BlackBoard Question of the Week

Q. Due to a family emergency I  gave a student an extension on her Turnitin paper. However, when the student tries to submit the paper in Turnitin, it will not let her. Is there a way to let this student submit her paper?

A. You can allow students to submit a Turnitin assignment after the due date:

1. Click on Course Tools in the control panel.
2. Click on Turnitin Assignments.
3. Click on the title of the Turnitin Assignment.
4. Click on the Edit Assignment tab at the top.
5. Scroll down and click on More Options.
6. Click Yes for” Allow submissions after the due date?”
7. Click Submit.

Q. None of my students are showing up in the Grade Center when I click on ‘Full Grade Center.’ They were all there last week and I don’t know why they are not showing up now. Please advise.

 A. When you remove all columns except the few required columns in the Grade Center, students disappear from the Full Grade Center view. If you add a column to your Grade Center, the student names will reappear.  For instructions on adding a column, visit Creating a Grade Center Item.

If you add a column, but don’t intend to use it, you can remove it from students’ view by editing the column information using the chevron beside the column title and selecting “No” for “Include this column in Grade Center calculations” and also for “Show this column to students.” If you want to remove the column from your own view, you can hide it from yourself by clicking on the chevron and selecting “Hide Column.”

Q. My students are sending me papers they have written in Office 2010. I have Office 2003 on my home computer and I can’t open the students’ papers. What can I do?

 A.  Installing the Compatibility Pack along-side of Office 2003 will allow you to open, edit, save, and create files using the formats that are used by both Office 2010 and Office 2007.

You can download the Compatibility Pack here: Windows users, Office 2000, Office XP, and Office 2003 users: Download the Compatibility Pack.

Q. I have a student who registered for class earlier today, but I don’t see her listed on Blackboard. How long does it take to get her into Blackboard?

A. There is an automatic feed from LOCUS to Blackboard once a day. Once your student is listed in LOCUS for your class, it should appear for her in Blackboard 24 hours later.