Uploading coursework to a Blackboard assignment drop-box

A drop-box is an online folder in Blackboard which accepts submissions from students. This section explains how to upload a standard (text or image) assignment to a Blackboard assignment drop box. (View guide to video assignments for multimedia submissions).

Open

 Instructions

Submitting your text assignment

You’ll recognise the Blackboard assignment by the icon

1. Navigate to the Blackboard assignment dropbox via the Gradebook, Calendar Due dates or Assessment and Feedback folder in Course Content. Click on the link with the list icon beside it.

Open

2. A side panel opens. Click on the View Instructions / Start attempt button.
   
   

3. This opens the assignment drop-box window. Your submission instructions and your coursework submission drop-box are on the left, on the right, there is information about the submission including due date, number of attempts and use of a rubric/ marking grid.

4. Add your files to the submission dropbox

a. To upload your text or image -based coursework stored on your device

… you can either drag a file from a folder into the submission drop-box

or click in the submission box to reveal the tool bar and click the paperclip, this opens a file menu

… navigate to your coursework file and click Open

Once your assignment is uploaded, you will be prompted to change display name if you wish, then click Save.

The file will be converted and attached to the dropbox:

You can upload multiple files to the Blackboard assignment drop box in this way.

b. To upload a text or image-based file from the cloud e.g. Onedrive or Googledrive.

Click in the Submission dropbox. Select the plus in the toolbar and select Cloud Storage

Select the drive you want to copy files from e.g. OneDrive

Select Connect to OneDrive, this will take you through authentication

This will take you to your Onedrive, navigate to the file, select the checkbox next to it and click on Select 1 (you have the option of selecting more than one file)

You can choose to add more files or if you only need to attach one file, select Import.

Once your assignment is uploaded, you will be prompted to change display name if you wish, then click Save.

The file will be converted and attached to the dropbox:

c. If asked to add a link to a website, use the link symbol in the tool bar.

5. Click Submit to submit your coursework

6. You will be given final message if you only have one attempt for submission. Click Submit

7. You will then get a chance to download your digital receipt as proof of submission of your coursework

Video guide to uploading an assignment to Blackboard drop box

Viewing Turnitin Similarity Originality Report in Blackboard

Some Blackboard dropboxes have a TurnItIn add-on which allow you and your lecturer to check your work against other sources. The TurnItIn functionality will generate an originality report which compares your work with other sources in the Turnitin database.

If Turnitin is on, you’ll see the Originality report reference in the submission panel on the right hand of the screen.

Once you have submitted your paper it can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 24 hours to generate an originality report.

During this time you will see the description “Originality processing in progress”

You will also get a “processing warning” at the top right hand corner of your submission.

Once your similarity report is ready this changes to “Originality processing is complete”, now click on Submission.

This takes you into your submitted assignment. You’ll see a percentage Match in the top right corner, this is your similarity score. Click on it to view your similarity report.

The left hand side of the screen contains your assignment with the text that matches sources found within the Turnitin database. On the right hand-side you have information about these similarities.

Click on Sources to see the similarities numbered in your text and the corresponding sources on the right hand side.

 Related articles