Grading Assignments with Blackboard Annotate

You can use Blackboard Annotate (Bb Annotate) for inline grading of written assignments. The different types of feedback to students available include a sidebar summary view, freehand drawing tools, various color selections, and much more.

Bb Annotate Header

A. Sidebar: View Thumbnail, Outline, or Annotation views of the submission.

B. Pages: Use the arrows to jump to different pages in the submission.

C. Pan: Move the submission on the page.

D. Zoom and Fit: Zoom in and out of the submission or adjust the view to fit the page, fit the width, or select the best fit.

Annotations
E. Annotation tools: Select each tool to view the tool properties.

Drawing, Brush, and Eraser: Draw freehand on the submission with various colors, thickness, and opacity.
Select the eraser to remove annotations. You can erase parts of a freehand drawing with the eraser or select the Delete icon to delete the whole drawing.
Image or Stamp: Choose a preloaded stamp or create your own customized stamp or image to add to the submission.
Text: Add text directly on the submission. You can move, edit, and change the text and select the font, size, alignment, and color of the text.
Shapes: Choose Line, Arrow, Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, and Polyline. Each shape has its own settings to change the color, width, opacity, and more.

F. Comment: Provide feedback in comments. Your comments appear in a panel next to the submission. Students can access the annotated files but won't be able to add annotations in their submissions.

G. Print or Download: Print or download the submission with the annotations.

H. Search: Search the submission for specific text.

I. Content Library: Create a bank of reusable comments. You can add, edit, delete, and search comments in the library. You can also add a comment directly to the submission page from the menu. Select the plus sign to add a new comment to the Content Library. You can Place comment, Copy to Clipboard, Edit, or Delete content from the library. Type keywords or phrases to search for saved comments.

Highlighter: Select specific portions of the submission to highlight. As you highlight text on the submission, an additional menu opens. You can highlight, strikethrough, underline, squiggle, or comment on the highlighted section.

Watch a video about Bb Annotate:

https://youtu.be/WFaEf_7-KaM

Downloading and Uploading Files from Blackboard Annotate

How to download an assignment file for an individual student:

Enter the grading screen for an individual student.
On the right side of the screen, look for the filename:
Click on the Download icon, directly to the right of the filename, indicated in red below:
The file will be downloaded, and you can now open the file in word and mark up the file as needed.

How to upload a marked-up file back into Blackboard:

Enter the grading Screen for an individual student.
Expand the grading panel by clicking on the down arrow indicated below. This will open up a feedback box.
Click on the Plus sign in the feedback box.
In the overlay window, click on Insert Local Files, and upload the students word document (or other assignment documents).
This file will be available to students in the assignment Feedback.