Blackboard Ultra – Assessment Overview

The Ultra Assignment tool accepts a wide range of file types and multiple files can be uploaded to a single assignment.

Assignments offers a range of tools for marking and feedback including rubrics, annotation, audio and video feedback with transcript, and file attachments.

Assess offline and alternative content: You can use the option to "collect submissions offline", or create an item in the Gradebook, to mark work that does not require typical online submission such as a presentation or performance.

Mark offline: Bulk download assignments, export and import the Gradebook to mark offline.

Use for:

• Assessments requiring a file upload for example essays, presentations, project work and scanned handwritten notes.
• Group work - one member of a group can hand in and all receive the marks and feedback.
• Peer review.
• Marking offline - such as presentations and practical work where no physical work is submitted.
• Integrated Panopto and media submissions.
• Summative or formative assessment.

For more information please see our comparison of Blackboard Assignments and Tests.

Ultra Tests allow you use a range of question types to build self marking assessments. Test can also include short answer essay questions that are manually marked - the Ultra Flexible Grading workflow allows you to easily mark by student or by question.

Tests are ideal for formative assessment, but can be used for some summative assessment. You can also consider the on campus OnDemand software for summative multiple choice type assessment.

Tests can be a completely asynchronous solution as you can set up tests with automatic feedback and custom marking schematics. You can also use outcomes of marked items to control the release conditions of course content.

Use for:

• Building self marking tests/quizzes.
• Tests using a range of question types including multiple choice, calculated formula and fill in the blanks.
• Short answer essay questions - (but note restrictions to submission and marking options listed below)
• Formative knowledge check - but can be used for some summative assessment.

Note: File submissions and Tests!

We recommend you use Assignments (without questions) if you want to mark file submissions.

• Any files students attach to short answer essay questions need to be downloaded by the marker and cannot be marked inline.
• You can leave the option for student to upload files after answering questions, but you cannot assign a separate mark to uploaded files where questions are also included.

For more information please see our comparison of Blackboard Assignments and Tests.

Discussions can be used as a collaborative communication tool anywhere in your module, but participation can also be assessed if you tick the option to mark discussion.

In marked discussions, grades are based on each student's total contributions, not each individual post. Students can contribute and edit their posts until the due date.

Use for:

• Community building and interaction with students.
• Assessing language learning or critical thinking skills.
• Encourage participation in the analysis of some content or participation in a debate.
• Assess discussion analytics and participation of each individual.
• Allow students a group space to discuss their work using Group Discussions.
• Allow students to create their own discussions on the Discussions page.
• Reply to posts or leave overall feedback for marked discussions.
• Flexibility for students to create posts with a variety of media. Students can upload documents, videos, images, audio files.
• Set a due date on marked discussions.

Journals are personal spaces for students to communicate privately with you. Students can also use journals as a self-reflective tool. They can post their opinions, ideas, and concerns about the course, or discuss and analyse course-related materials and develop ideas.

You can choose to mark a Journal, add a rubric and leave feedback.

Use for:

• Providing formative feedback throughout a course.
• Encouraging reflective practice and refinement of ideas.
• Recording participation in group work.
• Provide evidence of developing work over time.
• Flexibility for students to create posts with a variety of media. Students can upload documents, videos, images, audio files.
• Leave continuous feedback on student work.
• Set a due date on marked Journals.

Turnitin is a third part tool that supports submission and marking of written work, including similarity checking. It has a simple marking inbox and interface. You can filter your view of student work by Blackboard groups or enable anonymous marking.

Use for:

• Written work requiring a similarity score to support plagiarism checking.
• Summative assessment if this is the tool required by your school or department.
• Submitting a range of file types, but accepted file types are more limited if similarity checking is required. See the Turnitin guide for details of file requirements