This week let’s take a look at one of the numerous question types available for use in a Blackboard test: Multiple Fill in the Blanks. As you’d expect from the name, this question type allows for a sentence with one or more “blanks” for the student to fill in. The tricks to using this question type are first to have the right type of question, and second to format the question properly. So what sort of question is “the right type” to use with multiple fill in the blanks? Naturally that’s a matter of opinion, but what I look for is a question that isn’t...

Blackboard’s testing tool has an option to allow multiple test attempts, either unlimited attempts or up to a specified number of attempts. This means that once a student has taken the test a first time, they will  have the opportunity to go back, click the test link again, and try another time. However, a goodly amount of the time, students do not correctly navigate into the test for their second attempt, but instead end up in a frustrating look of viewing the test, saying to Begin the test, and looking at their results from the first attempt. The trick, as much as their is one, is to read the...

I’ve been seeing an atypically high amount of interest this semester from faculty wanting to start using the Grade Center. That’s excellent, but if you’re just starting out using the Grade Center then a good place to start is with cleaning up some of the default columns that really aren’t of any use. Also, if you are just starting out with posting grades to your Blackboard course, consider meeting with one of the Blackboard support team to discuss how you are going to use grades. We are more than happy to meet with you one-on-one and discuss the specifics of your course; just...

Have you ever looked at a Blackboard course, and rather than focusing on the careful arrangement of course menu entries, attached files, and array of communication tools, what you actually thought was “dang that thing is ugly”? Well if so, you might be pleased by the Thing this week. I take a look at Course Themes, and how they may be accessed via the “Teaching Styles” link on the Customization portion of the Control Panel, or through the “swatch” menu up near the Edit mode switch. Changing up the course theme can be a good way to make your course site stand out,...

To host any of your handouts, deploy your tests, or offer students the chance to upload assignments through your Blackboard course you’ll need to use a content area. An empty course shell starts out with two, but you can create as many or as few as you like. Did you know that it’s possible to set date and time restrictions on when a content area is available to students? Did you realize that it’s just two-click simple to manually render a whole content area unavailable to students? Well, watch the below video, and you’ll know exactly how to do those...