There is a variety of assessment types and tools available in Blackboard Learn Ultra. The options provided by Blackboard include Assignments, Tests, Discussions and Journals Other digital assessment tools, such as Turnitin, Vevox and Panopto Quiz can be selected from the Content Market.
Graded assessments
When you design or create a new assessment in Blackboard there is an option to label it as ‘formative’ or ‘summative’. If you wish, you can tick ‘formative’ to indicate that the purpose of the assessment is to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by students to improve their learning. In general, a summative assessment in Blackboard is one which is graded and the mark is used in the Gradebook to calculate the final overall module grade.
The most common types of graded digital assessment used in Ulster University are:
Assignments in Blackboard can be used for individual or group assessment submissions. The Assignments dropbox accepts a wide variety of filetypes, including audio and video submissions. These are ideal for assessments that offer students a choice of submission format. Marking rubrics can be attached to Assignments if required. Options for anonymous marking, peer review and delegated marking can be enabled in Assignments.
Tests in Blackboard are very versatile and offer the opportunity for students to do a quick self-check of the topic content using objective questions, such as multiple choice or true/ false. They can be extended to use question banks and pools, with options to randomise questions and/ or answers. Tests can be designed to demonstrate higher level thinking and understanding, such as analysis and synthesis, with essay question types. Including hotspot questions and video or audio in your in your questions can also encourage critical thinking.
Discussions in Blackboard can be graded or ungraded. Each participant is graded independently of the other discussion group members. The analytics tool for discussions provides teachers with insight into activity and learner contribution. You can assign grades based on learner participation, on the quality of their posts, or a combination of the two.
Journals in Blackboard can be used as a self-reflective tool where students develop ideas for formative feedback. They are particularly useful in the creative arts where ongoing feedback on creative endeavours is integral to student development and success. In scientific disciplines reflective journal-keeping activities can help students to analyse topics, review their practical work and reflect on feedback on their lab practice to explain their success/ failures.
Turnitin is a popular choice when a marking system with an originality checker is required. Originality checking can that help students with academic writing and discourages plagiarism by highlighting similarity between the student submitted text and other databases that Turnitin has access to.
Although Vevox and Panopto quizzes are integrated with the Gradebook, it does not allow incoming marks so if these are graded you need to add marks manually.
Main assessment features summary table
Where to find | Submission types include video/ audio format | Supports originality checking | Individual/ group submissions | Rubric can be added | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assignments | + Content | Y | Y | Individual and group | Y |
Tests | + Content | N | Y | Individual | N |
Discussions | + Content | Y | N | Individual | Y |
Journals | + Content | Y | N | Individual | Y |
Turnitin | Content Market | N | Y | Individual | Y |