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Grade Center: Overview of New Features
The Grade Center, a redesigned and renamed grading tool, is one of the major enhancements in the Blackboard 8 upgrade. The new and improved features include:
The Grade Center interface
See the Action Bar and Spreadsheet how-to for more information
- The Action Bar – a toolbar above the Grade Center spreadsheet with drop-down menus that perform multiple functions
- Interactive View – a default display of the spreadsheet that allows instructors to enter grades directly into cells and to freeze columns (similar to Excel); this view can be switched to non-interactive view using a toggle button in the upper right corner of the spreadsheet
- Column Action Links – column headings’ drop-down menus used to perform tasks with graded items
- Cell Action Links – cells’ drop-down menus used to perform tasks with individual grades, such as adding comments
- Grade Information Bar – a bar at the bottom of the spreadsheet that displays information pertinent to a selected grade column cell
- Icon Legend – a link at the bottom of the spreadsheet that provides definitions of the icons used in the Grade Center
- Secondary display of a grade – an alternative format of grade displayed next to the primary format; for example, a score and a corresponding letter grade
- Last Access – a default column that displays the last date on which a student accessed the Blackboard course site; can be hidden if necessary
- Student Username and Student ID – default columns in the Grade Center; can be hidden if necessary
New Instructor Tasks
- Add Calculated Columns – create Weighted, Total, Average and Minimum/Maximum calculated columns and selectively include graded items in the calculation; visit Calculate Grades to learn more
- Exempt Grade – drop a grade when calculating a weighted grade
- Reports – generate customized grade reports
- Smart Views – create and save the view of the spreadsheet based on selected criteria; for example, students by section or students who are not performing well on an assignment
- Grading Schema – change the predefined grading scale for letter grades and other text-based grades using the Grading Schema
- Grading Period – create time segments for the semester and display the spreadsheet columns by grading periods
- Email – send an email to students directly from the Grade Center
- Grade History – view who made changes to grades and when the changes were made; download grade history
- Early Warning System – allows instructors to track student progress, success, and access using varied settings, including date and grade ranges.
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