BlackBoard Question of the Week

Q. How can I, as faculty, see the maximum points available for a given grade item and for the course as a whole?  I see what I’ve assigned to students, and their totals, but not the original “points possible.”

A. You can see points possible for any item for which points are assigned in the Grade Center by clicking on the double arrow beside the column heading and selecting Quick Column Information. You can also see this information by clicking in any cell in a column and looking at the Grade Information Bar, located over the column headers in the spreadsheet: this row shows grade type, points possible, how the grade is displayed (score, percentage, etc.) and whether the grade is visible to students.

 You can see points possible for the entire course by reviewing Quick Column Information for the Total column.

 Q. I am entering grades, and I would like to view only one student at a time in the Grade Center – is there a way to do that?

A. You can work with only one student at a time in the spreadsheet view of the Grade Center by creating a Smart View. Here are the steps to create a Smart View:

1. Click the Manage menu button in the Full Grade Center.
2. Select Smart Views.
3. Click the Create Smart View button.
4. Type a name for the view and, optionally, a description.
5. Under Selection Criteria, select User for Type of View.
6. Under Users select the student you want to grade. If you want to select more than one student at a time, click on the first student you want to grade, then hold down the Ctrl key and click on other students you want to include.
7. Under Filter Results, select the Grade Center columns you want to display; the default is All Columns.
8. Click Submit, then select the Smart View you created; you are now ready to enter grades.
9. To return to the view of the full Grade Center after grading in a Smart View, in the Control Panel click Grade Center > Full Grade Center.