Welcome to the twelfth in a series of monthly blog entries in which I will cover in-depth the setup of each of the different Test/Survey/Pool question types in Blackboard. Originally, this month was going to cover the Calculated Formula question type, but, due to technical difficulties, we will be moving on to another variant of the Fill in the Blank question type, Calculated Numeric.

In the event you’re not familiar with it, Calculated Numeric is the same as the Fill in the Blank question type, except the students answer with a single number rather than a single word. The student must type in a number to provide a response.

Blackboard can grade this question type for you, by automatically comparing the number typed by the student to the one typed as correct during the question setup.

Setup:

From the Canvas page for your Test/Survey/Pool:

1. Place your mouse over the Create Question button.
2. Click the Calculated Numeric option in the Create Question menu.

From the Create/Edit Multiple Choice Question page:

3. Enter display text in the Question Title field. (optional)
   Text entered here will display for you, the instructor, on the Canvas page for your Test/Survey/Pool. It will also display with the Question when it is displayed in the Test/Survey for the student.
4. Enter display text in the Question Text field. (required)
   Note: You must manually place a visual cue for the blank in the question (ex. ____).
   Text entered here will serve as the Question the student will read and answer. It will also display for you on the Canvas page.
5. Enter the correct numeric answer in the Correct Answer field. (required)
6. Enter acceptable numeric answer range in the Answer Range +/- field. (optional)
   If you will accept an answer number close to the correct numeric answer (ex. “1-3” rather than just “2”), enter the amount over or under the correct answer.
7. Enter display text in the Correct Response Feedback field. (optional)
   Text entered here will display to the student if a correct response is selected for this question. This option is recommended for non-graded Surveys.
8. Enter display text in the Incorrect Response Feedback field. (optional)
   Text entered here will display to the student if an incorrect response is selected for this question. This option is recommended for non-graded Surveys.
9. Use the Categories, Topics, Levels of Difficulty, and/or Keywords options. (recommended)
   For more information on how to use these options, see the Quality Practice: Metadata process document and Quality Practice: Metadata demonstration video.
10. Enter display text in the Instructor Notes field. (optional)
    Text entered here will only display to you on the Canvas page when selecting the Details option from the context menu.
11. Click the Submit button at the bottom-right of the page. (required)
    This will return you to the Test/Survey/Pool Canvas page.

This concludes the setup for the Calculated Numeric question type in Blackboard. Next month, I’ll explore the setup of the first Essay variant, Essay itself.

Need additional training?

Training & Professional Development offers many Blackboard workshops, including Blackboard: Tests, Surveys, & Pools and Setting up Your Course in Blackboard, at each campus numerous times a year, in the months before and after the first day of each major semester. To register for any of these training sessions, please login to Avatar to find the date, time, and location that is most convenient for you, or check our schedule by month/campus at the new EdTech Training blog. You may also fill out a Training/Consultation by Request at http://blogs.sanjac.edu/edtech/forms/request-a-training-session/.

Did you know that Atomic Learning has over 100 video tutorials on Blackboard for Instructors?  To check out all the tutorials, log into Blackboard and launch Atomic Learning under the Tools module, then type in your search term.