.
Choose Assignment from the list of available options.
Important
When setting up an assignment, please click to open the "Submission Details" section of the settings and next to "Number of Attempts" select "Multiple Attempts" rather than the default, Single Attempt. This will make it far easier for students to resubmit in case they accidentally submit the wrong file - which happens a lot.
Please visit Blackboard's support site for step-by-step guides on how to create assignments.
Using SafeAssign
SafeAssign allows you to compare submitted assignments against a set of academic papers to identify areas of overlap between the submitted assignment and existing works. This is a helpful deterrent for plagiarism as well as checking for originality.
Grading Assignments
Please visit Blackboard's support site for step-by-step guides on how to grade assignments.
Other Important Links
Tips for Success
Don't want to bother downloading and uploading files? You can grade and insert comments using the inline grading tools within Blackboard.
To create a "dropbox" for students to upload an assignment document, choose: Assessments > Assignment
Note: If you have questions or trouble with assignments, reach out to the IDEA Team to help you test them BEFORE students submit them. We can help you make sure the assignment submission process will work well: ideateam@ssw.umaryland.edu
Keep in mind that you can check individual essay questions using the Test tool if you'd rather not have students upload Word documents. You can set up tests with essay questions and short answer questions that are open-ended and check them using that tool.
Also, you can use the Survey tool to get anonymous feedback from students during the semester.
Make Sure Students Can View your Feedback/Score
In order to make sure that students can see their scores and any feedback you leave for them, here are some things to check by editing your assignment item:
Make sure your assignment has the correct # of points possible in that field
In the "Display of Grades" section, be sure there are checkboxes for both "Include in Grade Center grading calculations" and "Show to students in My Grades" are checked.
If you include a rubric to use for grading, be sure under "Show Rubric to Students" either: "Yes (with rubric scores)" or "After Grading" are selected and not "No"
If all of the above is in place, you can also share this link with students that shows them how to view their assignment feedback: https://sites.google.com/site/sswideateam/students/blackboard-orientation/assignments?authuser=0#h.p_QRTLfsEUt4JR
Delete erroneously submitted assignment
We normally advocate for instructors to set assignments to allow multiple submissions, at least 2-3, in case students upload the wrong document, which happens pretty frequently. To do this, Edit the assignment item and scroll down to the Submission Details - Number of Attempts - change this # and click Submit. However, when the default of 1 single submission is left, the instructor must intervene when the student uploads the wrong file:
Under Control Panel: click Grade Center, Locate the student and desired assignment grade column, Click on View Grade Details option.
On the Grade Details page there click the option to “Clear Attempt”
