How to organize your gradebook in Blackboard 9.1

These slides are from a workshop that I have facilitated numerous times. The workshop is popular because Blackboard’s Grade Center options can be overwhelming for faculty as they attempt to set up a gradebook for the first time. The options can be confusing, especially when dealing with questions about the use of categories, weighting, and extra credit.

This workshop provides a strategy instructors can follow to set up their gradebook so that it aligns with their assessment strategy. One missing feature in Blackboard’s Grade Center is the ability to “fill down” when all or most students receive the same grade for an activity.  I include three bonus slides at the end of the workshop that explain how to overcome this issue by exporting the grades from Blackboard, “filling down” in Excel, and then importing the updated gradebook back into Blackboard.

I would love to learn your tips for helping faculty become more proficient in their use of Blackboard’s Grade Center.  Also, if you use another LMS, how does your LMS deal with issues such as “filling down”, weighting, and extra credit?