Blackboard Faculty Tutorial

Blackboard Surveys

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Blackboard‟s survey tool provides the ability for instructors to gauge student opinion anonymously. Surveys are very similar to Blackboard assessments, however they are ungraded and are completely anonymous, meaning that student responses cannot be linked back to individual students. Surveys are also similar to assessments in the sense that they must be created in the Survey Manager and subsequently deployed to a content area. This tutorial will cover: Creating a Survey, Importing a Survey, Adding a Survey to a Content Area, Modifying Test Options, Viewing Survey Results and Frequently Asked Questions

Creating a Survey Surveys must first be created in the Survey Manager. 1. From the course in which a survey is desired, access the Control Panel, expand Course Tools,

and click on Tests, Surveys, and Pools.

2. Click Surveys.

3. Click Build Survey.

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4. Under Survey Information, enter a Name (required), Description (optional), and Instructions (optional).

5. Once the above information has been entered, click the Submit button at the bottom of the page.

6. Next, on the Survey Canvas, questions can be added. This mirrors the test building process. To

add questions, add the desired question type by selecting it in the Create Question drop-down menu. Questions can also be added from question pools by using the Reuse Question option.

7. Once a question type is selected, the next screen will vary based on the question type selected. For

more detailed information about creating questions, please see the individual question type tutorials.

8. Once the question has been created, click Submit at the bottom

9. Back on the Survey Canvas:

9.1. The question that was created in the above steps should now appear.

9.2. More questions can be added by using the menus at the top. The Create Question Above/Below option can also be used in a question‟s Action Menu (9.3).

9.3. Questions can be modified or removed by accessing the Action Menu for a question.

9.4. Questions can be re-ordered by using drag and drop to move to the desired location.

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10. When all of the desired questions have been added to the Survey Canvas, click OK at the bottom of the Survey Canvas screen.

Importing a Survey Surveys can also be imported into the survey manager. Importing a survey requires an exported survey package (in zip format) from another Blackboard course. 1. From the course in which a survey is desired, access the Control

Panel, expand Course Tools, and click on Tests, Surveys, and Pools.

2. Click Surveys. 3. Click Import Survey.

4. Click Browse for Local File. Once the file is located, double click the

file title.

9.1

9.2

9.3

9.4

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5. Click Submit when finished. 6. The next screen will verify that the survey has been imported. If the import process is successful,

the following information should display:

7. Click Ok.

Adding a Survey to a Content Area Once a survey has been created, it must be added to a content area (a process called deploying) in order for students to access it. 1. Access the content area in which the survey is desired (i.e. Assignments, Course Materials, etc).

2. In the content area, enable Edit Mode by using the button in the upper right. 3. Hover over the Evaluate menu, and select Create Survey.

4. In the Add Survey box, select the desired survey to add.

5. Once the survey has been selected, click the Submit button at the bottom. A success indicator

should then appear.

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Modifying Survey Options Once a survey has been added to a content area, it must be made available. 1. If the Survey Options screen is still visible (the next screen to appear after clicking Submit above),

skip to step 2. If this screen is not visible, access the content area in which the survey was added, enable Edit Mode, access the Survey‟s Action Menu and click Edit the Survey Options.

2. On the Survey Options screen, verify that the title is acceptable.

3. Add a Description if desired (optional).

4. Select the desired option for Open Survey in New Window. The default and recommended setting is No, to avoid possible issues with pop-up blockers.

5. Select desired options under Survey Availability:

5.1. Make the link available: Select Yes or No as desired. Selecting Yes will allow students to

access the survey, unless date restrictions are set below. Selecting No will prevent students from accessing the survey, regardless of date restrictions.

5.2. If an announcement is desired, select Yes. Announcements posted using this method will appear as the following:

5.3. For Multiple Attempts, click to Allow unlimited attempts if desired. The amount of allowed attempts can also be limited by entering a number value in the Number of Attempts box. If the Multiple Attempts box is not checked, students will only be allowed to complete the survey once.

5.4. If desired, check the Force Completion box to require students to complete the survey when it is opened. Leaving this box unchecked will allow students to save the survey and return to it later.

5.5. If desired, check the Set Timer box. If checked, select the desired time using the Hours and

Minutes drop-down menu.

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5.6. The availability of the survey can be controlled by checking the Display After and Display Until boxes. If checked, enter the desired dates into the accompanying fields. Dates can also be selected by clicking on the calendar/clock icons.

5.7. If a password is desired in order to access the survey, check the Password box and enter a

password into the field provided. 6. Under Self-Assessment Options, check to include the survey in Grade Center calculations. By

default, this is not checked. NOTE: Regardless of the option checked in this step, a column will be created in the Grade Center to indicate that students have or have not submitted the survey. However, since surveys cannot be “scored” per se, no calculation or score will appear in the Grade Center.

7. Under Survey Feedback, select which feedback to display upon completion of the survey.

7.1. Status will inform the student that their survey has or has not been submitted. 7.2. Submitted Answers will display a list of the questions with their respective responses.

8. Under Survey Presentation select the desired options.

8.1. All at Once will present the entire survey on the screen.

8.2. One at a Time will present individual questions, requiring students to click a button to advance

to the next question.

8.3. Prohibit backtracking will prevent students from changing their answers on a previous question. This option is available only if One at a Time is selected.

8.4. Randomize Questions will present questions in a different order for different

students/attempts. 9. When finished selecting the desired options, click Submit.

Viewing/Downloading Survey Results Since surveys are anonymous, survey results must be viewed all together in one file. It is best to wait until all students have submitted their results to preserve the concept and goal of using a survey. Students who have submitted their survey will show a green check mark in the accompanying grade column in the Grade Center. Students who have not yet submitted the survey will show an empty grade cell for that column.

Complete Incomplete

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1. Enter the Grade Center.

2. Click on the Action Menu button at the top of the survey column and select Download Results.

3. On the Download screen, select the delimiter type, either Comma or Tab. Tab is recommended.

4. Select the desired display format, either By User or By Question and User.

5. Select desired options under Attempts to Download, either Only valid attempts or All attempts.

6. Click the button that says Click to download results.

7. The next screen may prompt to open, save, or run the file. At this point, it can be saved to an easily remembered place on your computer and Excel may be used to open and view the file.

Frequently Asked Questions Q1. When I try to view a student’s submission using ‘View Attempt’ through ‘Grade Details,’ nothing will display. Why not? A1. Since surveys are designed to protect student anonymity, it is not possible to view individual results using the „View Attempt” button in „Grade Details.‟ Results can only be viewed using the method outlined above.