U of S Course Tools - University of Saskatchewan · Background The Grade Center in U of S Course Tools is more than just a way to record grades. It is a useful It is a useful interactive

UofSCourseTools

GradeCenterBasics–ForInstructors

Fall2015

UniversityofSaskatchewan–GradeCenterBasics ICTTrainingServices2015

UofSCourseTools [email protected]

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Background:IfyouareusingtheUofSCourseToolsforthefirsttime,pleasereviewtheCourseToolsBasicdocumentbeforeusingthisdocument.Notethatthescreenshotscontainedwithinmayvaryfromyourcourse,especiallywiththeoptionsavailable.Customizationofyourcourseallowsyouasaninstructortoaddmanyteachingtools.

STEP Action:UsingtheGradeCenter

Background TheGradeCenterinUofSCourseToolsismorethanjustawaytorecordgrades.Itisausefulinteractivetool,allowinginstructorstorecorddata,calculategrades,andmonitorstudentprogress.Instructorscangeneratereportstoassesscourseparticipation,aswellasdeterminewhichassignedgradestoshowtostudentsontheirMyGradespage,includingcolumnsdisplayingperformanceresults.Instructorscanalsocreategradecolumnsforanyactivitiesorrequirementstheywanttograde,suchasspecialprojects,participation,orattendance.ColumnsintheGradeCentreareautomaticallycreatedforanassignmentortestiftheinstructorhascreatedthisiteminCourseTools/Blackboard.

Action:AccessingtheGradeCenter

1.WithEditmodeON, ,selectGradeCenterfromtheControlPanelmenu.

2. TheGradeCentersectionwillexpandtodisplaythelinkstotheNeedsGradingpage,theFullGradeCenter,andtheSmartViews(assignmentsandtests).ClickonFullGradeCenter.



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Action:ExploringtheUserInterface

Background TheGradeCenterresemblesaspreadsheetinappearance.Auserinthecoursepopulateseachrowandeachcolumnincludesinformationforanitem,suchasanassignment,test,gradedblogentry,orsurvey.Instructorsmayalsousecolumnstocalculategrades.

Action:DiscoveryofBasicFeatures

Action Bar:

Rows preceding the grid information containing functions and drop-down lists specific to the current page, such as Create Column, Create Calculated Column, Manage, and Reports.

Grade

Information Bar: Information about a selected column, such as type of grade and points possible. Point to a Grade Center column title and details appear in the area preceding the grid and following the Action Bar.

Grid/

spreadsheet: Columns, rows, and cells that make up the Grade Center data.

Scroll bars: The

horizontal and vertical scroll bars are used to navigate through the Grade Center columns and rows.

Edit Rows

Displayed: The number of rows appearing in the grid can be changed. In the box, type a number between 5 and 50, and click Go.



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Icon Legend:

Explanation of the symbols used in the columns and cells.

Defaultcolumns1.LastNameandFirstName:Shadedingrayandanchoredtotheleftsideofthespreadsheet.2.Username:UniversityofSakatchewanNetworkServicesID(NSID).3.StudentID:UniversityofSaskatchewanstudentnumber.4.LastAccess:Datestudentlastenteredthecourse.5.Availability:Whetherstudentscanaccessthecourse(notrelatedtowhetherthecourseisvisibletostudents).6.WeightedTotal:Ifcolumnsareweighted(seeWeighgradeslaterinthisdocument),thiscolumntakesthoseweightsintoaccountwhencalculating.Calculatesasarunningweightedtotalbydefault,onlyincludingcolumnswithgrades.7.Total:Accruesallearnedpoints.

STEP Action:EnablingScreenReaderMode

Background BlackboardprovidesaScreenReaderModeforthosewithaccessibilityneeds.ScreenReaderModedoesnotallowfordirectgradeinputanddoesnotanchorcolumnstotheleftsideofthegrid.ThismakesiteasiertouseyourkeyboardtonavigatetheGradeCenter.Ifyouuseascreenreader,BlackboardwillaskifyouwanttorunScreenReaderModewhenyouaccesstheGradeCenterforthefirsttime.

1. ToenableScreenReaderMode,clickthechevron totherightofGradeCenter:FullGradeCenter,thenselectTurnScreenReaderModeon.Clickthechevronagaintotogglebacktointeractivemode.



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STEP Action:EnterorChangeaGrade(ManualandAutomaticGrades)

Background Gradescanbeenteredorchanged(overridden)manuallyfromtheGradeCenterortheGradeDetailspage.SomegradesareaddedautomaticallytotheGradeCenterfromworkgeneratedinotherareasofthecourse.EachgradableitemthatiscreatedautomaticallygeneratesaGradeCentercolumn.Theseautomaticgradescanbechanged(overridden)manuallyintheGradeCenter.AllchangesmadearerecordedintheGradeHistory.

1. ToenterorchangeagradefromtheGradeCenter,firstpointtoandclickthedesiredcell.

2. Typeinthevalue(grade).

3. PressEnter.Thegradenowreflectsthechangeyouhavemade.



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STEP Action:DeleteaGrade

Background GradescanbedeletedfromtheGradeCenterifenteredincorrectly.DeletingagradewillalsodeletetheOverrideGradeandanycommentsassociatedwiththatgrade.

1. Clickinthecellcontainingthegradetobedeleted.

2. PressDeleteorBackspace.

3. PressEnter.Apopupmessagewillappear,askingyoutoconfirmyouraction.ClickOKtocontinue.

4. Thecellthatcontainedthegradewillnowdisplaya“NeedsGrading”symbol,denotedbyagreenexclamationpoint.



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STEP Action:ExemptaGrade

Background StudentscanbeexemptedfromagradefromtheGradeCenterortheGradeDetailspage.Exemptedgradesarenotaddedintoanystatisticalortotalgradecalculations.AnexemptedgradewilldisplayanExemptediconinthecell.Commentsmaybeaddedtoanyexemptedgrade.

1. Toexemptagrade,pointtothedesiredcell,clickthechevron,andselectExemptGrade.

2. Alightblue“ExemptGrade”symbolappearsinthecell.

3. Toaddacomment,pointtothedesiredcell,clickthechevron,andselectQuickComment.

4. EntertextinFeedbacktoUserandGradingNotesAreasifdesired,andthenclickSubmit.

5. Tocleartheexemptionandgobacktothepreviousscore,selectClearExemption.



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STEP Action:EditorEraseanAttempt

Background Gradesforspecificattemptscanbeeditedorerased.Theotherattemptsareunaffected,andthemostrecentattemptbecomestheCurrentGrade.Thisisusefulif,forexample,aStudentbeganatestbutwasinterruptedandunabletocompleteit.ClearingtheattemptallowstheStudenttotakethetestagainwithouthavingtheinterruptioncount.

1. Toeditanattempt:Pointtothedesiredcell,clicktheActionLink,andselectViewGradeDetails.

2. UndertheAttemptstab,selectEditGrade.

3. TypethenewscoreintheValueboxandaddanyFeedbacktoUserorGradingNotes.

4. ClickSave.

5. Toeraseanattempt:Pointtothedesiredcell,clicktheActionLink,andselectViewGradeDetails.



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6. OntheEdittab,selectClearGrade.

7. Onthepopupmessage,clickOK.

STEP Action:UndoaGradeChange

Background Afteragradehasbeenchanged(overridden),itcanberevertedtotheoriginalvalue.

1. Pointtothedesiredcell,clicktheActionLink,andselectViewGradeDetails.

2. NexttotheCurrentGradeinformation,clickRevert.

3. ClickOKwhenthewarningmessageappears.



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4. TheCurrentGradehasnowrevertedtotheoriginalgrade.

Documents

U of S Course Tools - University of Saskatchewan · Background The Grade Center in U of S Course Tools is more than just a way to record grades. It is a useful It is a useful interactive