Adding an Alignment using Advanced Blackboard Integration

Overview

This article outlines the process for connecting Planning & Self-Study measures to assessment data within Blackboard. The alignment process serves as the foundational step for pulling LMS data into the platform by linking measures to specific student activities. This guide is intended for users who have already created a measure and need to establish a direct connection to Blackboard assignments, tests, or discussions.

Creating an Alignment to a Measure

The first step of pulling data into Planning & Self-Study is to create a Measure against an Outcome.

Note: Since alignments are not plan specific, alignments cannot be created within a plan. They must be created within the Measure Library. 

Once this is complete, alignments can be created to connect the Measures to Activities in Blackboard.

The article below will provide steps for creating new measures.

Adding Measures to an Outcome

Click Add Alignment within a measure. 

Select the Source from the drop down menu and click Next. 

Choose the Alignment Type and click Next. 

Align by Activity will be selected by default and Align by Rubric will be grayed out. 

*Note: Blackboard does allow for rubric based assignments, but align by activity must be selected to use an activity that has an associated rubric.

Select one or more terms. As you make selections, any assignments, quizzes, or graded discussions sent to course sections—within courses linked to the organization—will appear.

Only terms associated with course sections tied to the organization will be available for selection.

Select Activities

All assignments, tests, and graded discussions sent to course sections associated with the organization will be available for selection.

1. Select Activities

   The user can select one or more activities from the list. Multiple—or all—activities may be selected, then “Next” is clicked.

2. Review Selection

   After clicking “Next,” a summary of the selected activities will be displayed, along with a total count.

   Clicking “View Selected Activities” will open a full list for review. The review page will display:

   • Name of the Activity
   • Term: Terms associated with the course section where the activity was assessed using the selected activity.
   • Course: Course associated with the course section where the activity was assessed using the selected activity. Along with Course Section, name of the course section where the activity was assessed using the selected activity.
   • Grading Method: The type of assessment for the activity (points or rubric).

   *Note: All Activities from cross-listed courses aligned to a selected term will also be available.

   For each activity, the grading method will be shown:

   • Point-based activities: The total points allocated for the assessment.
   • Grade-based activities: The Grade allocated for the assessment
   • Percentage-based activities: The Percentage allocated for the assessment

   Users will have the ability to remove any activity selection. Once removed, that activity will no longer be shown on the activity page.

   

   Review Selected Activities

   

   After selecting activities, a count of the total selected will be displayed at the top of the screen.  Click “View Selected Activities” to open a detailed review of all chosen items.

Note: To remove an activity, click the Delete icon next to the corresponding item in the list.

The review page includes the following details for each selected activity:

• Activity Name – Title of the selected activity.
• Course – The course associated with the course section where the activity was used for assessment.
• Course Section – The specific course section in which the activity was assessed.
• Term – The academic term linked to the course section.
• Grading Method – The grading format used for the activity (e.g., Points, Grade, or Percentage).

Filtering Activities by Course, Section, and Rubric

Users can filter the list of activities using three options: Course Section, and Rubric. Filters are cascading in nature, meaning each selection will narrow the available options in the next filter.

Course Filter

• Filters activities by course.

• Displays all courses from the selected terms that received an activity.

• A search option is available to find courses quickly.

• Once applied, only activities from the selected courses will be shown.

Section Filter

• Filters activities by course section.

• Displays sections from the selected terms that received an activity.

• A search option is available to find course sections.

• Once applied, only activities from the selected sections will be shown.

Rubric Filter

• Filters activities by rubric.

• Only rubrics associated with the selected course and/or section will be available.

• If no rubrics are found, an alert will be displayed.

• Once applied, only activities assessed using the selected rubric(s) will be shown.

Cascading Filter Behavior

• Selecting a course will narrow the available sections and rubrics to only those associated with that course.

• Selecting a section will further filter available rubrics based on that section.

• Filter order: Course - Section - Rubric

Final Steps

• Align Activity: Click “Align Activity” to proceed with the alignment.

• Create Measure: Click “Create Measure” to generate the measure using the selected alignment.

Note: An activity can only be aligned once within the same measure. If it has already been aligned, it will not be available for selection again.