Create an assignment in Blackboard Ultra Course View

The Assignment tool allows students to submit work to their instructor to grade, provide feedback, and include in the grade center.

Blackboard Assignment Grade Center Column Created

When an instructor creates a Blackboard assignment, a column for that assignment will be automatically created in the Grade Center. If you want to set an exemption or exception for a student for an assignment, you can find more information here.

Create an assignment

In a blank Ultra Course Shell, select the add content button. From the menu select Create. The slide out window appears where you can then select assignment.

If you have existing content in your Ultra Course Shell, select the plus sign (the purple bar with the plus sign will appear when you hover your mouse between items) where you want to add an assignment. From the drop down menu, select Create to open the Create Item panel. Select Assignment.

Add a Folder for an Assignment

If you would like to add a folder first, select the Folder option from the slide out panel. Once the folder is created, you can then expand it to add an assignment.

Empty Ultra course shell select add content and create from the menu and select Assignment, or an Ultra course with content, click the purple plus sign and select create from the menu and select Assignment

The New Assignment page opens. Enter a descriptive title for the assignment as this is what students will see and select to view the assignment. If you do not enter a title, it will default to "New Assignment" plus the date the assignment was created. You can edit the name of the assignment after the fact, by clicking on the assignment and selecting the edit pencil next to the assignment name.

Add Assignment Content

Select the plus sign to open the menu.

There are two ways to add text and an attached file for students.

From the menu, select add text. This opens a text editor where you can enter text and attach files using the paper clip icon.

Add Text option in drop down menu

Add local file to open a finder to find the file to upload. Once uploaded, you can click on the purple plus sign and add another section with text by selecting the add text from the menu as shown above. You can add images, links and other items using the text editor. Once you have the assignment content added, you can move items around as needed using the opposing arrow handles to drag and drop.

*If you do not add content, the assignment won't appear on the course content page.

Assignment Visibility to Students

By default, all newly created assignments are hidden from students. When you are ready to make it available, select Visible to Students from the drop down menu. Alternatively, you can set release conditions for the assignment based on date, time or student performance on other course items in the gradebook. Release conditions can be used to control the visibility of an assignment based on one of the following criteria:

Making an item visible to certain students or groups
Setting an item to become visible on a certain date/time, and/or to be hidden after a certain date/time
Making an item visible based on performance on a specified graded item or Gradebook column

If you have added a release condition, students will be able to see a summary of the release condition for that assignment on the course content page. You can learn more about release conditions here.

Assignment settings

Add text, files and questions

Select the plus sign to open the menu and make a selection. You can choose a question type, add a question pool, or reuse questions and content from existing assessments. You can add files and text, such as instructions for the assignment.

Show or hide the assignment

Show or hide an assignment

Students can't see an assignment until you choose to show it. You can create all of your content ahead of time and decide what you want your students to see based on your course schedule. You can also set availability conditions based on date, time and student performance on other items in the course gradebook. On the Course Content page, students can see when the assignment will become available.

Apply assignment settings

Assignment settings

Select the Settings icon, to open the panel where you can set the the assignment's details and information. i.e., due date, grade, number of student attempts and attach a rubric.

Provide a due date

Due Date

View Accommodations

Allow class conversations

Class Conversations

What if your students have questions about an assignment? You can allow conversations within an assignment, and anyone can contribute. As the conversation develops, it appears only with the relevant assignment.

Collect submissions offline

Collect Submissions Offline

Randomize questions and answers

Randomize Questions and Answers

You can randomize questions and their answers to support practice/drilling activities and help students avoid academic dishonesty. You can use one or both settings so assignments appear differently for each student.

Questions appear in order to you but are randomized for students. To prevent confusion, don't add numbers to reference other questions within the assignment.

You can only randomize answers for Matching and Multiple Choice questions. If you want to randomize answers for True/False questions, use the Multiple Choice question type with True and False answer choices. You can't randomize questions in an assignment with text blocks or attachments.

Change the grade category

Determine the number of attempts

Number of attempts

You can let your students submit more than one attempt at an assignment. When you allow multiple attempts, you can also choose how the final grade is calculated.

Select the grading schema

Grading Schema

Enable anonymous grading

Anonymous Grading

When you create an assignment without questions, you can enable anonymous grading so the student name is hidden while you grade. You may only add text and files to anonymously graded assignments.

Show assessment results

Assessment Results

Select the Show correct answers check box to allow students to see the correct answers to automatically scored questions after they submit. If you don't add questions to your assignment, select the check box for Show correct answers during creation.

Enable automated feedback

Automated Feedback

In the UCV, you can customize when feedback is to be automatically released to students using the Automated Question Feedback option. Note that you can only use this option once a question has been added to the assignment.

Add an access code

Access Code

You can issue an access code to control when a student or group submits an assignment. At this time, access codes are generated randomly by the system and you can't customize the access codes.

Enable parallel grading

Parallel Grading

You can enable parallel grading and assign graders when you create an assignment. You can enable parallel grading after students have made a submission. The system randomly assigns graders you choose so each student has two graders for the assignment assuring that the grading workload is distributed evenly among the graders. Graders can only open the submissions for the students assigned to them.

Add a time limit

Time Limit

Add a grading rubric

Grading Rubric

Add goals and standards

Goals and Standards

You can align an assignment to one or multiple goals. You and your institution can use goals to measure student achievement across programs and curriculum. You can also align individual questions to goals.

Make a group assignment

Group Assignment

Add an optional description

Optional Description

The description appears under the assignment title on the Course Content page. The description is often instructions or information that you want the students to have to complete the assignment.

Ultra Course - Assignments

Create an assignment in Blackboard Ultra Course View