Tuesday 28 October 2014

Blackboard Grader App - Overview

I have been aware of Blackboard working on a mobile application to allow grading of student work away from the traditional desktop computing environment for some time.

This first release of the application is now available in the Apple App Store and is called 'BB Grader'.

The app requires that we are using the Blackboard Mobile services building block, which we are, so the app has seamless integration with LearnUCS.

The app allows academic staff to access all of the assignment submission points from all of their modules in LearnUCS.  You are shown each submission point where you can see all submissions, when they were submitted and if they were late.

You are able to communicate with students from the app, as well as make notes into the retention centre.

If you have used the Inline Grading tools on a desktop computer you will be familiar with the tools in the app.  You can use the annotation tool to markup and grade a students submissions, as well as grading via Rubrics if you are using them in your modules.

A nice addition is the ability to record audio and/or video as feedback, this is very straight forward via the tablet.  Once you are happy with the grading you can send the grades back to the Gradecentre, which are then available immediately to either you or the student depending on Gradecentre column settings.

One thing I haven't seen/found yet is access to Safeassign reports, these currently need to be accessed via a browser if required.

Below is a short video overview of the app working.



Please get in touch with the Elevate team in Learning Services if you would like to see the app working in person.




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