Assessment types
- Aideen Gibson
- ellen bell
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 and Vevox can be selected from the Content Market.
Assessments available in Blackboard Ultra
In general, Blackboard assessments are used to summatively assess students e.g. they are graded and the mark is used in the Gradebook to calculate the final overall module grade.
However, there is the option to designate an assessment as ‘Formative assessment’. This allows the item to used as a diagnostic tool or to provide ongoing feedback to improve student learning.
The most common types of digital assessment used in Ulster University are:
Blackboard Assignments which can be used for individual or group assessment submissions. The dropbox accepts a wide variety of filetypes, including audio and video submissions. Marking rubrics can be attached, Turnitin similarity check and options for anonymous marking, peer review and delegated marking can be enabled.
Turnitin assignment is a popular choice for marking text-based submissions from individual students. Turnitin features an originality checker that 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.
Use a Turnitin assignment if you want to download submissions with feedback and similarity reports for External Examiners.
Tests in Blackboard are very versatile as they can be used for a 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.
Although 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blackboard assignments |
| Y | Y | Individual and group | Y |
Tests |
| N | Y | Individual | N |
Discussions | Y | N | Individual | Y | |
Journals | Y | N | Individual | Y | |
Turnitin assignments | N | Y | Individual | Y |
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Useful Links
Centre for Digital Learning Enhancement
ulster.ac.uk/learningengancement/cdle